The main event

BS 8901 was launched with the Olympic Games in mind, but it's proving successful among smaller organizers too.

From concerts to trade shows, business conferences to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, event organizers are focusing on sustainability more than ever before. Not just carbon emissions, but also the impact on the local community, waste management, employment, sustainable investment and so on. Organizers are under pressure to ensure local people are not adversely affected by an event held in their vicinity; that emissions are kept to a minimum; employees are treated fairly; long term benefits secured; and supply chain management improved.

While London 2012 is one of the more visible and ongoing test cases, several event companies have already taken sustainability on board.

One such is Faversham House, an events company that organizes trade shows in addition to a range of publishing activities. The company runs a number of events catering to the environmental and energy markets, which only adds to the need for a sustainable strategy. It was one of 10 organizations that participated in a pilot certification programme run by BSI between September 2008 and March 2009.

Amanda Barnes, chief executive of Faversham House, has been an enthusiastic leader of the company's adoption of BS 8901, a standard that offers an effective framework for sustainable event management. She says that although many of the standard's recommendations came naturally to Faversham House, having a framework with which to measure progress and compliance was invaluable.

"The standard has helped us ensure we applied everything in a systematic way," she says. "A lot of it is to do with documentation and making sure the informal things we do are recorded. BS 8901 has given us a blueprint and a template with which to run our events."

While an organization may be close to achieving targets in sustainability, those in charge may not know it. Without clear, measurable targets and outcomes, any innovations, efficiencies or quick wins will be lost.

Barnes says that a recent event - Sign and Digital UK, held at the Birmingham NEC - demonstrated the tangible benefits of adopting BS 8901:

"That was the first show to fully use the NEC's new 'plug and play' electrical system. We worked with our electrical contractors to adapt their systems and methods to the standard. This meant we could distribute the mains power more efficiently to our exhibitors. It was more user-friendly and helped us save energy, and made it easy for our exhibitors. It worked like an absolute dream."

As a direct consequence of implementing the tenets of BS 8901 at this event, Faversham was able to reduce its costs and simplify life for its exhibitors, all of whom went home happy. The standard also helps minimize disruption of local communities and suppliers. Indeed, managing suppliers and partners has been embedded as a core element of BS 8901 since its inception.

No event - or indeed business - can survive without reliable external suppliers. BS 8901 has made a feature of helping organizers extend the standard down its supply chain. Many smaller businesses will be some way from full compliance with BS 8901 but by offering incentives and help, larger businesses can lead the way. It's something Barnes initiated at Faversham House.

"We've signed a long term contract with our electrical contractors to give them the confidence to invest in the equipment that they needed in order to provide a more sustainable service," she says. "We work closely with them to identify areas where they can make a difference."

If the Faversham House experience is anything to go by, BS 8901 is within reach of most events organizers, many of whom will be in compliance with large segments of the standard already. The principal change will be to add documentation and record keeping to operations.

John Lee, head of certification at BSI says that, although the standard is still in its infancy, awareness is growing: "Organizations that look at this area tend to focus largely on environmental issues, rather than social or economic ones to begin with," he says. "We need to make sure there is an awareness in the industry of the need for a balanced approach to sustainability.

"This is one of the reasons we launched the certification pilot programme. It is the desire on the part of organizations to seek third-party certification for their systems that helps to drive improvements in sustainability right through the supply chain."

In practice, that means educating events organizers in the finer points of sustainable development with practical suggestions and solutions.

Barnes, who believes the industry is waking up to the need to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability across all areas, says the benefits are already tangible at Faversham House.

"It's possible to do this and save money, which is always a pleasant surprise," she says. "All of our exhibitors at our recent Sustainabilitylive! event, for instance, were trying to do the same thing: tell everyone that sustainability is a good thing and that you can make a profit from it.

"I think people working in this area can see this is the way things are going. At the moment it's a competitive advantage but, eventually, it will become a must-have. If you're in at the beginning, you've got a better chance of making it to the end."

For more information on the sustainable event management standard, click here 
For more information on sustainable event management certification, click here 

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