Sustainable Events post covid19 and how ISO 20121 can help you!

ISO 20121 Event Sustainability Management Systems

 What is ISO 20121? ISO 20121 is the International Standard for Sustainable Event Management, created by the International Organisation for Standardization. The main goal of the standard is to help organisations improve sustainability throughout the entire event management cycle. No matter the type or size of an event, it can always be more sustainable. Events, whether big or small, can take a massive toll on the environment as they are often the source of excessive energy and resource waste. The ISO 20121 standard has been developed to promote a more responsible consumption of resources, as well as to relieve the strain on local infrastructure and utilities by reducing the potential for conflict in communities where events are hosted.

 In August 2020 Crowberry Consulting? Ltd, launched three online training packages for ISO and sustainability via Teachable. One of these courses a one-day introduction course to the ISO 20121 standard and how it can benefit businesses and organisations. The introductory course is called “ISO 20121 Event Sustainability Management Systems – Awareness and Introduction” and is made up of four interactive workshops.

 The course starts by taking the delegates through all the clauses of the ISO 20121 standard, step – by – step. A case study of the London 2012 Olympics is also included in the course, to help users understand the operational elements on this standard. The London 2012 Olympics was the first major event to achieve the ISO 20121 Sustainable Events standard and has been highly influential in its creation and development. The first workshop focuses on the context of the organisation, for the event. This includes: looking at internal and external factors as well as, looking at the scope and boundary by focusing on what the participating organisations would like to be included in the sustainable events management system. Workshop two is all about looking at the policy behind hosting a sustainable event. If the business does not have such policy already, then the course will help them write one. If they already have one written, then the course will help them find ways of improving it. Such improvements would include making sure that the sustainable events policy is meeting what the ISO asks them to do. Workshop three introduces the idea of sustainability issues and identification. The delegates will be asked to think about the levels of control and influence that they may have around those sustainability issues. The issues cover environmental, economic and social factors (so it’s not just all about environmental issues). Workshop four focuses on setting sustainability objectives, targets and key performance indicators to the event planned. This is really important because they might get asked to report on various issues (such as KPIs for the event organiser or the event host). This also applies if the organisation is a venue that wants to promote their sustainability to a broader audience. While the course is relatively entry – level, some prior knowledge of the standard is assumed from the delegates.

 In summary, the course helps to map out a framework that will help in identifying potentially negative social, economic and environmental impacts of events. Such negative impacts can be removed or reduced through planning and processing. This should lead, not only to improvement in key sustainability issues, but it will also reduce costs and waste.

Like all International Standards, the ISO 20121 is based on the Plan, Do, Check and Act cycle. Organisations can work towards certification to this standard. Crowberry Consulting’s training helps businesses understand how the clauses can be linked together and how sustainability can be embedded into your events. Crowberry Consulting? has worked with many well-known organisations to ensure they offer a truly sustainable event including UEFA, London 2012 Olympics, Thomond Park and Croke Park amongst them. If your business is involved in the event industry in any way, this course is for you.

For more information about the course, please click here (https://www.crowberryconsulting.com/training/)

If you are interested in purchasing the standard, please click here

(https://www.crowberryconsulting.com/standards-shop/)

To listen to our Sustainability Street? Podcast with special guest Hannah Jardine from Ignition DG Ltd, please follow this link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/63CKmc2cuVSBF8H74oRUi0?si=pd-iAm4zSF-6oQPIRs7KgA&nd=1

Or call us on 01257 231171

Follow us on Insta @CrowberryConsulting