What Is Sustainable Event Management?

Short for time? Scroll to the bottom to discover the key takeaways. 

What Is Sustainable Event Management?

Sustainability has been a popular topic in the events industry for several years now. The development of this movement has meant that more and more event planners are becoming conscious of the impact that their events have on the environment, their location and the local community. This has led to the development of sustainable management principles and practices, outlining the best ways to approach how to make events more sustainable.

In this article, we explore what sustainable event management involves, some of the benefits, and how event planners in the MICE industry can utilise this approach.

What is a Sustainable Event?

Sustainable events are events that have a minimal impact on a location’s environment, economy and social progress. They are organised with these three areas in mind in order to protect and support things like local culture, wildlife, infrastructure and livelihoods so that the event only has a positive impact.

A sustainable event can take many forms; it can be organised specifically with sustainability at its heart, or it can be a regular event where sustainability has been considered and measures have been taken to minimise the negative impact. In the MICE industry, sustainable events have become much more of a priority in recent years, which has led to the need for sustainable event management protocols.

What is Sustainable Event Management?

Sustainable event management is an approach to organising events that has sustainability at its core. It involves a range of processes, best practices and tools that can help event organisers minimise the impact that their events have on the environment and community where the event takes place.

A lot of the initiatives involved in sustainable event management are just based on advice and success stories from professionals and experts in the industry. However, official guidelines and standards are starting to emerge as the topic of sustainability in events gets more attention.

ISO 20121 is a prime example of this, updated in April 2024. The standard offers official advice on the best practices for how to make events more sustainable, providing a comprehensive framework for all kinds of events to better manage their economic, social and environmental impact.

Alongside this standard, there are plenty of resources available for businesses in the events and wider MICE industries to help support sustainable event management. From tutorials and instructional content to workshops and even events dedicated to spreading awareness of sustainable practices, sustainable event planning is being made easier by the development of a clear set of management processes.

No two events look exactly the same, so the process of how to make an event sustainable will vary. In general however, sustainable event management involves:

• Utilising sustainable materials 
• Working with suppliers with green credentials
• Minimising or eradicating environmental impact
• Encouraging and assisting with environmentally friendly transport
• Sourcing from local suppliers
• Encouraging attendees to engage with and support the local economy
• Prioritising suppliers, sponsors and guests with sustainable values and practises
• Disposing of waste sustainably, prioritising reuse and recycling

Alongside the actions that you can take to improve your event’s sustainability, sustainable event management also often requires a shift of your organisation’s values and priorities. The effort required to take sustainable action can be significant, and making a commitment to this action as part of your goals or way of doing business can make it easier to make this transition or get sign-off and support.

The Benefits of Sustainable Events

Sustainable event management has many benefits, so whilst it may require a change from your typical approach to event planning, it’s definitely a worthwhile endeavour. Here are some of the main benefits of sustainable event planning.

Reduced Environmental Impact

Of course, the main benefit of running sustainable events is that they have a limited environmental impact. By taking an approach that considers things like waste, energy usage and reusable or ethical materials and products, you'll run an event that is kinder to the environment and doesn’t have as much, or any, negative impact on the surrounding area after it has taken place.

Industry Reputation

Running an event that is advertised as using sustainable event management can be fantastic for your overall reputation. Making the effort to use a more sustainable approach is generally considered a good thing in the MICE industry, attracting more attention from publications and opening up new opportunities for partnerships with sustainable brands.

Many attendees are more motivated to attend events that have sustainable values and follow sustainable practices, so from a reputation point of view there’s also the benefit that your attendee numbers will grow. Sustainability can be a great feature to include when you’re advertising your event as well which can often help to grow the numbers of interested attendees.

Social Responsibility

Many people feel that promoting and adopting sustainability in the events industry is part of everyone’s social responsibility towards doing good and protecting the planet. With this in mind, another benefit of planning sustainable events is that you actively play a part in not only protecting the environment but also supporting local communities and ensuring that your event only has a positive impact. Attendees, sponsors and suppliers will also then feel as though they are also fulfilling their social responsibility by engaging with your event, which in turn leads to a greater sense of connection and cohesion.

Setting an Example

One of the most impactful benefits of sustainable event planning is that it sets an example in the events industry of how things should be done. Everyone knows the importance of adopting sustainability in an industry that has previously had such a huge environmental impact, but taking the step to actually implement sustainability in events is still an ongoing challenge.

As more and more events adopt sustainable event management and are open about their experience with it, it becomes an expectation and eventually a standard that all events in the MICE industry are expected to uphold. This has an overall positive effect, and by contributing to this example your image and reputation will definitely benefit.

Cost Savings

In the long run, adopting sustainable event management practices and approaches leads to greater efficiency from resources and processes. This in turn reduces the cost of labour and operation expenses, saving money and time during the event planning process.

How to Make Events More Sustainable

Managing an event sustainably begins right at the start of the planning process, which is why having guidelines, checklists and expectations by sustainable event management principles can be really useful for event planners. There are many different ways to make events more sustainable, some of which are specific to event formats, and sustainable event planning involves reviewing these options and choosing the best ones for your circumstances.

Here are some of the most common sustainable event management practices.

Green Energy

Powering your event using only green energy is one of the best ways to improve sustainability. But it’s also one that will require a lot of planning, as being able to only use green energy will depend on where you are hosting your event.

If you choose a venue that is already committed to sustainability, they may already be using green energy, which is ideal. Other venues may not be able to make the same promise, which can narrow your options of where your event takes place.

Things like lighting, electricity, heating or air conditioning can all be powered by green energy, but think about other sources of energy that might contribute to your event. Could you transport attendees to the venue using green transport? Could you work with caterers who use green fuel to cook? Could you order merchandise which is made using carbon-neutral manufacturing processes?

Local Sourcing

Environmental action is often a primary focus of sustainable event management, but another really important aspect to consider is how you’re going to support and make a positive impact on the local economy. Poor event management can be very harmful to a destination, local people and the economy, but a great way to avoid this and expand the influence of your event is by utilising sustainable sourcing.

Many event planners have adopted this approach by using local catering businesses to feed their attendees, or making use of ingredients that are locally sourced. This is a great option if you’re also trying to showcase the location of your event, as you can make featuring local dishes and ingredients a part of this.

There are also other aspects of your event that you can source from local suppliers, from getting your printing done nearby to recruiting locally for staff who will help your event run on the day. If you’re offering your attendees a goodie bag, one of the most popular sustainable event ideas is to source all of the products in this from local businesses, including their names and websites to help encourage more sales.

Carbon Offsetting

There may be some aspects of your event that you cannot make sustainable. In this case, something you can do is use carbon offsetting to mitigate the environmental impact that your event has.

Carbon offsetting in the events industry involves paying for another company to use carbon capturing to remove general emissions or CO2 from the atmosphere. You’ll need to measure the amount of emissions that your event produces, including all of the energy that goes into your event materials and supplies, attendee travel, and the energy needed to power your venue during the event.

Be aware that carbon offsetting isn’t always exact, nor should it be used as the default way to run environmentally sustainable events. You should make every effort to reduce carbon emissions first, and then any that cannot be reduced or removed from your event can be offset if you’re aiming to be carbon neutral.

Reusing and Recycling

This approach to event sustainability is a straightforward one, so there’s no excuse not to adopt it with your event. Recycling bins should be clearly labelled and easily accessible all around your event venue, so there’s no excuse not to recycle as much as possible.

Whilst single-use options might be easier to clean up after catering, they are incredibly wasteful. If reusable options really aren't possible, consider using materials that can be recycled or composted to serve your food, so you’re avoiding plastic as much as possible. Wherever you can, you should encourage and facilitate the use of reusable materials and resources, from water bottles to the utensils and crockery that food is served on to attendees. Make sure that there are drink refilling stations at your event and remind attendees in advance to bring their own water bottles and hot drink receptacles. 

If you’re thinking about giving away merchandise or goodie bags, also consider whether what you’re giving your attendees is going to be used a lot, or if it might just get thrown away after the event. 

Shared Transport

Our final suggestion for how to make an event sustainable is to set up shared transport schemes for your attendees so that you reduce the carbon emissions created by travelling to your event. Choosing a venue that is easily reachable by train or bus is important, but attendees who might be travelling by car could be encouraged to share lifts in taxis or their own cars. Alternatively, you can organise your own transport options for attendees so that the majority arrive at the event on a bus or coach, instead of individually in cars.

Shared transport schemes can be set up in a variety of ways, but the key to these schemes being successful is making sure that all attendees are aware of them. To increase engagement, consider offering incentives for attendees using greener transport options, such as a ticket discount or exclusive event merch.

Summary

The need for sustainability isn’t going anywhere, which means that sustainable event management is an approach that is going to continue to grow and develop in the MICE industry. You may already have adopted some of the practices that we’ve touched on in this article, but when you consider the benefits that we also highlighted, it’s well worth staying up to date on the latest trends surrounding sustainability in events and utilising these in your planning.

Key takeaways

• Definition of Sustainable Event Management: It focuses on organising events with minimal environmental, economic, and social impact while supporting local systems.
• ISO 20121 Guidance: The standard offers a framework that assists event planners in adopting sustainable practices effectively.
• Core Sustainable Practices: Suggestions include using green energy, sourcing locally, reducing waste, and collaborating with eco-friendly partners.
• Benefits of Sustainability: Efforts lead to reduced environmental damage, better reputation, social responsibility, potential long-term cost savings, and setting industry standards.
• Practical Implementation: Sustainability starts at the planning stage, requiring clear guidelines and proactive steps like carbon offsetting and engaging the local economy. 
   

For more valuable insight on sustainability in the MICE industry, take a look at the other articles on our blog.

Looking for something else?