Events are designed to have impacts and impacts are intrinsic to their nature. As events take place in the
physical environment, whether that is a built or natural one, it is not surprising that they have impacts on that
environment.
Environmental degradation, climate change and resource shortages are threatening global lifestyles and that
includes delivery of and participation in events. Resource constraints dictate that we reconsider the
environmental inputs into the event industry.
It is essential to define some key terms, what is meant by an ‘event’ and what is meant by the ‘environment’.
In Events Studies, Donald Getz describes an event as ‘an occurrence at a given place and time; a special set
of circumstances; a noteworthy occurrence’ (Getz 2007: 18). He goes on to note that events, by definition,
have a beginning and an end. They are temporal phenomena, and with planned events the event programme
or schedule is generally planned in detail and well-publicised in advance. Planned events are also usually
confined to particular places although the space involved might be a specific facility, a very large open
space, or many locations. (ibid.)
The New Oxford Dictionary of English defines the environment as either ‘the surroundings or conditions in
which a person, animal or plant lives or operates (or) the natural world as a whole or in a particular
geographical area, especially as affected by human activity’ (Pearsall and Hanks 2001: 617).
As noted earlier, environmental impacts do not exist in isolation from other types of impact. They are often
intrinsically linked to each other. Additionally, environmental impacts themselves may, for example, have
effects on economy, society and polity. Environmental damage can be expensive to clear up, it may upset
local residents and it may embarrass politicians. Vandalism by attendees at events can cause direct damage
to the built or natural environment which may have to be repaired by the local council at a cost to taxpayers..
Similarly, positive impacts, such as clearing up litter, can increase enjoyment of open spaces, not least by
making them safer, with consequent social benefits. Thus, although identification of environmental impacts
is a useful analytical device, it needs always to be aware of the connections with other impacts in a wider
context. Such interaction is also recognised in business concepts, such as the triple bottom line, that assess
entrepreneurial outcomes in economic, social and environmental terms.
The purpose of some events is to improve the environment. These range from local clean-up campaigns to
conferences to promote good environmental practice. Others are designed to specifically improve a
particular environment. Garden festivals are examples of these. Case study: Liverpool Garden Festival The
Liverpool Garden festival is an interesting example of an event apparently designed specifically to provide
positive environmental impacts. The Festival Gardens website states: In 1982, the largest reclamation
scheme ever undertaken in the country at the time commenced on a former household tip site adjacent to the
River Mersey. The site was transformed in 1984 into the country’s first ever garden festival. Billed as ‘a five
month pageant of horticultural excellence and spectacular entertainment’ the International Garden Festival
was part of the now disbanded Government quango Merseyside Development Corporation’s regeneration
efforts for the city in the wake of the Toxteth riots and industrial decline. Running from May to October, the
International Garden Festival attracted some 3.4 million visitors with its mix of 60 ornamental gardens from
all parts of the world and the centrepiece Festival Hall which contained various floral displays.
BS 8901
The standard set out the requirements for planning and managing sustainable events of all sizes and types,
supplemented by guidance on how to meet, and surpass, these requirements. It was the first standard to
specify a sustainable management system for industry and was designed specifically for the event industry.
Given the event industry’s relative neglect of environmental issues for many years, it is a great credit to the
industry that it became a pathfinder in the quest to manage in a more environmentally friendly way. BS 8901
specifies the requirements for a sustainability management system for the entire range of events, from school
fetes, through conferences and festivals, to mega- events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was
aimed at a range of users that not only included event organisers and venue managers but also organisations
and/or individuals in the supply chain:
BS 8901 is a management system standard. A management system is defined as a system to establish policy
and objectives and to continually achieve those objectives. BS 8901 requires organisations to understand the
sustainability issues relevant to their event(s) and to put in place measures to control and minimise these
impacts. It requires organisations to aspire to continually improve their sustain- ability performance in
relation to the management of events. It is foreseeable that many event clients, particularly corporations and
local authorities will demand that event organisers, venues and suppliers to the industry adopt the standard.
Indeed, the London 2012 Olympics are requiring organisations to be working towards implementation of BS
8901.
BS 8901 follows the traditional Plan>Do>Check>Act model associated with many management systems and
is about process – the way things are managed. It does not guarantee the quality of the output but the way
the output is achieved. In theory, a disappointing event could be compliant with the standard, similar to the
IT concept GIGO – garbage in, garbage out. The standard has a number of stages (see road map in Figure
7.4):
• Identifying the scope of the implementation: Organisations need to decide whether there are any
limitations on the scope of their implementation. Some may choose for only parts or specific divisions to
introduce the standard in the first instance.
• Determining the purpose and values: Organisations must identify the reasons why they are implementing
the standard. In establishing the purpose and values of implementation, along with the scope, it is useful for
an organisation to effect a review of its existing management practices and, if any, sustainability policies.
• Establishing the sustainability policy: Obviously organisations have to develop a sustainability policy. An
example of this, the sustainability policy of Positive Impact Events, is shown in Figure 7.2. Positive Impact
is a not-for-profit- organisation whose vision is an event sector inspired to have a positive impact on its
economic, environmental and social surroundings. They are helping to make this vision a reality by
providing education, resources and change support.
• Identifying key issues: Any organisation needs to identify key issues with respect to sustainability. Positive
Impact Events, for example, identifies the following issues: º Demonstrate best practice º Deliver a return on
investment º Improve supplier engagement and education. (BSI 2012)
• Establishing objectives, targets and plans: Once a policy is established, it is necessary to develop
objectives and targets for implementation. These ought, ideally, to be SMART: specific, measurable,
achievable, realistic and time-limited, as shown in Figure 7.3. They should also be incorporated into a
project plan against which progress can be precisely measured.
• Setting roles and responsibilities: For the standard to be implemented successfully is essential to set out
clear roles and responsibilities. It is helpful if a senior member of the management team can have overall
responsibility assisted by suitable champions, who are enthusiasts for the project. If staff detect a lack of
commitment from management, the project can wither on the vine. It is helpful if the role of all members of
staff is clearly established – this needs to be linked to the overall goals of the organisation.
• Engaging stakeholders: All organisations should be aware of their stakeholders. These range from
suppliers through to clients and also include all the employees in the organisation itself. The engagement of
stakeholders is particularly important when implementing standards because their co-operation is essential to
success – for example, if a particular supplier has no interest in sustainability issues it can undermine the
attempts of your organisation to be sustainable. It will be wise for an organisation to consult with its
stakeholders in advance of implementation so that they are on board from the outset
• Resourcing the implementation: It is essential that the implementation is properly resourced. This may
include a number of aspects – finance, appropriate staff, training and promotion. As noted above all it
requires management commitment, without which implementation can be lacklustre and destined to failure.
• Auditing – monitoring and evaluating the implementation: If the objective setting has been SMART it
should have identified the ways in which progress can be measured. These will be individual to particular
organisations and will depend on the targets established. It will be useful to have specific individuals
responsible for the collection of the relevant data. Use of spreadsheets can be useful in recording the results.
Individual measures will be variable but could include things such as: º lower energy use; º reduced use of
water; º lower food miles; º reduced volumes of waste; or º increased recycling. Audit needs to be systematic
and regular. The data need careful evaluation (see next section) and divergences from targets need to be
identified. Where these are negative it may be necessary to revise aspects of the implementation. If they are
positive, however, milestones have been reached and should be celebrated.
• Management reviewing: Finally, management must review the success of imple- mentation to establish
whether targets have been met and whether the implemen- tation has been BS 8901 compliant. Positive
Impacts Events, for example, put into place an event debrief post-event which identified whether the
sustainability objectives were achieved. The results showed that Positive Impact achieved the following in
relation to their objectives: º Delivered a BS 8901 compliant event º Benchmarked the event º Demonstrated
best practice º Engaged and educated supply chain º Educated delegates on how to minimise the impact of
future events.
ISO 20121 BS 8901 was first published on 30 November 2007. It was revised and reissued in September
2009. It has now evolved into a new international standard, ISO 20121, launched in the summer of 2012
(after the completion of this manuscript) to coincide with the London Olympic Games. This is the first
international standard for sustainability management systems and will replace BS 8901 after a transition
period of two or three years, although organisations certified against BS 8901 will be able to achieve
certification against the international standard by having a transition audit. According to the company SGS,
ISO20121 will, like BS8901, have commercial benefits. They argue that it will: [ cerca “roadmap for
implementation of 8091”].
• provide assurance to stakeholders, customers and anyone else involved, that the event has been planned
and implemented in a sustainable manner;
• help differentiate an organisation from its competitors, helping to win new business, improve reputation
and brand image;
• help to reduce carbon emissions and waste and improve resource efficiency of the entire event supply
chain; and
• improve relationships with the employees, local communities, suppliers and other relevant stakeholders.
Events and the Environment
Author: Robert Case.
Publisher: Routledge Ltd
Published 02 May, 2013
Case R. (2013) Events and the Environment Routledge Ltd