Posted by

Barry Siskind

Community Manager

 

 

Emma Wellman, chair of the UK Association of Events Venues explores sustainability for exhibitions in a recent article in Exhibition News. http://www.exhibitionnews.co.uk/eventsdetail.php?id=49

 

Her thesis is that while sustainability has traditionally been about protecting the environment and “balancing the needs of people and industry on the planet,” for some it is a “route to improve efficiency and cost-savings”.  As an example she looks at the challenge posed by transportation during the set-up phase, where vehicles arrive at the venue with a full charge, unload, then leave the venue empty.

 

Emma’s article is well-worth the read.  She takes a look at the existing UK BS 8901 standard (Specification for a Sustainable Event Management System) which provided a good basis for the development of the ISO 20121 international management system standard which will soon be out for public comment.

 

UFI  backs both the ISO 20121 project and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) supplement also currently under development.  The GRI EOSS draft which aims to provide the events industry with reporting guidelines on sustainability, is now open for public comment at http://www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/SectorSupplements/Events/

 

Your input is important, so don’t forget to provide your comments on the GRI draft too.