A group of major event brands, led by ICE (In-house Corporate Events), is calling for event industry input into the continued development of an event sustainability measurement tool that will be free of charge and applicable for every event. The group includes ICE, Maritz Global Events, DRPG, Cvent, ACC Liverpool and Encore, each of whom have helped fund the ‘BETA’ version of the web app.
The launch of the BETA version, simply named ‘SAM’, will enable wider input from businesses throughout the events industry, in order to fulfil the group’s ambitions to make the tool as credible, universal and easy to use as humanly possible. Already, the tool will measure the carbon output on; accommodation, food, travel, room usage, and comms, with a unique feature that talks to delegates through the app, in order to track their travel which then feeds back into the event carbon measurement.
The outreach programme will also include feedback from a global network of in-house corporate event organisers brought together through the ICE community.
“One of the issues that the web app will immediately combat is the need to provide credible data, regardless of the size of the event,” commented Dale Parmenter, DRPG. “This outreach programme is critical to its development, as it’s important that the thinking behind the technology represents every kind of event, from brand activations to global conferences. It means that the technology will be universal, as well as free of charge. At DRPG we have a more in-depth tool to measure the four pillars of sustainability and we feel that SAM will allow planners to begin addressing their own sustainability goals by measuring their event’s carbon output.”
At its heart, SAM will be a visual carbon measurement tool that is both simple and free to use. Event organisers will quickly be able to input event data, with delegates adding travel details, resulting in a carbon measurement for the organiser to monitor year on year. This score can be added to post event reports to show stakeholders the event departments that are ahead of the game in sustainable events.
The data will also be attributed on an event-by-event basis. The event will then be able to look at how they can both improve future performance and offset any negative impacts it has made in a responsible way. Equally, SAM is being built on an open-source code so event planners can copy without starting from scratch. It also has an open API, so that it can connect with other systems, such as Cvent’s market-leading Event Marketing & Management Platform.
“By integrating ‘SAM’ with our Cvent platform, it will help organisations paint a clearer picture of their overall event impact – both on their business and the environment,” commented Felicia Asiedu, Cvent. “We are delighted to support this innovative ICE initiative and to work with other industry leaders on the development of a new tool that can help event organisers deliver better, more sustainable events.”
The involvement of delegates is a crucial part of the journey,” commented David Caldwell, Maritz Global Events. “Increasingly we, as event planners, need to take responsibility for the full breadth of the event, including outside of the room activities such as delegate travel, food sourcing, and transportation costs of materials and production. If we can bring delegates into the monitoring of our meetings, we can share information, understanding, and make them a part of the solution.”
“As a top priority we, as event organisers and service providers, need to reduce the impact of our events as far as we can. But we can do much more. We can go further and transform our events so that they have a positive impact on our climate and on our society. SAM is a great tool to support us on this important journey and will allow us to make data-driven decisions,” added Fiona Robson, Encore EMEA.
“All the climate change movements clearly predict humans need to change their behaviours and activities to save our plant,” commented Anita Howard, Founder & CEO, ICE. “Our research consistently tells us that measurement is the key to everything for corporates, and that is exactly what this tool is designed to do. Accurately and credibly. We hope this will commence the carbon journey for organisers who then will move onto more sophisticated carbon measure tools. SAM is in Beta mode until September 2022 so please use and feedback improvement.”
For more information on SAM, visit its URL: Eventsam.app.
