Phew. Well, that’s sustainability done then.
Cop26? Over. Now we can carry on as before, yes? Winning & delivering great events – and still trying to answer what a hybrid event looks like.
If you’re so good at planning sustainable events it’s totally the norm, move on…there’s nothing to see here.
On the other hand, if you suspect there’s quite a lot more work to be done until we, the event community, manage to get anywhere close to truly carbon-neutral events, read on…
HSBC survey 10,000 businesses in their Navigator report annually. Over the last two years, 86% expect to see an increase in revenue due to sustainable activities. Reuters agrees. Sustainable companies do better than those with weaker credentials.
Rishi Sunak has reiterated his commitment that “large business [will be] required to report climate-risk-related information.”.
One Head of Events at a global CRM recently told EventDecision that “We expect our agencies to keep up with our sustainable goals AND to act sustainably on our behalf.”
Our clients therefore have a financial incentive, a regulatory environment and a genuine desire to “do better”. So, if you have mastered the art of planning and delivering events with truly minimal impact, brilliant. Please spread the know-how.
If otherwise, like most, you are eager to learn how to do this, there is good news. Most other sectors are ahead of Events. Even the automotives. They’ve turned sustainability into a marketing art-form. Hybrid vehicle anyone? But they do show us how to transform an industry. Not overnight, but step-by-step.
The short version (thank you McKinsey) is this:
Be transparent – to do this you have to be able to measure your event impact. Products like TRACK from EventDecision can do this for you.
Educate – There are great courses on designing and delivering events with reduced impact. Some prudent search-tool activity shows these quite simply.
Rebuild – starting the two sections, above, does this for us. Ask your own supply chain to do the same. Oh, and probably a small thing about ‘hybrid’ fits neatly into this section.
But where to start?
Measure. You can remove as many single-use plastics and as much carpet as you like. And you should. But you’ll never demonstrate your value to your client or boss unless you measure the impact.
Then you really can start to help report on the impact of your event activities, add value and be a useful part of the event supply chain. Phew.
Matt Grey is the founder of EventDecision, supporting planners in making better decisions in sustainable events. www.EventDecision.com
