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On average, international events emit over 2,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases, which is the equivalent to what 270 UK citizens emit in a whole year.

The events industry has been under scrutiny for a number of years in regard to its sustainability, with many factors such as international and domestic travel and exhibition waste to consider, it’s quite a beast to tackle!

Back in 2012, to coincide with the London Olympics, a new Standard dedicated to Sustainable Events Management was launched. ISO 20121 provides a robust framework for those seeking to take actionable steps to tackle their sustainability, such as todays’ guest FESPA.   

In this episode Ian is joined by Graeme Richardson-Locke, Head of Associations & Technical Lead at FESPA, to discuss FESPA’s journey towards achieving ISO 20121, the challenges faced along the way and benefits felt from certification.

You’ll learn

• Who is Graeme Richardson-Locke?
• Who are FESPA?
• What was the main driver behind obtaining ISO 20121?
• What was the biggest gap identified in the initial Gap Analysis?
• What did FESPA learn from the experience of implementing ISO 20121?
• What are the main benefits of ISO 20121 certification?

Resources

• FESPA
• FESPA Sustainability Spotlight
• Isologyhub

In this episode, we talk about:

[02:05] Episode Summary – We welcome today’s guest, Graeme Richardson-Locke, Head of Associations & Technical Lead at FESPA, to discuss their journey towards achieving the best practice standard for Sustainable Event Management – ISO 20121.

[02:40] Who is Graeme?: Graeme has spent 40 years in the print sector, from textiles to graphics to industrial printing. Starting from an apprenticeship in screen printing, which moved onto industrial printing and then finally into digital print.

A little known fact about Graeme, he used to live on a goat farm on the Isle of Isla in the inner Hebrides. He speaks fondly of his time in a small community of just over 3,000 people, taking long walks and admiring the rich landscape.

[06:00] Who are FESPA? – FESPA is the global Federation of National Specialty Print Trade Association.

They work to support visual communication businesses in wide format and production of wide format products, so this includes things like garment decoration, interior décor, signage and industrial products.

Their association have members across 37 countries with around 1400 businesses within their membership. They ultimately seek to reinvest their profits for the purpose of inspiring, educating and growing the industry.

Their roots can be found in creativity, with some of their founding members coming from a background of screen printing.

[09:55] What is the scope of FESPA’s ISO 20121 certification? Currently it extends to their major European based exhibition – Global Print Expo, which also includes their European Sign Expo.

They thought it best to roll out certification to the Standard against their largest event.

Outside of the certification scope (so far) they do run events in Mexico, Brazil, Africa and the Middle East. It would be much too large of an undertaking trying to certify all their events initially, so they started with the European events with a view to expand their scope of certification at a later date.

[11:05] What was the main driver for achieving ISO 20121? Their was a clear need for sustainability related materials to be made available to their members. So FESPA started to develop a guide on sustainability certification schemes, a glossary of terms and a calculating carbon guide.

As a result, they set-up a feature on their website called Sustainability Spotlight, which highlights new sustainability produced materials coming to market. So it was clearly a topic of focus for their members.

They also sought to increase the positive impact they can have within their community, reduce the negative impacts and further develop their overall value.

[13:05] The ethical way forward – As an internal advocate, Graeme wanted to put forward a proposal for something that was really meaningful and not just a greenwashing exercise. This is something that seeking certification, which includes third-party verification, can provide.

[13:35] How long did it take FESPA to achieve ISO 20121? – FESPA began looking into the Standard back in 2022, but it was mired with other turbulence that needed their focus. The pandemic, the war in Ukraine, supply disruption and inflation, there was a lot happening in a short space of time.

They made a start on their journey in the Summer of 2022, but it was slow going as they were still building back from the pandemic. The slow burn picked up speed in 2023, with their certification being secured in May 2024.

[15:45] What was the biggest Gap identified during the Gap Analysis? FESPA have a lot of talented members, with a lot of competence, but the experience of creating formalised policies, procedures and a Management System that had to meet the set requirements of the Standard was a learning curve.

FESPA didn’t have the benefit of other ISO certifications, and this was the first time they were implementing an audited Standard, so the whole process was very eye opening.

[16:40] What impact did Implementing ISO 20121 have on FESPA? It provided a new perspective on their business, and has helped to develop a greater awareness of sustainable development opportunities.

An example of this includes when they started to really dig deeper into how they build and run events, from stand materials to catering. They found that switching their stand build materials to fiber build materials reduced their carbon footprint by 90%!

By simply thinking more carefully about what they were doing, they managed to make a massive carbon reduction, with an appetite to reduce this even further.

They worked with a company called Quota to calculate their carbon emissions, as they didn’t have that particular expertise in-house.

With that massive reduction as a motivator, they are now looking at stand material lifecycle, with a view to use more recycled materials that can be reprocessed.

[19:00] An eye opening experience –  Completing exercises like a SWOT and PESTLE and rolling out a risk register which is reviewed on a quarterly basis, allows them to really keep an eye on how things are changing and any available opportunities.  

All of these feed into their objective setting for the next year, establishing a solid path of progression to drive the business forward.

[20:10] Keeping up with an ever changing world: FESPA have molded their Management to suit the way they work, which is not linear.

Venues change ever year, and it’s critical that their management system assist in asking the right questions for new event locations.

One of their recent events took place in The Rye in Amsterdam, and they had zero emissions relating to energy because the Rye had their own sustainability related policies and procedures in place.  

[21:15] The event industry’s collective effort: Many venues and other businesses involved in the events sector are large organisations with high energy consumption.

Many will already fall under legislative requirements to address and reduce their energy consumption. So, everyone is working in step with each other for the most part.

FESPA’s own members are showing trends of steering more towards utilising more sustainable materials such as recycled fabrics, as these have less weight, less cost to ship and more opportunity for reprocessing.

It’s still very much a work in progress, but it’s being driven in the right direction.

[24:20] Graeme’s Top Tip:  The power of systematic thinking, Implementing a Management System requires a new way of working.

Graeme ran into trouble when first providing auditable evidence, as it was not something FESPA had ever done before. They encountered a minor non-conformance for F gas leakage in their head office air conditioning, and while they could confirm that their provider was F gas certified but they hadn’t checked to make sure the certificate was in date.

Little examples like this proved that they need a more systematic approach in all aspects of the business to ensure they complied with all relevant regulations, while also providing a solid framework for continual improvement.

[26:15] Celebrating ISO Success: Graeme was fortunate to attend a Certificate ceremony, put on by their Certification Body, BSI. The acknowledgement of not only his effort, but others who had been through a similar experience made for a fantastic celebration of FESPA’s achievements.

[27:20] Graeme’s book recommendation: Green Swans, The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism – By John Elkington

[29:15] Chris’s favourite quote: The biggest threat to this planet is the belief that someone else will save it – Robert Swan

If you would like to learn more about FESPA, and their sustainability initiatives, visit their website.

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ISO 20121:2012, the Standard for Sustainable events management, was originally created and launched in coordination with the London 2012 olympics. 12 years on, it seems only fitting that its next revision would applied to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

10 Years on from it’s original release, the Standard has received a substantial update to not only bring it in-line with other ISO Standards, but to also address additional elements within event management, such as human rights and legacy.

Today Steph Churchman will explain the changes to ISO 20121:2024, what certified companies must do to transition and the consequences of not doing so before the deadline.

You’ll learn

• What is ISO 20121?
• What are the changes to ISO 20121:2024?
• What steps should certified companies take to complete their transition?
• What should you be updating?
• What are the consequences for not completing your transition ahead of the deadline?

Resources

• Isologyhub

In this episode, we talk about:

[00:30] Join the isologyhub – To get access to a suite of ISO related tools, training and templates. Simply head on over to isologyhub.com to either sign-up or book a demo.

[02:05] Episode summary: Steph will be discussing the changes to the Sustainable Event Management Standard, ISO 20121:2024, in addition to outlining what you should be updating ahead of your transition to the latest version of the Standard.

[02:30] What is ISO 20121? – . The Standard for Sustainable events management was originally created and launched in coordination with the London 2012 olympics.

When it came to planning the 2012 Olympic Games, they took a step back and considered the impact of required development and construction would have on biodiversity, as well as how they could reduce their Greenhouse Gas emissions and general waste in the preparation and running of the event.

12 years on, it seems only fitting that it’s next revision would applied to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

ISO 20121 specifies the requirements for an Event Sustainability Management System to improve the sustainability of events. The standard applies to all types and sizes of organisations involved in the events industry – from caterers, lighting and sound engineers, security companies, stage builders and venues to independent event organisers and corporate and public sector event teams.

[04:45] A high-level overview of the changes to ISO 20121:2024 – One of the biggest and most welcomed changes is the fact that the Standard is now aligned with the familiar High Level Structure that many other ISO’s follow. This means it will be easier to integrate with other Standards like ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.

Next, there is a bigger focus on climate change, legacy and human rights. These elements weren’t necessarily missing from the previous version, but they weren’t a key focus either.

 [05:10] Climate Change in ISO 20121:2024 – , ISO 20121:2024 now explicitly requires considering climate change and its impact on your event and stakeholders. So, this might involve carbon emission reduction strategies and adapting to potential climate-related disruptions. Biodiveristy may also fall under this, especially if your events require construction, or take place in an outside venue such as a park or field.

A quick reminder that 31 common ISO Standards also received a Climate Change Amendment, so if you haven’t addressed that yet, check out our podcast episode and workshop recording to learn about what you need to do.

What does this focus on climate change mean for certified companies?:

• It provides an opportunity for event professionals and event organisers to demonstrate leadership in taking action around climate change
• Certified organisations are required to ensure that any carbon offsetting completed via carbon credits are credible
• ISO 20121:2024 Standard facilitates the process of taking credible action and aligns ISO 20121 with big changes relating to climate change

[06:55] Human Rights in ISO 20121:2024  – The new version also expands beyond environmental concerns to encompass human and child rights, social impact (including mental health and diversity), and digital responsibility. Your management system will need to address these aspects throughout the event lifecycle.

What does the increased focus on human rights in ISO 20121 mean for certified organisations?:

• Certified organisations will need to demonstrate and adhere to UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
• The revised standard also now references social impact in its definitions – primarily in the definition for Sustainable Development and Stewardship.
• A new Annex has been added – Annex D: Guidance on Human and Child Rights.
• Added guidance states that event organisers should consult with Human and Child Rights experts and conduct a Human Rights Assessment to identify potential risks to the people as a result of an event and its surrounding activities.
• You should publish a Human Rights Policy to ensure that Human Rights consideration is embedded in the whole lifecycle of an event.

[08:40] Legacy in ISO 20121:2024 – An added focus on Legacy provides an opportunity to event organisers to focus, not only on the few days of event delivery, but also supports in creating enduring results for the hosting community.

For example, creating an economic impact for the local population, by providing the opportunity to acquire new skills, to share best practices on how to do events in a more sustainable way or by improving a public place close to the event.

[09:20] Join the isologyhub and get access to limitless ISO resources  – From as little as £99 a month, you can have unlimited access to hundreds of online training courses and achieve certification for completion of courses along the way, which will take you from learner to practitioner to leader in no time. Simply head on over to the isologyhub to sign-up or book a demo.

[11:30] A strengthening of Stakeholder Engagement – The Standard now emphasizes demonstrating sustainability throughout your supply chain. This might involve you requesting proof of sustainability practices from vendors and incorporating ethical sourcing practices.

The definition of stakeholders has also now been expanded to include partners and sponsors. So, you’ll need to consider how their sustainability practices align with your event’s goals.

The policy clause now requires reporting on your sustainability achievements and lessons learned. Building a system for tracking and reporting these aspects will be crucial, and will likely involve a lot more communication between your stakeholders to gather any necessary data for reporting purposes.

[12:35] alignment and flexibility – The updated standard aligns with other management system standards thanks to the high level structure update, making integration easier for organizations with existing systems.

The revised standard also caters to events of all sizes and complexities, allowing for adaptation to your specific needs.

There’s now alignment with Global Frameworks, like the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) and the Paris Agreement. If you’d like to learn more about the SDG’s, check out a few previous podcast episodes: 106, 107 & 108.

[13:30] Transition Deadline – What happens if you miss it? –  Anyone certified to the 2012 version of the Standard will have until the 31st March 2027 to transition to the 2024 version.

If you don’t, you’ll risk losing your certification, and you’ll have to go through the whole Stage 1 and 2 Assessment again to get that certificate back, which is obviously quite costly.

[14:15] What do you need to do to transition? – Here’s a very high-level of the steps you should take:

• Review and conduct a Gap Analysis: This is to compare your existing system against the new standard’s requirements to identify areas needing improvement.
• Update your Policies and Procedures: specifically your event sustainability policy to reflect the broader range of sustainability issues and incorporate reporting requirements.
• Develop a plan to engage with a wider range of stakeholders, including sponsors and partners, on sustainability initiatives.
• Review your Supply Chain Management: This will involve establishing or updating procedures for assessing and integrating sustainability practices throughout your vendor network.
• Training and Awareness: Any and all changes should be communicated. Educate your team on the new standard’s requirements and integrate them into event planning and execution processes.
• Carry out Internal Audits: Once you’ve implemented the changes, audit against the new Standard and ensure you’re compliant. Then you’ll need to prepare for your Certification Body Transition visit.

[15:30] What Specific actions can you take to update your ISO 20121 Management System?

Here are some suggested actions to address Human Rights and Children’s Rights:

• Update your event sustainability policy to explicitly state your commitment to respecting human rights and children’s rights throughout the event lifecycle.
• Update your Risk Assessments as you’re going to need to identify potential human rights risks associated with your event, such as discrimination in hiring or unfair labour practices within the supply chain.
• Review your Supplier Management as you’ll need to ensure your suppliers uphold human rights standards.
• Engage with relevant stakeholders like human rights organizations or local communities to understand potential human rights concerns and incorporate their feedback into your planning.

A few other actions you could do include:

• Partnering with organizations promoting fair labor practices and human rights.
• Including human rights clauses in contracts with suppliers and partners.
• Conduct training for staff on identifying and mitigating human rights risks.
• Implementing a grievance process for reporting potential human rights violations.

[17:00] What further actions can you take to address Legacy?:

• Integrate legacy planning into the early stages of event development. Consider aspects like infrastructure, also workforce development (for example training opportunities for local communities), and universal accessibility for people with disabilities.
• Develop metrics to measure the positive legacy of your event. This could involve tracking the number of jobs created, increased accessibility measures implemented, or infrastructure donated to the community.
• Consider the potential to partner with local organizations to ensure the event’s legacy benefits the community in the long term. This might involve collaborating on infrastructure projects or workforce development initiatives.
• You should also Conduct a post-event impact assessment to evaluate the event’s legacy.

[18:00] Reporting on the social, economic and environmental impacts – The first step should be to develop a Reporting Framework: This framework should consider relevant metrics for social (e.g., job creation, diversity), economic (e.g., local business involvement), and environmental (e.g., carbon footprint, waste generation) impacts.

Next, you need to Implement a system for collecting and analyzing data related to your event’s social, economic, and environmental performance.

And lastly, choose appropriate communication channels for your sustainability report, such as your website, annual reports, or dedicated sustainability reports.

You could look at specific reporting software or get help from a third-party such as Blackmores.  

We’d recommend purchasing a copy of the Standard so you can review the specific changes yourself, in addition to reviewing the updated guidance provided in the Annexes.

If you’d like to book a demo for the isologyhub, simply contact us and we’d be happy to give you a tour.

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:

• Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
• Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episodes:

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The UK events industry accounts for 35% of the UK visitor economy and is estimated to be worth £42 billion, yet it is still incredibly wasteful, with 68% of waste going directly to landfill.

Haymarket Media Group is a global media data and information company, who offer a wide range of digital print, tech and live event services. Haymarket UK had been certified to ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) and ISO 50001 (Energy Management) for a few years prior to 2019, covering most aspects of their business from a sustainability point of view.

However, their live events still had many sustainability opportunities that were not being taken into consideration by their existing certifications. So, in early 2022 they embarked on their journey to gain ISO 20121 (Sustainable Event Management) certification. 

Today, Gary Charlton and Natalie Harris from Haymarket join Mel to discuss exactly why they added ISO 20121 to their portfolio, the challenges faced with Implementing the Standard, and the benefits gained from certification.

You’ll learn

• Who are Haymarket?
• What is ISO 20121 Sustainable Event Management?
• Why did Haymarket choose to Implement ISO 20121?
• What challenges did they face?
• What are the benefits of ISO 20121?

Resources

• Haymarket Media
• ISO 20121
• isologyhub

In this episode, we talk about:

[00:50] An Introduction to Haymarket Media Group – A global media data and information company, with offices in the UK, US, Germany, India and Asia. They produce live events (including award ceremonies, conferences and exhibitions), digital print, education data and tech services.

[02:25] Gary Charlton is the Head of Procurement for the UK –  Part of his role includes supporting the Haymarket approach towards sustainability, to ensure their products and services are as environmentally and socially sustainable as possible.

[02:45] Natalie Harris is the Procurement Executive at Haymarket – A lot of her role revolves around live events in addition to purchasing our products and services. Additionally, she advises the wider team on buying legally, sustainably and ethically. Both Natalie and Gary form a team, and were the main driving force behind the creation of their Sustainable Event Management System.

[03:40] What is ISO 20121?: ISO 20121 was launched for, and named after, the 2012 Olympics, making it the worlds first sustainable Olympics!  The Standard provides a framework for managing events sustainably, that includes having the policies, procedures, registers and records to demonstrate that the events are being run in a sustainable manner. Being certified indicates that a company is not just paying lip service to sustainability, it’s actually practicing what they preach. If you’d like to learn more about ISO 20121, go back and listen to episode 38.

[05:30] What was the main driver behind Haymarket achieving ISO 20121?: Haymarket first contacted Blackmores about assisting with ISO 20121 Implementation in 2019. At the time, they were already certified to ISO 14001 and ISO 50001, so they understood the benefits that came with ISO certifications – including the framework to start making better decisions and accurately measure what you’re doing.

Their head of facilities had started the process of evaluating other areas they could improve with ISO Standards, particularly around sustainability. Live events are a large service offering for Haymarket, which has a significant environmental footprint, so a case was put forward for the benefits if reducing that impact with the help of ISO 20121. The team running their live events were very positive about the potential benefits presented, and the go ahead was given.

[07:20] Sustainability is central to how Haymarket wants to operate – Implementing ISO 20121 would ensure that there was more standardisation across their processes. This would introduce some uniformity that could apply to all types of events, which was very important to the Live event lead – Donna Murphy.

Natalie was in the right place at the right time, already in the position of working in collaboration with Haymarket’s Live events team on sustainable procurement, ensuring that due diligence was followed with suppliers and their accreditations. So, it was a no-brainer getting her on board with the ISO 20121 project!

[09:30] How long did it take to implement ISO 20121?:  Haymarket engaged in Blackmores services in February 2022 and were accredited by July 2023. In total, it took 18 months for the planning, creation and development ahead of the assessment.

They ensured the system was refined to ensure it worked efficiently, encouraging continual improvement and a harmonious approach for the whole business.

[11:15] Above and beyond: Haymarket received a lot of praise from their Assessor – highlighting their thoroughness, including the involvement of top management and many others within the organisation in the creation of the Management System. Also for ensuring that the system would be applicable for the 4 main types of events that Haymarket runs.

[12:00] ISO 20121 requires an audit to be conducted during a live event – So Haymarket had a lot to consider when selecting the event to be audited.  

[13:30] Haymarket’s key insights on Implementing ISO 20121: #1: The Gap Analysis was an integral part of the process – by highlighting the gaps you can clearly see where improvements can be made. While they may have been a bit crestfallen and daunted by the gaps presented, they came out if knowing they already had around 27% of a Sustainable Event Management system already in place – partly due to their existing certifications. 

This soon bumped up to 59% at the half-way checkpoint! This assured them that ISO 20121 was within reach, and simply required at bit of time and effort to achieve.

#2 Having leadership involvement and backing – They were quick to involve their live event lead, Donna Murphy, in key decision making and with the roll-out of the Management System. She was instrumental in ensuring the Standard was in place and being followed.

[18:45] What were some of the gap identified and how did Haymarket bridge them?  Required documentation – Many ISO standards have required documentation. A lot of times companies do have a lot of it place, but it’s simply just not formalised. Natalie highlights that this was the case with a Risk Register. It’s not a universal company need to have, but as part of the Procurement Team it’s simply a part of who they are and what they do.

For live events, they need to do the appropriate health and safety checks, but it wasn’t formalised in any way. Thankfully their facilities and environment specialist, who assisted with the existing ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 certifications, was on hand to help with the creation of risk procedures based on procedures from the existing Management System.

With this collaborative approach, using elements from the exiting Management System, they created 31 brand new documents consisting of Procedures, Registers, Log and Records that are continuously used, monitored and updated.

This new documentation, while a lot of work to create, ultimately helps Haymarket track, measure and set parameter’s for continuous Improvement. It ensured they have a really visual system, with a clear view of what needs to be done to run sustainable events. 

[23:00] What difference has Implementing ISO 20121 made?: There was a big amount of short-time work for a long term gain. It’s not simply a stack of useless documents sitting in a corner, it’s a living, breathing system that is injected into the business.

The Management system is of benefit to everyone, including those new to Haymarket’s team as it provides a structured and standardised approach to sustainable event delivery. It’s provided knowledge and helped to develop new skills that will stick with all those that interact with the Management system, whether they stay with Haymarket or move elsewhere.

Ultimately, it’s all about ensuring they are doing the right thing for the planet. By creating more sustainable events, they are reducing their impact as a whole.

[26:00] What is the main achievement from being certified to ISO 20121?: Morale and confidence that they can say they really do practice what they preach. They could hold a mirror up and say, right, we’ve created this system and we’re confident in it – with internal audits conducted by third-parities to confirm they’re on the right track with their intended goals.

Certification is not the end goal. You have annual Surveillance Audits to check-in, so the system must be a long-term feature in your business, and it must drive continual improvement.

[27:50] What top tip would Gary and Natalie give for ISO 20121 Implementation? Gary: Make sure you’re resolute in your reasoning for Implementing the standard and the implications of doing so. Also, enlist the help of someone with Implementation experience!

Natalie: Don’t underestimate the amount of work required. Select someone in-house to manage the project and when / if you can, use external resources such as a consultant to assist. They can also provide unbias, reflective feedback to ensure you’re on the right track.

[30:10] What’s a favorite quote? “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it” – Robert Swan

If you’d like to learn more about Haymarket check out their website!

We’d love to hear your views and comments about the ISO Show, here’s how:

• Share the ISO Show on Twitter or Linkedin
• Leave an honest review on iTunes or Soundcloud. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one.

Subscribe to keep up-to-date with our latest episode’s:

Stitcher | Spotify | YouTube | iTunes | Soundcloud |