Sustainable event management, or SEM, is the practice of minimizing an event’s environmental footprint through the development of principles addressing the event’s environmental, economic, and social impacts on the communities and stakeholders involved. The growing worldwide interest and attention to climate change has led to an increased interest and growth in developing new practices and techniques to empower events to adopt sustainability programs. Advances in technology and new professional organizations throughout the world have enabled event producers, venues, attendees, sponsors, and communities to make the commitment to executing greener events. Sustainability features can include, but not limited to: Why Sustainability? Sustainability at your event has benefits other than positively impacting the environment. When done correctly, sustainability can generate: History of Sustainable Event Management The growth of the sustainable event management industry has been expedited in recent years with the increased attention on climate change. As the importance of sustainability began to gain traction in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, event producers and environmental advocates began to look for ways to incorporate greening options into events. As greener practices became more socially acceptable, events began to slowly incorporate programming options to appeal to the societal shift and the millennial generation, who have grown up with the expectation of sustainable business practices. In 2007, in anticipation for the 2012 London Summer Olympics,the UK developed the British Standard for Sustainable Event Management (BS 8901). It was the first international standards designed solely for the execution of sustainable events.In June 2012, a proposal was successfully passed by ISO – The International Standard Organization – and ISO 20121:2012 Event sustainability management systems –-was adopted as the worldwide standard in sustainable event management. Today, there are three primary international sustainability certifications events can attain (not including local, regional programs, or sport specific certifications). We will discuss certifications in a later blog post. Increased standardization has led to better comprehension for event producers and event sustainability professionals to align for the common goal to reducing events’ negative impacts. In the years since the implementation of ISO 20121, hundreds of events, organizers and suppliers, have taken action through the ISO and APEX/STEM standards to become more sustainable, while thousands of others have been inspired to examine more closely how they can become more sustainable. Where to Start The ISO 20121 and APEX/ASTM standards can be complex, expensive, and time consuming to receive certification and may not be applicable to the scope or type of your event. The standards provide the framework and procedural requirements in the event management planning process. Regardless of event type, budget, or desire to achieve a professional certification, there are three primary phases of event management to take into consideration as you start your sustainability journey: Early commitments and buy-in from your staff, sponsors, and stakeholders are critical to the success of your sustainability program. Do not feel pressure to achieve everything in your first year. Sustainability programs are best when implemented in a phased approach. Call our office if you’re interested in getting your program started; we love to talk trash and we’d love to support you and your staff! Phone: 269-382-2200 or via email at events@schupan.com.