Ways the event industry can act sustainably, even as demand for in-person experiences rises

By Sarah Yeats, Managing Director, Sledge

The topic of sustainability has become more and more prevalent within the event industry in recent years, and with all in-person experiences put on hold at the height of the pandemic, it really highlighted how we can minimise our carbon footprint as a sector.

At the same time, it’s innate to the human condition to crave real, live, face-to-face experiences, and throughout the summer we saw festivals attended by revellers in their thousands, and even on the corporate side we’ve been working on in-person experiences that have attracted in excess of 1,000 people.

So how can we balance minimising our environmental impact as an industry, while also catering to audiences' needs and creating engaging physical spaces for them to connect in?

Create an all-inclusive industry framework

There are a number of sustainability-led organisations and initiatives within our industry, but I wonder what the sector-wide uptake is here. If we’re not sharing sustainability resources (which should be free and accessible to all), tools, news and advice across all facets of the sector, from suppliers and agencies, to festival organisers and brands, there’s not really a level playing field here.

Furthermore, figures are great, but ultimately they won’t truly reflect how sustainable (or not) our industry really is if it doesn’t recognise all types of events. Instead, we’re going to see the adoption of sustainable practices concentrated in particular sub-sectors of the industry ​​– those who have resources tailored to them, when this should be an issue we all tackle and collaborate on together.

An all-inclusive framework will allow all of those who work within our industry to take action and play their part, and we can then begin to benchmark every type of event out there. This will lead to the formulation of an industry-wide standard, which could even look beyond the UK due to its inclusive and versatile nature.

Measure, relay and revert

While in an ideal world we’d have one measurement tool for the industry only, as this would ensure consistency across the board and allow for accurate benchmarking, it’s important to leverage what we have in the now, as I’m confident there will be more developments in this area in the future. The United Nations, for example, is working on developing a free GHG emissions calculator for the event industry, and we’re all being invited to provide data about our events to help them create an as informed tool as possible.

Existing measurement tools which can be used to assess the environmental impact of an event include TRACE from industry body, isla and EventTrack from Event Decision. In an ideal world, once we have this data, we can relay it to our teams, who develop creative-led solutions (more on that in a moment) for minimising an event’s emissions, and we then revert back to our clients with both the figures and ideas around how we can reduce emissions, while still creating engaging experiences for their audiences. Hopefully, they are onboard with them, and we’re on our way to bringing a more sustainable and equally compelling event to life.

Develop and commit to sustainable solutions, including when budgeting

A lot of us still aren’t sure where or how we should be charging sustainability related work – whether that’s the cost of a measurement tool or investing in more expensive materials because they are recyclable, and of course the head hours that come with this – or who exactly the responsibility should fall under.

From an event agency standpoint, I believe it’s our role to proactively step up and support our clients in this area, and we should include sustainability simply as another line item in our budgets, in the same place the event essentials like insurances sit. Event agencies are the experts when it comes to producing events, so they should recognise this and remain committed to educating and encouraging clients to embrace more eco-friendly experience practices, by providing strategically and creatively-led solutions and robust explanations as to why this is the right route for them to take.

No more passing the buck - let’s hone in on our responsibilities

No matter who you are or what part of the supply chain you’re involved in, sustainability is everyone's responsibility. At Sledge we firmly believe that event agencies should be leading the way when it comes to sustainability, by educating our clients about it, and, in an ideal world ​​– working within a standardised, industry-wide model to develop creative and sustainably-led events that also deliver ROI for all involved.