ISO
Stand up and be counted
GETTING ISO CERTIFICATION TO RECOGNISE THE SUSTAINABLE CREDENTIALS OF YOUR BUSINESS
ISN’T AS EXPENSIVE – OR AS COMPLICATED – AS YOU MIGHT THINK. STUART WOOD REPORTS
e could forgive you for not
remembering the name – it
doesn’t exactly roll off the
tongue.
But ISO 20121: Sustainable Events serves
an important role in the events industry:
it is currently the only internationally
recognised standard for sustainability in
our sector. That means that if your
business has ISO 20121 certification, it
has demonstrated its ability to address
sustainability issues to the International
Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).
In an age of increasing climate
awareness, this is no longer just an
optional extra, but a necessity. Being able
to prove the sustainable credentials of
your business can separate it from those
that simply talk the talk. There are,
however, still many misconceptions
surrounding ISO certification, and many
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
small event businesses write the
standard off, thinking they don’t have the
time or the resources to make use of it.
Using ISO 20121 doesn’t just mean
paying to have a team of professional
auditors inspect your business. There are
three levels of ISO certification, and the
first only costs around USD$130: you
can be first-party certified, second-party
certified, or third-party certified.
First-party certification simply means
paying a one-time fee to purchase the
standard, and putting the process into
practice yourself. There is a wealth of
information to be found in the standard,
and much of it can be implemented to
make your business more sustainable at
little or no cost.
Second-party certification means
getting another business in your field
which is also ISO certified to check
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yours. Again, this doesn’t have to cost
anything: it can be a mutually beneficial
exercise for two companies to exchange
their knowledge around sustainability.
Third-party certification is what most
people think of when they think of the
ISO. This means inviting a team of
independent inspectors to audit your
business, ensuring it complies with
standard requirements. There is a cost
associated with this service, but the
upside is being able to demonstrate that
your business’ sustainability practice has
been independently checked.
“The biggest myth around the ISO is
the money myth,” says Fiona Pelham,
CEO of Positive Impact. “Purchasing the
standard itself only comes with a small
cost, but the implementation of it is
where you get the value. The key thing is
to talk to your suppliers, interested
parties, and anyone else in your network.
Get them involved, and ask them what
they think the biggest sustainable issues
are. If you start doing that, you will
benefit.”
Right: Fiona
Pelham, CEO of
Positive Impact