Cameron Roberts chats to Ric Porteus , CEO and founder , One Tribe , about how the events industry needs to realign to be more sustainable

ustainability is a priority beyond the events industry , it ’ s something that all business communities need to focus on , lest we cause irreversible damage to our planet and our global communities . I spoke to Ric Porteus , CEO and founder , One Tribe , a business that focusses on reducing and offsetting business ’ carbon footprint , about the present and future of event sustainability .

Here and now We first covered how the events industry stacked up in the global business community , Porteus emphasises that the events industry is “ extremely low down on the list ,” when it comes to achieving net zero targets in comparison to other sectors .

When asked why , Porteus put it down to the impact of Covid-19 . He said : “ The two to three years the industry was impacted by Covid-19 caused a drop in sales and initiatives , which has really kicked the

“ We ’ d like to see a full adoption of net positivity in the event space . That really starts out with the event organisers compensating for their footprint and working on that pathway to net zero .”

Ric Porteus

events industry back .

“ That ’ s absolutely kicked the net zero journeys back significantly . If you compare events to aviation , aviation is way ahead , it has invested in variable fuel technologies to reduce carbon emissions , onboard facilities are being changed dramatically to reduce carbon emissions . In comparison the events industry is really behind from what we see at conferences and smaller events . It ’ s still almost day zero of a net zero journey .”

Porteus spoke about how the industry ’ s diversity of organisers and suppliers impacted any attempt to create a unified movement to net zero .

He said : “ Because it ’ s such a diverse industry , from the

materials used in exhibition stands to the international travel . The real question is who ’ s responsible for the Scope One , Two and Three emissions ? Is it the venue , the exhibitor or the attendee , there ’ s a lot of complexities that aren ’ t in most industries . True ownership of the footprint is an issue .”

What ’ s next Looking to the future , Porteus focusesed on how organisers need to renew a focus on sustainability in order to move the needle , by partnering up and pivoting towards a green future , the industry can make a real change .

Porteus concluded : “ What we ’ re looking for here is mass adoption from event promoters , to manage , calculate and compensate immediate carbon footprints . We hope the event industry adopts this because we don ’ t believe that we can continue business as usual .

“ We don ’ t believe the footprint that we ’ re creating today is acceptable and event promoters and event industry itself doesn ’ t believe that is acceptable . We ’ d like to see a full adoption of net positivity in the event space . That really starts out with the event organisers compensating for their footprint and working on that pathway to net zero .” CN