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Group , said her company have undergone a carbon calculation over two months , which was a “ real eye opener ”. But she added ; “ Having some guidance as an events organisation would be really helpful because we are just going out on our own a lot of the time . One of the biggest things is travel . How do you stop people travelling , especially overseas , you just can ’ t .”
Ultimate force Andy Entwistle , CEO of the British Motor Show , says there should be an “ ultimate force ” who is driving sustainable change : “ Someone somewhere has to start forcing us . Because currently the organisers , venues and suppliers are all saying the same thing , and we ’ re just talking to each other . But someone somewhere has to really force this .”
Dian Jones , head of operations and publications manager at New Ag International - Informa Group , said having a sustainability team in place would make change easier . But for smaller businesses with smaller budgets it can be difficult to gain pointers to be more sustainable .
Prout recommended event sustainability body Isla for the support that it offers and ideas for reducing emissions . She added that her company is about to begin using Isla ’ s carbon measurement platform TRACE , which generates reports in realtime and allows event planners to measure and reduce carbon emissions
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The panel , hosted by EN ’ s Joe Gallop
across a range of factors .
“ They are event industry specific and as part of your membership there are templates to help with more sustainable approaches to event delivery ,” she said .
Conference Care and Event Decision were also recommended by the group as useful carbon calculators .
Helen Ericson , operations manager at Crain Global Polymer Group , said getting the language right with visitors is crucial . She said it was important to make sure they are engaged by not using too much sustainable jargon , which can be alienating .
“ Somehow we need to try to work out some way of measuring . We need to start
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celebrating the small wins as well , and encourage the smaller shows to get on the road to sustainability .”
Greenwash Prout said businesses should make more of their sustainable credentials . “ At one venue they didn ’ t mention anything about sustainability . It was only the end of the site visit when I asked what happens to their food when they started listing off all the things they do . They should be shouting about it more .” Helen Ridley , Farnborough head of event management said : “ We try and chat to clients about sustainability from the start . We send less than 1 % to landfill , for
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“ Until we can measure , we ’ re all just punching in the air . We don ’ t know what impact we ’ re having .”
example , that ’ s an amazing statistic . We talk about what we can support on as we want it to be a partnership , we are not solely a venue . We need to work together .”
Costing the earth
While debates about sustainability will continue for many years until net zero targets are met , issues around rising costs mean sustainable targets may not be as realistic in the current climate .
Supply chain issues may also cause problems , as Ericson points out : “ We attended a show in Germany a couple of weeks ago where you couldn ’ t get any wood . As much as you might want to make a change , sometimes there isn ’ t that product available .”
The panel acknowledged that rising costs remain a barrier to sustainable action , but increased industry collaboration since the pandemic and the launch of Net Zero Carbon Events roadmap will help accelerate the UN ’ s SDGs .
To talk to the team about sustainable events at Farnborough International , contact louise . hassett @ farnborough . com or visit the website www . farnborough . com . EN
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