Patricia Billings explores the challenges facing the industry when running events sustainably
G oing green is the hot topic in today ’ s event landscape . Every organiser , venue and agency is trying to find ways to become more sustainable . It ’ s not an easy tightrope to walk between achieving true sustainability while remaining commercially viable .
But , while the roadblocks to sustainable success may be numerous , the goal remains a worthwhile one to create events with a lasting legacy . Sustainability has become such an important part of Identity that it continuously influences the way we approach our projects and clients .
Green and Black
The top priority for many events businesses as we emerge from the pandemic is staying afloat and going back to live events . These events run on tight margins ,
Patricia Billings Sustainability and Social Value Manager Identity
with profit being a must-have , sustainability has historically taken a back seat to making money .
On top of this , being sustainable requires investment . A venue might want to pivot towards a more robust onsite waste management programme for example , but implementation , training and delivering on this project would incur cost , which many venues cannot afford in 2022 .
So , what ’ s the upside ?
First and foremost is the fact that events businesses will have to become accustomed to sustainability being mandated , rather than a nice to have ( think the European Union ’ s ban on certain singleuse plastics ). While being forced to be sustainable may not be the nicest way to move the needle , for many businesses it ’ ll be the push they need .
The subtler side of the coin is that clients will be looking to sustainable venues and events companies as preferred members of its value chain . Identity itself has set out goals to work with green venues and deliver sustainable projects with partners who share the same vision .
Feed the world
Food waste is a huge but often overlooked environmental concern , particularly at major events . At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia , food and beverage accounted for the second biggest portion of greenhouse gas emissions ( after travel and accommodation ), generating 105,695 tonnes of CO2 , the equivalent of burning 53m kilograms of coal .
Food waste sent to landfill contributes to the release of methane gas . Then there ’ s all the energy and water it takes to grow , harvest , transport
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