SAEC news

By Justin Hawes, board member at South Africa Events Council

The Event Safety Council (ESC) is working closely with the Event Greening Forum (EGF) to ensure that critical sustainability considerations are included in future editions of the Re-Opening Guidelines for limiting the exposure of Covid-19.

The Guidelines were created by the ESC as a best-practice framework for events to be managed safely and responsibly during the Covid-19 pandemic. The different sub sectors within the events industry gave input to ensure the document is comprehensive, practical and realistic. This was done through the SA Events Council, a coalition of 13 event industry associations including the ESC and EGF.

Mike Lord, interim chair of ESC, played a pivotal role in creating the Re-Opening Guidelines. He said: “We considered sustainability when creating the document, but we did not have sufficient time to really unpack the consequences of sustainability needs within the Guidelines. The focus was very much on helping the sector reopen as quickly and safely as possible.”

However, the parties involved in developing the Guidelines understand that focus needs to turn to addressing aspects of greening and sustainability, particularly in the use of sealed packaging to limit exposure to the virus. Including this aspect in future editions is critical.

Mr Lord explained: “Going forward, we want to work with authorities and industry bodies like the EGF to identify what is missing, what can be improved, and to develop further published versions of the Re-Opening Guidelines that factor these in.”

The EGF is a non-profit organisation whose key objective is to promote sustainable event practices. Greg McManus, chairperson of EGF, has welcomed this inclusion warmly. He said that the pandemic has set sustainability back in many areas, especially in terms of the increase in single-use plastics. Last year the movement to #endplasticpollution had been driving progress in waste reduction. This has now been undone; the International Solid Waste Association estimates that the use of single-use plastics has now increased by 250-300 per cent.

Mr McManus said, “There has been a knee-jerk reaction to get going, which is completely understandable, and I empathise with businesses who have been impacted by the lockdown. But we must not disregard the progress and importance of sustainability. We can’t use Covid-19 as an excuse for bad corporate practice.”

He added that Covid-19 will eventually be a thing of the past, but sustainability is a long-term concern that we urgently need to address.

Save the date

The EGF Masterclass

The EGF will host a virtual masterclass on 18 November to unpack how the Re-Opening Guidelines can be implemented sustainably. Visit www.eventgreening.co.za for more details.