SUSTAINABILITY

IFES fast-tracking sustainability solutions

The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive adopted on 21 April 2022 increases the pressure, stipulating that all large companies will be required to publish a sustainability report from 2023 with other listed companies following suit in 2026. The future of the events and exhibitions industry depends on compliance and strong alignment with the Parisian agreement.

Known for their stance as thought leaders and early adopters, the International Federation for Exhibition and Events Services (IFES) has been focused on this issue for some time, with an internal Sustainability Committee advising and driving compliance. They have now devised a training partnership with consultants Arnold Clemens of 2bdifferent and Beatrice Eastham of Green Evénements to fast-track training for IFES members. 2bdifferent has experience working with organisations from the events, sports, trade fair and congress industry, and Green Evénements has assisted many companies on their way to ISO 20121, including stand designers and manufacturers.

While the approaches are slightly different, both sustainability specialists offer the assessment of individual company needs and the understanding and implementation of sustainable management systems. The aim is to achieve ISO 20121 certification whilst embedding a culture of sustainability within participating companies. This fast-tracking programme demonstrates a genuine commitment to continuously improve towards sustainability.

Together with the Federal Association of the Events Industry, IFES is driving the uptake of this essential preparation and is pleased to announce that the first round of training began with 2beDifferent on 8 December 2022, with 8 members participating and further training commitments are underway. ISO 20121 training will take place on stipulated days monthly, including the assessment of individual needs and process implementation, reaching final audit and certification nine months later.

Jörg Zeissig, co-chair IFES Sustainability Committee and co-chair of the NetZero-Carbon Events Initiative said: “Sustainability is one of the drivers of the next generation — our future clients. The industry needs to understand this as an obligation and to drive a change of perspective, also by heart. Sustainability will be THE license to operate our future business in the event industry, no matter where we stand in the value chain.

Sustainable solutions are no add-ons to our usual course of actions, it will become standard. We need to step forward.”

To learn more about IFES, find us on the web at www.ifesnet.org