4 minute read
EVENT GREENING FORUM
If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it
Organisations within the MICE industry must prioritise sustainability reporting and host green events if they intend to meet the industry’s Net-Zero emissions goal by 2050.
By Grace Stead, Steadfast Greening
This requires continuous measurement and monitoring of the environmental impacts of events. While there are various methods to calculate carbon footprints, each calculation should clearly define its boundaries, indicators, and reporting format, to maintain transparency.
Setting boundaries
When calculating your carbon footprint, defining the boundary of what is included or excluded in the report is crucial. These boundaries are not rigid, but should be clearly established and disclosed, to ensure clarity.
A practical approach is using a financial boundary, where only the activities included in the event’s budget are considered. For example, if meals are provided during the event, the emissions associated with food production should be factored into the footprint. However, if a third party sponsors an external dinner, it may be excluded from the carbon footprint report.
Another example is considering who takes responsibility for transport emissions for a large music festival. While it is necessary to account for emissions generated by the travel of artists and crew, emissions from attendees may be excluded because the organiser has limited control over these.
Another example is considering who takes responsibility for transport emissions for a large music festival. While it is necessary to account for emissions generated by the travel of artists and crew, emissions from attendees may be excluded because the organiser has limited control over these.
A boundary-setting tree is an effective tool to help event planners determine what to include or exclude in large events, ensuring consistency in reporting over time.
Indicators
An indicator provides insight into the state or level of a specific item. There are two main categories of indicators that help us track the impact of events:
Event indicator — These allow us to compare different events based on specific criteria, such as the days of the event, the number of people, the size of the exhibition space, etc.
Performance indicator — These indicators review the performance of the event, including how much water or electricity is used or how much waste is generated.
When choosing indicators, it is essential to ensure that suitable data is accessible. These indicators can be generic or tailored to your specific event, but they must have clear descriptions and use standardised units (such as kilometres, bed-nights, or kilowatt-hours) to ensure consistency in reporting.
Another key factor to consider is the materiality or relevance of these indicators — ensuring that they are both suitable and realistic for the event’s context. This guarantees that the data collected is meaningful and that the resulting reports are accurate and actionable.
Reporting
Regardless of whether you’re measuring your full carbon footprint, tracking and disclosing your key performance indicators (KPIs) is highly encouraged. By measuring these KPIs, event organisers can gain valuable insights into the impacts of their activities and decisions.
To compile a comprehensive carbon footprint report, you must provide the necessary data for the selected indicators. The event organiser plays a critical role in this process, being the closest to the event’s operations, as they are in the best position to offer accurate data and insights into the onthe-ground situation. This helps to ensure that the carbon footprint report reflects the real impacts of the event.
Events need to take responsibility for their environmental impact. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. Event organisers should assess their event’s impact by establishing clear boundaries and indicators. Consistent and transparent reporting is also crucial for compiling a carbon footprint report, which can guide efforts like carbon offsetting.
