Global Experience Specialists (GES), an event and exhibition services company, said that collecting data related to sustainable development is an industry challenge.
“At various events, there are tons of different businesses evaluating different types of data. For example, at any time you have venues, agencies, clients, production houses, and graphics companies all getting data, but none of that data is Standardized,” said Kate Holliday, GES EMEA’s first ESG head.
This results in stakeholders using different standards, applications to measure outputs and, in some cases, creating their own indicators. In response, GES is driving unified data insights.
A company like GES has more than 250 suppliers, all of whom do things differently.
Holliday said the industry must find common ground in data insights. “This gives us a massive data set across a huge industry from different perspectives. Real change can then be tracked, measured and implemented industry-wide,” she said.
Social sustainability is also important
Conversations around ESG should also include social sustainability and the impact of events on communities, the report said. “Events are often ephemeral. They consume waste, carbon, etc. before essentially moving on. The concepts of legacy and social good address the responsibility of leaving behind something beautiful, not just waste and a carbon footprint,” Holliday explain.
GES is collecting data to understand the environmental impact of raised floors. Carpets at trade shows and exhibitions are often non-recyclable waste. This is why many companies don’t do this.
Unravel is a company that recently created a net-zero trade show booth. “Achieving net-zero emissions doesn’t just stop at the materials used to build the booth, but also requires us to consider emissions from the upstream and downstream transportation of materials, waste generated by the booth, and employees’ business travel to the conference venue,” Qiyun Woo, Sustainability Consultant at Unravel Carbon said.
GES is also working with carbon accounting firm Enistic to track, analyze and report its greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, it uses Seismic to reassess the footprint of its activities.
The company has reduced its environmental impact by moving warehouses and offices to NEC Birmingham at the London Exhibition Center and London Events Community Centre. As a result, travel times and CO2 emissions are reduced. The move has reportedly helped it reduce emissions by 50%.
For more tips on planning sustainable events, click here.
