Great at Stories. Awful at Numbers. That’s #Eventprofs for you.

Let’s face it: as an industry, event planners are brilliant at crafting a compelling story.

We can take a spreadsheet of logistics and turn it into an experience that moves people. When it comes to sustainability, we know the right things to say. We talk about reusable cups, compostable lanyards, local vegan food. We highlight our commitments to people, planet, and purpose. The story sounds great in the sustainability report—and better still in the pitch deck.

But here’s the problem: we’re great at the story, and frankly, terrible at the numbers.

Ask most event professionals to quantify the carbon savings of switching to LED lighting, or the measurable social impact of using a local vendor network, and the numbers just… aren’t there. At best, we see vague metrics or arbitrary benchmarks. At worst, we see none at all.

And yet, numbers matter. They bring credibility to our sustainability narratives. They turn well-meaning gestures into accountable action. They make the difference between “we tried” and “we achieved.”

That’s where Impact: Responsible Event Reviews come in.

Impact Reviews give event planners a clear, evidence-backed framework for assessing the sustainability and social responsibility of an event. No fluff, no guesswork—just meaningful insights grounded in ESG principles. It evaluates dozens of data points across your planning decisions, scores them against international performance, and provides a simple, shareable report that tells both the story and the numbers.

In fact, many of our clients start with a great narrative—but it’s Impact that brings it to life with substance. It shows where you’re doing well, where you can do better, and what progress looks like over time. It’s not about catching anyone out. It’s about making better decisions, every time.

So let’s keep telling great stories. Let’s keep showing that our events can be a force for good. But let’s also bring the numbers. Because every story has a number. And every number, a story.

Ready to back your sustainability story with numbers that matter?

Get in touch to try Impact today.

* Aswath Damodaran, a finance professor at NYU Stern, is associated with the phrase “Every number tells a story, and every story has a number” although this is not a direct quotation.