Impact Q1 2024 event industry sustainability performance
The very first of event:decision’s quarterly Impact updates on event industry sustainability performance brings you a summary of industry collective attainment in sustainability:
Who are we?
event:decision® is a team of #EventProfs now providing data to almost 200 event and agency brands.We provide proof points for responsible planning, by measuring the sustainable performance of your event. Our proprietary tools and services with which we support the industry, are:
- Track, event carbon audit & advisory services.
- Impact, event ESG assessments & benchmarking.
- Evolve, association, congress and exhibition sustainability services.
All three widely used by event brands and driven by commercial factors, by legislative demand and, dare we say, a moral imperative to deliver events ‘better’.
Industry Performance
The event:decision Impact tool quantifies event sustainability performance by the number of factors within each of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) that individual events are actioning.
These statistics are the results of self-assessment by event owners, directors and producers, scoring if <30 factors across ESG are (1) being actioned (2) not being actioned or (3) not applicable to event type.
Here is where we stand across the event sector on ESG as a whole, from January to April 2024:
What does this mean?
Governance (event organising processes) ranks the highest, as befits a professional industry.
Environmental factors are ranking as more than 60% actioned, on average, likely the highest ever, given the surge in environmental consideration within the event sector since 2021.
Social factors are lagging. No surprise given the relative youth of serious discussion regarding the social benefit of events in many areas of our industry.
Focus
Each quarter we’ll highlight some of the most noticeable factors, by virtue of being well-covered by planners, or the opposite of such, as defined by Impact assessments.
Environmental factors
- Local supply is sought by 86% of planners who have assessed their own events.
- 33% of planners plan to offset some or all carbon emissions related to their event.
Social factors
- 76% of planners state that their company has a Living Wage policy in place for event contractors and suppliers.
- 20% of planners state they try to address at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) within their event scope.
Governance factors
- 61% of planners state that their event client sits within scope of the EU’s CSRD carbon-reporting legislation.
- 72% of planners state that their organisation already holds specific sustainability accreditation.
How do we improve both Environmental and Social metrics?
Take a look at the ESG metrics under assessment within the event:decision® Impact tool. You can do so with no commitment or financial charge, after all, our aim is to support the transition of the event industry toward a more sustainable future.
There are other resources available, both free and paid, including the UN SDGs and an updated ISO for event planners in 2024. To understand and benchmark your own events, event:decision provides proof points for responsible planning, by measuring your event sustainability performance.
For more details about both Track (carbon) reporting, Impact (ESG) Assessments and Evolve (Exhibition and Association events) get in touch.
