– Guidance helps event professionals take personal responsibility for driving sustainability action for impact –
Events Industry Council & ICE, the In-house Corporate Event planner community, have developed and launched the Action 10+ initiative, to providing guidance to ensure that creating more sustainable events becomes second nature to every event professional. Designed with corporate event professionals in mind, Action10+ supports all global business professionals.
ICE created Action10+ with input from its Sustainability Taskforce including those at Barclays, Snap, S&P, Siemens, pwc, EY, Cvent, Maritz Global Events, DRPG and many more, and the Events Industry Council’s Centre for Sustainability and Social Impact. The building blocks of the guidance focuses on specific aspects of the organisational process from ‘Venue Selection’ and ‘Waste Management & Water Conservation’ to ‘Food and Beverage,’ ‘Energy Management,’ ‘Transportation,’ and ‘Production Materials.’ It even looks at smaller items such as ‘Invitations.’
Finally, it addresses how events ‘Track and Measure Event Sustainability.’ In each of these cases, it outlines what ‘Good,’ ‘Better,’ and ‘Best’ looks like, and how event professionals can reach these aims, which also closely align with the existing EIC guidance and resources.
Within the guidance, and through the group that put it together, there is indication of a growing urgency from corporate event professionals on the need to take intentional action around regenerative and equitable event practices.
Anita Howard, Founder & CEO of ICE commented, “Across the planning and execution of Action10+, there was a feeling that there really should be no excuses on sustainability right now, and that everyone needs to start right now, if they have not already. It is about taking personal responsibility and to demonstrate constant improvement.”
The Events Industry Council leads on many sustainability initiatives across the global business events sector and CMP community, and have been heavily supportive of Action10.
“It is important to hear the voice of the corporate event organiser, to leverage their vast experience and perspective, and to address their specific needs and concerns,” said Amy Calvert, EIC CEO. “ESG is now a business imperative as a reflection of organisational core value and objectives in support of their workforce and stakeholder communities. We view the Action10+ guidance as a kick-starter for a sustainability journey that includes implementation of turning our vision in to meaningful and measurable actions such as the EIC Sustainable Event Standards framework.”
Ben Goedegebuure, Enterprise Vice President, Global & Industry Presence at Maritz Global Events, added, “We have been a member of ICE’s Taskforce Sustainability Council for some time and continue to listen to our colleagues in the corporate event planning community. This was important in the development of Action10+; it works for corporate event planners but is also completely accessible across the event planning community. We are delighted to see the support of the wider industry, especially the Events Industry Council.”
Felicia Asiedu, Senior Marketing Manager Europe, Cvent commented: “Event professionals are increasingly committed to meeting goals to reduce carbon emissions and create greener events, ultimately with the aim of building a more sustainable industry. However, challenges can arise when it comes to knowing what to implement throughout the event lifecycle and tracking the positive impact of the actions undertaken. Through Action10+ planners have access to recommended steps on how to manage and introduce measures which can contribute positively to green goals. It is also a great tool to show stakeholders across businesses that events can be sustainable, but also instrumental in showcasing company values to wider audiences in an empathetic and powerful way.”
ICE also continues to advocate for the industry to look at ‘small things that make a big difference’ across the event organising process. The group will shortly be announcing the return of Action 10+, encouraging organisers to submit their own simple ideas that will be shared across the ICE community, helping everyone to continue their own sustainability initiatives.
Download Action10+ here
