The events industry association Eventia has developed an online guide to BS8901, the new British Standard that specifies requirements for a sustainable event management system. The guide, available on the dedicated corporate social responsibility (CSR) pages of the Eventia website, was created with the help of several members of the organisation to include input from hoteliers, agencies and venues.

Eventia’s guide was produced following several workshop sessions with British Standards Institute, during which the association’s members reviewed each of the key steps within BS8901’s three phases and provided feedback on the practicalities of its adoption in their segment of the market. 

The guide provides an overview of BS8901’s key elements and encourages those within the events industry to look into it further for themselves and work towards adoption in their respective businesses.

“Through discussion with Eventia members it became clear that there was a need for clarification of the actions those within the industry should be taking,” said Aileen Reuter, Eventia Board Member for CSR and Maritz’ marketing director. “We also provided BSi with feedback which they will consider incorporating into their own review of the standard over the coming months. We hope the online guide will help those within the industry move closer to achieving sustainable events.”

The Guide summarises the different steps within the new standard and sets out what an organisation might aim to achieve within each, including: drafting a corporate policy on sustainability; engaging with and identifying the issues and concerns of stakeholders; the requirement to set sustainability objectives and KPIs; allocation of roles and resources; and the necessity of monitoring, measurement and process reviewing.

To access the guide, visit www.eventia.org.uk/CSR/guide.asp