1/2020 WHITE PAPER What we learn from associations that engage in sustainable event practices
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WHITE PAPER
1/2020
What we learn from associations
that engage in sustainable
event practices
1TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE 3
MOTIVATION AND
BACKGROUND
PAGE 4
THINK WHAT BRINGS ASSOCIATIONS
GREEN TO ENGAGE IN SUSTAINABLE
EVENT PRACTICES?
PAGE 5 PAGE 8
ACT
GREEN WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES WHO ARE YOUR PARTNERS
TO OVERCOME? FOR CHANGE?
PAGE 9
BE
GREEN WHY GREENING YOUR
EVENTS IS SO IMPORTANT
2MOTIVATION AND BACKGROUND
Ever wondered why associations Respondent associations’ fields of activity:
are not leading the way in sustainable (Figure 1)
event practices?
Culture and Business event strategy
After all, association members meet for various education
purposes beyond the pursuit of profit. Their common
interests and aspirations integrate a host of other
aspects that will, in turn, shape the organisation's 1
mission and be reflected in its agenda. As forces
of good, one would expect associations to be
2
leading the way when it comes to creating a
positive impact on people and the environment at
their events.
7
But too many associations fail to communicate
their concern for societal improvement and
environmental protection at the meetings they
Healthcare
organise. The events management industry is industry
failing to significantly reduce their environmental
impact alongside the associations that have
yet to implement sustainable policies.
We wanted to understand where this
inconsistency comes from and identify
ways to promote sustainability amongst
associations.
In 2018, we reached out to 10 European and inter-
national associations which successfully integrated
sustainable event practices into their conferences.
This is what we found.
3THINK GREEN
WHAT BRINGS ASSOCIATIONS TO ENGAGE IN SUSTAINABLE EVENT PRACTICES?
Members’ personal values A sense of purpose
“It is linked to what you do “It’s something we strive toward
in your personal life.” every time we do something, not
only for us personally but globally.”
The primary driver of event greening is undoubtedly
the personal values of members and staff. Study For some, sustainability is a matter of purpose and
participants talked about the importance of sus- must be integrated into all activities undertaken.
tainability in their private lives. If they feel their These organisations will choose to invest in
organisation is not doing enough to address the sustainable practices regardless of who notices
issue, they might experience frustration. their efforts. Not because they respond to members’
demands or use corporate social responsibility as
a strategy, but because they consider it the
Desire to educate correct way forward.
“You need to bring attendees along
and make them understand the why
and the benefits of sustainability.” WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE EVENT?
“A sustainable event is an assembly or
The association members and professionals who
gathering of people, for the purpose of the
we interviewed strive to raise awareness amongst
exchange of information, where, through
internal and external stakeholders. In line with the
careful planning, negative impact on the
core values of their organisations, namely know-
ledge sharing, education, and social progress, environment is minimized and leaves a
they whole-heartedly communicate their actions positive impact for the host community”
and sustainable objectives to members, attendees, (Sustainable Events Guide, 2012)
sponsors, partners and providers.
4ACT GREEN
WHAT ARE THE OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME?
1. Lack of information and awareness 2. Lack of support from leadership
“Sustainability is just one of these buzz- “We set our own goals because we
words and actually it’s different to sit want to achieve a certain level of
down and think of what it really means.” sustainability, but it is, unfortunately,
not always a priority to the board.”
There still are miscomprehensions around the
notion of sustainability. The three pillars of this One of the first barriers to the adoption of
motif are Planet, Profit and People. However, this sustainable practices is the lack of support from
last social aspect is too often neglected. Our study high-level decision-makers who would have the
participants mentioned plenty of event practices capacity to initiate change. Association board
they engage in to reduce the meetings’ impact members eventually have the final say on decisive
on the environment, such as eliminating printed aspects such as the format of the event, destination,
signage and programmes, using individual bottles venue, etc.
and cups, recycling and reusing whenever possible.
However, the only social action reported was the Our recommendations:
donation of food surplus and leftovers. • Build a clear sustainable event policy. Write
down all sustainable actions you are already
Our recommendations: implementing, set a vision and commit to doing
• Remember also to consider the societal impact a bit more each year. Issuing an official statement
of your meetings. gives credibility and coherence to your greening
• Build a positive event legacy. There are numerous efforts and binds your organisation to a consistent
possibilities for you to build economic, social and level of commitment.
environmental benefits to the host community, • Create a measurable overview of your event’s
during and after an event. By raising your par- global performance. A way for raising board
ticipants’ awareness of the reality of local territories members’ awareness on the importance and
and actors, you are also designing a unique potential benefits of greening events is to
attendee experience that will be remembered. calculate the impact of sustainable practices
This can be done by organising donations or implemented. Developing a set of metrics and
creating volunteering opportunities for atten- reporting about the outcomes certainly requires
dees to help local charities. Favouring local extra time and knowledge but it will reveal
sourcing (like material and food) also is another the savings induced by optimising resources and
powerful way for event organisers to highlight highlight the long-term benefits for the association.
local producers.
• Keep in mind that smaller societies also have the
power to make a significant impact on the host
communities. Overall, events are never too small
to practice sustainability.
5ACT GREEN
Position of the interviewee: Our recommendations:
(Figure 2) • Ask your participants! Start to collect attendees’
feedback on your sustainable actions consistently.
This can mean making a few calls or simply
Association Other Staff
Managers Members adding two or three questions to the event
satisfaction survey.
• Engage participants prior to the event. Be sure to
exceed their expectations by letting them know
1 what to expect at the event. Provide options
1 for the attendees during registration on whether
or not they would like to receive a printed
programme or a conference bag.
• Communicate about sustainable actions
3 implemented. Focus should be placed towards
5 communicating how money is saved through
event greening (digital signage, vegetarian
lunches, recycled event furniture, etc.) and how
Association Event it is re-invested into the conference. This is to
Board Members Managers reassure attendees that the value of their
experience at the event is maintained.
• Informing is good; educating is better. Events
are wonderful opportunities for associations to
3. Fear of participants’ resistance to change help participants understand the ‘why’ and the
benefits of sustainability.
“Initially, people were quite reluctant,
especially older generations of
[associations] member.” 4. Lack of time and money
Associations sometimes hesitate over promoting “Although we are a non-profit society,
sustainable practices among attendees because we will always try to make efficiencies
they fear a lack of interest or reduced membership, in cost.”
even though there is no evidence that this is a
potential risk. Event greening is a global trend, Lack of time and money is often perceived as a barrier
meaning that attendees are observing more often. to sustainability. However, associations that are more
After a transition period and a few adjustments, committed to sustainability understand that it is not
they will eventually adapt. necessarily more expensive to be more sustainable.
They would continue to support sustainability even
when there is a cost difference, such as spending
more which will lead to a much bigger impact.
6ACT GREEN
Our recommendations: • Look for green certifications. It is recommended
• Keep in mind that some of the benefits of event that non-profits look for partners and providers
sustainability are only appreciable in the long run, which comply to international and national
such as image enhancement and organisation standards such as the ISO 2012:1, fairpflichtet
awareness. (Sustainability Code of the German-speaking
• Calculate your savings. Organisations often fail events), American Society for Testing and Materials,
to evaluate the savings induced by better etc. A growing demand for these standards will
optimisation of resources and socially responsible bring more event industry practitioners to adopt
policies such as less printing, replacing plastic improved management system standards and
bottles with water fountains, eliminating single- will contribute to the emergence of sustainable
use tableware, reducing food portions, promoting practices in the sector.
car sharing, and so much more!
Headquarter location:
(Figure 3)
5. Lack of control over partners
and suppliers Germany
Netherlands
“If you go to a place where sustainability
is high on the providers’ agenda, it is 1
2
easier to work with them towards change.” 1
1
Committing to more sustainable meetings requires 2
organisers to source appropriate suppliers and to Belgium
reach out to sponsors and partners who have the Luxembourg 1
capacity to meet their requirements (in terms of
Switzerland
energy tracking, environmental performance,
Italy
recycling policies, diversity training, etc.). Depending
on the chosen destination, this can be a serious
challenge, especially outside of Europe. Amongst
the first 20 Green Destinations of the 2017 Global
Destination Sustainability Index ranking, only two USA
were non-European.
2
Our recommendations:
• Start by asking your suppliers what they can do,
and base your decisions on their responses.
• Include sustainability in your RFP (Request for
Proposal). Try to contractually require a certain
level of sustainability from your partners.
7ACT GREEN
WHO ARE YOUR PARTNERS FOR CHANGE?
1. PCOs 4. Benchmarking
“It’s very much sitting down discussing “We look at what other societies in the same
with our PCO and the team, using the field do.”
value of their ideas and experience that
we see how we can do things better, Sustainability is now one of the major socio-techno-
be more inventive.” logical trends affecting the events sector. You may
want to get inspired by what similar organisations
Contracting the professional services of a PCO (Pro- have already implemented.
fessional Conference Organisation) is an attractive
and efficient way to get innovative ideas,
high levels of expertise, staffing and other useful 5. Reaching out to Event Associations
resources to bring more sustainability in your events.
“PCMA and MPI have helped a lot to
inspire and guide us in setting greening
2. Association staff members policy.”
“Even when the whole team was on Event Associations such as PCMA (the Professional
board for sustainability at the conference, Convention Management Association) and MPI
there is one person from the executive (Meeting Professionals International) provide a large
board coordinating.” amount of online educational resources for
meeting industry stakeholders.
Staff members have a prominent role in fostering
event sustainability. When event managers are not
behind sustainable innovation, the task of synchro- 6. Governmental entities
nising effort still falls on them.
“We talked with the city and they are
really working hard on sustainability.”
3. Other association members
Some convention bureaus and city governments
“Recently, we had the convener of one actively promote sustainable practices to event
of the science courses wanted us to go organisers. Policy-makers who understand the
paper-free for the course programme. economic impact of events on their local economy
That since has become the norm!” increasingly count on events also to trigger local
social and environmental change.
Other association members can also drive sustainable
innovation. Make sure to systematise surveys or
conduct interviews to collect members’ feedback
and their suggestions for improvement of your
greening actions.
8BE GREEN
WHY MAKING YOUR EVENTS MORE SUSTAINABLE IS SO IMPORTANT
“The biggest win you can have in terms
of sustainability is always within the events
department.”
To make a change, the priority is to focus on the
organisation and execution of events. Firstly,
because meetings and conferences create
significant amounts of waste, and secondly be-
cause they are the moments when almost all sta-
keholders interact face-to-face. Hence, there is a
double interest in greening events being: reducing
events negative impact on the environment and
society and inspire participants and other stake-
holders involved to make sustainable decisions for
themselves.
Events create the best circumstances for which
associations can express their interest and concern
for sustainability improvements to their most salient
stakeholders and the general public.
9WHO WE ARE
Core PCO K.I.T. Group, founded in 1986, has become a leading organiser of national and international
conferences and events as well as being the preferred partner for many associations, societies and
organisations.
Since 2011, K.I.T. Group has been committed to integrating sustainability into its core values and processes.
We not only believe it is the right way to do business but know that most of our clients share this vision. We
take the quote of Mahatma Gandhi to heart – “Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. Through
our internal Sustainability Taskforce, drawn from staff from across the company, we initiate action to
create a positive impact and ensure that sustainability is not just theory but also practice.
K.I.T. Group Sustainability Research Report | January 2020
Credits: Danielle Bullock, Jwana Ribeiro da Silva, Dermot Ryan
About the author:
This research was conducted by Jwana Ribeiro da Silva,
Team Member of Association Management Division, K.I.T. Group GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
K.I.T. Group GmbH
Association & Conference Management
Kurfürstendamm 71
10709 Berlin, Germany
Email: sustainability@kit-group.org
www.kit-group.org
© Copyright 2019 by K.I.T. Group - Copyright Notice
All contents of this [INTERNET OFFER / BOOK / WORKS], in particular texts, photographs and graphics, are protected by copyright.
Any use is only after the written consent of K.I.T. Group allowed.
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