Current Project Status
GRI supported by Organise This Ltd is convening the development of events sector specific sustainability reporting guidance in collaboration with its project funders, the Austrian and Swiss government’s who jointly hosted the 2008 European Soccer Championships, The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), who will host the London 2012 Olympic Games, and the International Olympic Committee.
This guidance for the events sector, which will be integrated into the GRI sustainability reporting framework, is being developed by an international, multi-stakeholder Working Group using a consensus seeking process. The events organizers and stakeholder organizations represented on the Working Group include:
The Austrian Government, IMEX, London 2012, MCI, MeetGreen, Meeting Professionals International, Reed Exhibitions Ltd, Swiss Government and VANOC, CSO Network Japan, European Sponsorship Association, IYCN, Julie’s Bicycle, SEIU (Property Services Division), Transparency International and WWF.
Next Steps
The first Working Group meeting was held in Vienna, Austria on 23 and 24 November 2009. During this meeting key sustainability issues for the events sector were identified and selected. The next Working Group meeting will be held in Portland, United States on 15 and 16 February 2010. The Working Group members will cross referenceing these issues with existing G3 Guidelines to identify where a sector specific commentary is needed or where a new indicator is required for the Sector Supplement.
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Why produce a Sector Supplement for the Events Sector?
There are many varied specific sustainability challenges related to the events sector. Large events often attract crowds from different regions of the world. It is a major challenge to keep the CO2 emissions produced by travelling to and from an event as low as possible.
Other challenges facing the sector can include the development of infrastructure which have their own associated impacts such as loss of biodiversity and the health and safety of workers. Local communities and neighbourhoods can also be affected by the proximity of an event.
While the sustainability impacts for the sector may be known, reporting on these impacts is at a nascent stage within the events industry.
At the same time, stakeholders such as industry associations, journalists, local authorities, investors, and visitors are no longer content to stand by - they are demanding more information on the sustainability credentials of the events they attend. As such, it is hoped that this new guidance with not only provide guidance to report preparers and facilitate the standardization of sustainability reports in the sector but also drive reporting by the sector.
Background
Sustainability reports produced based on the GRI sector specific reporting guidelines will serve as a time and cost-efficient tool for the Events sector to keep ahead of increasing demands of stakeholders for transparency and accountability. It will comprise voluntary and flexible global guidelines on which to base sustainability reporting.
Development Process