Thank you very much to everyone that provided feedback on the draft set of indicators for the Event Organizers sector. The Working Group will meet to review all the responses received and will further develop the Supplement and indicator protocols.

Next steps

There will be a second opportunity for providing feedback on the full final draft Supplement in early 2011 and the release of the final Supplement is aimed for mid 2011.

About the project

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 will not only provide direction to report preparers and facilitate the standardization of sustainability reports in the sector but also drive the reporting made by the sector. 

Background

Sustainability reports produced based on the Event Organizers Sector Supplement 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 of voluntary and flexible global guidelines on which to base sustainability reporting.

Development Process

GRI supported by Organise This Ltd is convening the development of a Event Organizers Sector Supplement 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. Event organizers and their stakeholders form a multi-stakeholder Working Group with a diverse geographical background. In a consensus seeking process the Working Group decides on the content of the Sector Supplement.

The development process will be in accordance with the GRI due process under the governance of the GRI Board of Directors and the GRI Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).

Find out more about the Sector Supplement development process.

Working Group

The events organizers and stakeholder organizations represented on the Working Group include:

The Austrian Government, IMEX, Live Earth, 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.

Get involved

Practitioner’s Network

A Practitioners’ Network is continuously being formed for those who wish to follow the work and to be available as external resources. Information, specific questions and drafts will be communicated to the Practitioners’ Network as it becomes available. If you are interested in joining the Practitioners’ Network for the Events sector, please send an email to guidelines@globalreporting.org with ‘Subscribe Events’ in the subject line.

Contact GRI for more information about the Event Organizers Sector Supplement.