Sustainable event management : a practical guide

417 Pages·2010·7.955 MB·English

by  Meegan Jones, International Institute for Environment and Development

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‘Finally, a book that gathers all the knowledge about running a sustainable event
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and presents it in one easy-to-understand, well-thought-out format.
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Possibly one of the most important books written on event management this decade,
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and a must have for organizers of events everywhere.’
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Matt Grant, Festival & Creative Director, Peats Ridge 2009, Australia
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‘This truly practical guide offers easy-to-understand education

and achievable initiatives to any industry practitioner looking for solutions b
where little has been previously documented or available.’ l
Jane Fullerton-Smith, Director, Sustainable Event Solutions e

‘I had already been committed to bringing about a change in the perception
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of festival-goers towards their impact upon the environment, but Meegan successfully o
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It could be said the most environmentally friendly event is none at all. But that’s no fun. Public parties always y
have and always will be a part of the human story. Yet those who stage events have a social and environmental Out M t ManagEMEnt
responsibility to reduce their impacts. e
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Written by a leader in the field, this practical, step-by-step guide leads readers through the key aspects of urn
how to understand and manage the impacts of events of any type and scale. The product of tried-and-tested e ©
methods used across the event industry, coverage includes an overview of sustainable event management Ju a
and detailed discussion of energy, transport, water, waste, supply chains and communications. Readers are lian S n
provided with checklists for action and tools for measuring performance. Numerous examples and case m
studies from across the world are integrated throughout. Festivals profiled include: ith. Illu a
• Burning Man, Rothbury and Bonnaroo Festivals, US stra g A Practical Guide
• Glastonbury and Reading Festivals, UK tio
• Boom Festival, Portugal ns by E
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• Roskilde Festival, Denmark ac
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• Meredith, Peats Ridge, Southbound and Big Day Out Festivals in Australia ri W
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This is the indispensable one-stop guide for event producers and event management students who want to tt.
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adjust their thinking and planning decisions towards sustainability, and who need a powerful, easy-to-use
collection of tools to deliver events sustainably.
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Meegan Jones is an events professional focusing her work on developing
sustainable management solutions for live events. She has worked for
Festival Republic in the UK (Reading, Leeds, Latitude and Glastonbury
Festivals), developed sustainability solutions at Peats Ridge Festival in
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Australia, and has worked on sustainability issues for Live Earth India and J
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the London Marathon. www.sustainableeventguide.com ne
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Thanks to Vivian Lees of Big Day Out and photographer Julian Smith for use of the cover photo.

BEwpauuwbrstlihiwsnhseic.naesgns af oasrrtnt rahid vss euEsscnt aatvoinni ram.obclineno mifm.utueiuznkreet iatsl Mimapnaacgt oenm tehne tenvironment www.earthscan.co.uk publishing for a sustainable future Meegan Jones
Sustainable Event Management
A Practical Guide
Meegan Jones
publishing for a sustainable future
London • Sterling, VA
First published by Earthscan in the UK and USA in 2010
Copyright © Meegan Lesley Jones, 2010
All rights reserved
HB ISBN: 978-1-84407-738-0
PB ISBN: 978-1-84407-739-7
Typeset by Safehouse Creative
Cover design by Susanne Harris
For a full list of publications please contact:
Earthscan
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Earthscan publishes in association with the International Institute for Environment and Development
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Jones, Meegan.
Sustainable event management : a practical guide / Meegan Jones.
p. cm.
“Publishes in association with the International Institute for Environment and Development.”
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-84407-738-0 (hardback) -- ISBN 978-1-84407-739-7 (pbk.) 1. Special events--Management--
Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Special events--Environmental aspects--Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. International
Institute for Environment and Development. II. Title.
GT3405.J66 2009
394.2068--dc22
2009018116
At Earthscan we strive to minimize our environmental impacts
and carbon footprint through reducing waste, recycling and
offsetting our CO emissions, including those created through
2
publication of this book. For more details of our environmental
policy, see www.earthscan.co.uk.
This book was printed in the UK by CPI Antony Rowe.
The paper used is 100% recycled from post-consumer waste.
The extraordinary rate at which this culture is destroying the planet makes clear the
unsustainability and undesirability of this culture. An impressive intellectual critique
of civilisation has been building now for many years. Organisations are rising up to
fight the destructiveness of the culture, and millions of young people are acting on their
knowledge that things just aren’t right.
Thomas Berry (9 November 1914–1 June 2009)
Contents
Preface vii
Who Should Read this Book? x
Acknowledgements xi
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations xiii
Chapter 1 Sustainability and Events 3
Chapter 2 Marketing and Communications 37
Chapter 3 Energy and Emissions 77
Chapter 4 Transport 141
Chapter 5 Water 183
Chapter 6 Purchasing and Resource Use 231
Chapter 7 Waste 305
Appendix 385
Index 409
Preface
Across the world each year millions of events of every shape and size are held: community fairs,
business functions, religious and cultural celebrations, local sporting competitions and school fairs,
through to the world’s largest festivals, stadium concerts, conferences, expos and sporting events.
These public parties use up resources, send out emissions and generate mountain ranges of waste.
They also cause a lot of smiles, community cohesion, celebration, give voice to issues and everyone
has a wonderful time.
The idea of creating a temporary city for a massive event, with power, toilets, waste, water, transport,
is inherently unsustainable, consuming unnecessary resources, producing masses of waste. It could
be said the most environmentally friendly event is no event at all, but that’s no fun. Public parties
always have and always will be a part of the human story. Those who stage these events have a social
and environmental responsibility to reduce their impacts. If all event organizers, from the largest
commercial shows to small community fairs, kept sustainability at the core of their planning, the
cumulative outcome would be impressive.
But what does running an event sustainably actually mean? Is recycling enough? What about bio-
degradable waste? What to do with that? Does being sustainable mean counting up all the emissions
and then offsetting them? And if you offset, what projects do you support and how do you know
they’re effective? If you use biodegradable plates and cups to serve your food and drink on, do you
buy those made from genetically modified corn grown in your country or plates that have travelled
half way across the world but are made from fallen palm leaves and whose production helps support
the sustainable development of India’s rural poor? What of the biofuel debate? You want to get away
from relying on fossil fuels to power your event, but how can you justify using biodiesel that has
been grown from crops which should really have been food? And what to do with all the sewage and
waste water? Surely there’s a better way to go than full-flush loos with stinky toilet ‘blue’?
This book will open up some of these questions and either gives you the outright answers or supplies
enough ammunition to go out and ask the right questions of your contractors and suppliers, produc-
tion staff and venue owners. Hopefully it will also shed light on areas previously left unconsidered.
As we progress through each chapter of the book, we go on a journey towards sustainability with
tips, production logistics, projects to undertake and practical solutions to common challenges.
You’ll hear from the coalface with real-life examples from event organizers who have tackled chal-
lenges and successfully reduced the impacts of their events. There are examples from all around the
world, the bulk coming from Australia, the UK, the US and Europe. However the solutions offered
can be applied in just about any country and an interpretation of the suggestions can usually be
applied to any set of circumstances.
SUSTAINABLE EVENT MANAGEMENT
The Science of Sustainability
Scientists, environmental experts, activists and specialists in every field of sustainability, greening,
environment, ecology, biodiversity and global warming, have published volumes of books, papers,
reports and documents on these subjects. There are thousands of websites, action groups, causes and
campaigns online. This book doesn’t attempt to recreate or duplicate this work or to teach environ-
mental science. It’s written assuming the reader has basic knowledge of the concepts of sustainability
and environmental conservation, or at a minimum has the Earth’s interest at heart.
When you break it down the base function of sustainable event management is communications,
management, marketing and making the right choices. You don’t need to be a technical expert. The
experts are there to become part of your toolbox of solutions. They are there to bounce your ideas off
to ensure you’re making the best choices for your event. However these technical experts in environ-
mental science, carbon accounting and the like are not events professionals. It’s your role to ensure
a healthy marriage between these important functions of sustainability and environmental manage-
ment with your intimate knowledge of your event, your audience and other particular circumstances
surrounding them both.
We are event organizers and our skills are firmly set in this area. We don’t need to know the technical
details of how to build a reed bed system to recycle water, or the science inside a composting toilet,
or how your printing company can clean a printing plate without solvents. All we need to know is
what can be done. Learn all you can so you can make informed choices, but don’t be afraid to bring
in specialists and technical experts when the need arises. In fact ensure you do.
Lead by Example and Create Change
Apart from the obvious improvement environmentally, an attractive by-product of every sustainably
produced event is the potential to inspire and motivate others. This includes the supply chain, the
media and of course your audience or participants.
Use your event to demonstrate how a sustainable community could work, to show sustainability in
action. Every litre of fuel, every flick of the switch, every degree on a thermostat and every bottle or
can thrown instead of recycled is directly responsible for using up precious resources, creating waste
and inevitably sending up a plume of greenhouse gases adding to climate change. Show how it’s
possible to do things a better way.
People come in their millions upon millions to our shows and we have the enviable position of a
captive and receptive audience. We are in a position to champion causes, highlight issues and inspire
changing behaviour. It’s a fine line though, as you don’t want to hammer people at every turn with
vi
PREFACE
your message for a green future. But you could also risk alienating them if you don’t consider the
environment and take some green steps at your event.
The events industry worldwide – be it the live music scene, outdoor festivals, worldwide sporting
competitions, local leagues, community events, agricultural shows or conferences and expos –
together make for a huge influencing group. The power of our collective chequebooks has the poten-
tial to effect change in the industry and offer a forum for innovators to develop sustainable solutions.
There is a need for the events industry to change our production and purchasing habits now.
I hope this book inspires you to adjust the way you produce your event and to use your event in turn
to inspire others.
vii
Who Should Read this Book?
• Event promoters, owners, producers and staff
– production coordinators, site managers, festival directors, programmers and crew;
– music festivals, film and cultural festivals, arena and sports stadium events.
• Events agencies
– professional agencies providing live marketing solutions for corporate clients;
– product launches, publicity events, sponsorship events and live promotional activities.
• Conference, seminar, functions and meetings
– staff members, promoters or agencies engaged to deliver the event;
– corporate hospitality, client functions, industry association conferences, specialist seminars,
annual meetings.
• Community
– individuals and committees charged with the job of putting on events;
– community festivals, celebrations and awards, openings, religious celebrations, activist or
cause-based events.
• Schools and universities
– teachers, staff, parents and committee members;
– open days, fairs and fetes, end of year graduation ceremonies, sporting carnivals, excursions,
celebrations, entertainment.
• Sporting clubs, associations, special interest groups
– staff, management and committee members;
– sporting competitions, scouting jamborees and large campouts, social gatherings, ceremonies
and graduations, excursions.
• Event management students
– those studying event management, are on internships or work experience, and want to become
change agents to move the events industry towards a sustainable future.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this book in so many important ways. A
special mention must be made of long suffering friends, family, colleagues and mentors who have
been sources of inspiration, support, guidance, butt kicks and/or have been kind enough to let me
work with them or on their events. Those that must be thanked up front and in name include Esther
La Rovere, Jitin John, Ilka Nelson, Lucy Vignola, Matt Grant, Melvin Benn, Zackari Watt and the moz
and moon bods… I would especially like to thank carbon guru Catherine Bottrill for her feedback
and of course my dad Bob Jones who read through sections and still doesn’t get what’s wrong with
polystyrene or why there aren’t enough jokes in my book. Thanks also to India for offering me river-
side, beachside and mountainside offices.
I would like to again thank Melvin Benn, Director of Festival Republic for allowing me to put in
information on the work I have done for him on Latitude, Reading and Leeds Festivals. Thanks also
to the team at Glastonbury Festival including Dick Vernon and Michael and Emily Eavis for allowing
me to cover the festival, to Bob Wilson of Greenpeace UK for his guidance and continually being an
ethical sounding board. Thanks also to Liz Eliot and Tracey Slough for letting me reproduce photos of
the Green Way in the Greenfields at Glasto.
You’ll hear from events around the globe in the book and the following experts of event greening must
be thanked for allowing me to include their work. Andre L. Jaeger Soares of Ecocentro IPEC/greening
Boom Festival; Andy Mead and Ollie Stroud/Firefly Solar, Bill Hauritz and Amanda Jackes/Woodford
Folk Festival, Buzz Thompson/Falls Festival, Chloe Wilson and Penny Kemp/Big Green Gathering,
Christophe Platel/Paleo, Clare Byrne/Electric Picnic, Gael Leopold/WWF and One Planet Living, Greg
Peele/Meredith Music and Golden Plains Festivals, Jaime Nack/Three Squares Inc/2008 Democratic
Convention, Jenna Eyrich and Kyle Schember/Global Inheritance/Coachella, Laura Sohn/Bonnaroo,
Liam O’Keefe/Creative Environment, Lucy Sheldon, Barbora Patkova and Adam Walker/Magnificent
Revolution, Marian Goodall, Tom Price, Travis Miller, Blue and DA/Burning Man, Mat Morris/Global
Protection Agency/Splendour In The Grass, National Folk Festival, Paul Sloan/Waverock Weekender,
Robert Brewster and Matt Grant/Peats Ridge Festival, Rachel Kemp/Southbound, Shane Collins/
GreenSweep, Sarah Haynes/ROTHBURY, Stefano Casalotti/BikeFest, Vickii Cotter/Bluesfest, and of
course to Vivian Lees and Susan Forrester/Big Day Out for their words and Julian Smith for the bril-
liant cover photo of the sun setting over Big Day Out Melbourne.
I need also to thank by name: Angela Richards Donà/Rainforest Alliance, Artur Soares da Silva/Boom,
Ben Challis/A Greener Festival, Ben Todd/Arcola Theatre, Bill Eagan/Aggreko, Brenda Platt/Institute
for Local Self-Reliance, Christof Huber/Yourope, Claire O’Neil/A Greener Festival and Association
of Independent Festivals, Daren Abney/Organic Exchange, David Wick/Spiral Solar Sun Showers,
Wilbur and Kate Whittaker/WaterAid, Eamon Pryle and Colin Eade/Workers Beer Company, Ed