What does COP27 mean for event professionals?
COP27 has provided some clear signs which forward-thinking event professionals will not have missed.
For event professionals too busy with the ‘day job’, and justifying actions based on a goal of returning economic results to 2019 levels, this may be uncomfortable reading.
The divide is starting to grow between those (including many event sector associations, media and events) who are approaching sustainability with a focus on the quick fixes and marketing strategy and those who make a daily difference enabling engagement through their events.
The new narrative emerging on the importance of human engagement as a solution to addressing climate challenges is exciting and purposeful.
The next 12 months really count and here are 3 things to be aware of:
Beware you are not Greenwashing
COP27 was full of launches of guidelines aligning on criteria that we know we need to meet based on what the scientists tell us. It can be overwhelming to know your science based target initiative from your ISO net zero guidelines, so here is what you need to know:
The Race to Zero is the an initiative supporting the mandate of UN Climate Change High Level Champions with 11,000 members from across 116 countries. The over 8,000 companies who have a Race to Zero commitment will within 12 months need to report on the emissions caused by their events and demonstrate they are:
Aligning external policy and engagement, including membership in associations, to the goal of halving emissions by 2030 and reaching global (net) zero by 2050
What does this mean for the event sector?
It is going to become the norm for corporate and association events to measure their event related emissions and make event decisions based on that
The heads of sustainability may be making more event related decisions in the near future
What is the opportunity for the event sector?
To demonstrate we are ‘engagement enablers’ not logistic co-ordinators. In other words, to understand that carbon impact may mean a face to face event is not the optimal solution and it should be engagement professionals that are able to suggest hybrid, virtual, hub and every other opportunity to connect.
To show credibility in our understanding of actions required and join The Race to Zero. It might be tempting to join an initiative linked to the event sector e.g. your association’s roadmap, but this criteria does not match the criteria of Race to Zero and the Head of Sustainability is going to be able to spot greenwash. Event Sector SME’s can join The Race to Zero here.
Many sectors experience their association bodies and sector media championing doing the bare minimal and the event sector is no different. It can be tempting to join your association benchmarking index or educate yourself through events delivered by event sector media. A good question to always be asking yourself is ‘Would my Head of Sustainability recognise the credentials of this initiative and does it align with the criteria in my company’s sustainability policy’. The future of your job depends on this.
From event professional to engagement enabler:
Throughout COP27 it was hard to miss the many linked in posts questioning the logistics of COP27. Was it a good idea to gather so many people in one place? Could all the carbon emissions from travel be justified? What was the point of people flying in to do a presentation to a virtual audience then flying out again?
The logistics of a face to face event are now forefront of most attendees thoughts and the routine response of ‘legacy will happen because of this event’ is no loner enough.
This provides the greatest opportunity of reinvention for event professionals. From counting chairs in a room to identifying how to build trust, from ordering food to enabling engagement. This is the time to shift from logistics to engagement.
It is up to the sector to build our capacity around this new narrative and it is happening (anecdotally the Positive Impact community is seeing a rapid growth in the numbers of people undertaking education and gaining certified professional development hours).
The next 12 months are key:
By November 2023 companies (including SMEs) in the event value chain that are fit for future purpose will be sharing data on their carbon impact and be in The Race to Zero, working in a way that meets ISO 20121 requirements (the only International standard for sustainable events) including human rights, accessibility, legacy, and delivering engagement strategies that advance the sustainable development goals
COP27 has delivered all the evidence that this is the future we need to reach scientific targets, align with government policy and meet growing public expectations. The signs for the future of the event sector are clear, the action is obvious. Will you choose to take it?
Written by Fiona Pelham, CEO of Positive Impact, a not for profit which exists to provide engagement, education and collaboration for sustainable engagement strategies. Positive Impact is a Race to Zero Accelerator and for over 15 years has provided resources to a global community of engagement experts so they can advance the SDGs through human connection experiences.
