Events – Can they be Sustainable?

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A lightbulb with a green leaf inside the glass bulb.

Events can be high profile and transient, with both positive and negative social, economic and environmental impacts. Sustainable event management includes consideration of these impacts, taking into account the needs of all stakeholders. The revised draft standard AS ISO 20121:2024 Events sustainability magement systems – Requirements with guidance for use can ensure you can have a great event while still being sustainable and cost effective. The draft is available for Public Comment until 12 July 2024.

This document has been drafted to help organizations and individuals to improve the sustainability of their event-related activities. At the same time it requires organizations to recognize their relationship with and their impact on society and society’s expectations of events, a growing concern for organisations such as the City of Melbourne which produced the  Sustainable Events Guide.

Public Comment ensures that the broader community has an opportunity to review the content and direction of the document prior to its completion. All comments from the public are considered in detail by the technical committee and, if necessary, further drafting is undertaken. View the full list of drafts currently available for public commentDownload the Public Comment Portal Help Guide

Consumers’ Federation of Australia(CFA) engages with these issues by supporting a representative to the committee MB-018 which contributed to the work.  The CFA representative ensures the impact on consumers is always a central part of committee considerations. The CFA Standards Project makes certain the consumer voice is heard in the standards development process giving the Australian consumer greater confidence in the products, services and systems they use. Find out how to get involved and make a difference here. Find out how to get FREE read only access to Australian standards.


Above is a piece written by Regina Godfredson, Project Nabager for Consumers’ Federation of Australia’s Standards Project.