Sustainable Event Management: BS 8901 Certification

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Background

BS 8901 is the British Standard which specifies requirements for a sustainable event management system.

BS 8901 is the very first standard to define a sustainable management system for the meetings and events industry. This standard was designed specifically for the events industry and defines the requirements for a sustainable event management system.

This standard was piloted at the European Meetings and Events Conference in London in early 2008. The MPI-sponsored conference was the first event to undergo the BS 8901 third-party certification process.  

The eventual goal for this standard is to become an international standard (ISO) for all events.

How does BS 8901 work?

BS 8901 employs a way of working which takes into consideration the environmental, economical and social impacts of the event. The standard is either self-certified or externally certified by a third-party.

BS 8901 is a three-phased system:

• Planning
• Implementation
• Monitoring and control (or sometimes referred as "review")

Phase 1 - Planning

The planning phase involves developing an overall plan for sustainability that includes specific measurable objectives and metrics, identifying and engaging the stakeholders, and identifying the key issues specific to your event.

The first step in this phase is to appoint a "Sustainability Champion" for your event. This person's role will be to manage the overall three-phase process for certification.

The next step is to define the performance objectives, preferred solutions, and key performance indicators/targets that will affect your stakeholders and drive your development plan.

Phase 2 - Implementation

Implementation is the development and acceptance of the key elements of the sustainable event management plan. Phase 2 typically involves the coordination of supply chain management and the event managers. The key to implementation is communication and operational control.

Phase 3 - Monitoring to control

This phase focuses on reviewing compliance and performance in relation to achieving specific measurable objectives. Monitoring and control is the implementation of procedures to measure performance against established metrics. Audits and reviews should be done regularly and the procedures should be continually updated to demonstrate improvement.

The diagram below, from SES "BS 8901 - What is it?" illustrates how each of the phases affects the overall approach. (http://www.bs8901.com/BS8901PhApp.aspx)

CERTIFICATION

Certification of your event requires the following steps:

1. Determine overall scope of certification. Will this certification cover a single event, reoccurring event, all events put on by the organization.
2. Host a pre-event audit, which includes an initial meeting with management to explain the process, interviews with stakeholders, review of event management systems, site inspection of the operation of the management systems.
3. Perform final audit of event management system to determine whether it meets the requirements of BS 8901 and locate evidence that the event management system is operating effectively.

Certification is typically valid for three-years for reoccurring and multi-event certifications. The certification of a single event is only good for the duration of that specific event.

In order to retain certification, follow-up visits by the audit committee may be necessary.

Additional Resources:

MPI: www.positiveimpactevents.co.uk

BSI: www.bsigroup.com/bs8901

Sustainable Event Solutions: http://www.bs8901.com/Home.aspx

To order copies of the BS 8901 standard: www.bsi-global.com