Let’s be honest, who really cares about how waste is being distributed and what energy is being used when you are at an event? However with the development of technology being able to show us how we are affecting our planet, I personally have started thinking in a more “green” manner. It’s not just me, a lot of businesses have started developing sustainable schemes in order to become more efficient and cost cutting. Scheirer (1994) identifies sustainability as a set of durable activities and resources aimed for the continuation of programs. In relation to tourism, Hall (2011) acknowledges that sustainability has flourished in recent years and identifies that this is now expanded into the events industry as it is an important part of tourism.
Hall (2012) recognises that in 2005 the 
British Standards (BS) produced a policy known as BS 8901 with its main aim to guide the events industry on how to operate in a sustainable manner. However he also identifies that Britain were not the only country developing these standards, each country had their own variation. This lead to the International Standards Organisation (ISO) emerging with a new concept linking everyone’s policies together in order to have a common standard, known as ISO 20121 and was heavily influenced by BS 8901 and showcased by the London Olympics. Bsigroup.com (2012) identify that this policy brings together a variety of different countries ideas in order to have a common standard which will be made more efficient and in the long term by cutting costs via better energy and waste management. Iso20121.org (2012) detects that the standards aim is to tackle environmental, economic and social sustainability by producing a management system that an organisation has to have in place in order to achieve the decorated status of ISO 20121.
So the main question to be answered is, will this catch on? Tinnish (n.d.) produced a research report identifying the barriers which may be encountered by ISO 20121. She indicates that the complexity of the standard may be enough to put off some businesses. Iso20121.org (2012) also acknowledges this issue however they plan on counter acting this by providing support to any business which demonstrates willingness to employ these standards. Tinnish (n.d.) also highlights that sustainability may just turn out to be a “fad”, especially in the events industry as Tinnish suggests that this industry is prone to change. She also indicates that the expense of training and education on how to implement the standard could be enough to put off businesses who do not wish to spend their time and money on something which might not take off. On the contrary, Iso20121.org (2012) indicates that this standard has the potential to radicalise the industry by making business more efficient. They also acknowledge that it can assist socially and environmentally which in turn can improve motivation in the workforce, create better standings in the community and enhance relationships with other companies employing the standard.
In my humble opinion, any business would be mad not to jump on this bandwagon. Not only does it have the potential to improve your business internally, but it will also help you sleep at night knowing you are benefitting the world we all live in!!!
Bsigroup.com (2012) ISO 20121 Sustainable Events Management | BSI Group. [online] Available at: http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/iso-20121-sustainable-events-management/ [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].
Hall, C. M. (2011). Policy learning and policy failure in sustainable tourism governance: From first and second to third order change? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 19(4–5), 649–671
Hall, C. M. (2012). SuStainable Mega-eventS: beyond the Myth of balanced approacheS to Mega-event SuStainability. Event Management, 16(2), 119-131
Iso20121.org (2012) ISO 20121 – Welcome to the ISO 20121 Web Site. [online] Available at: http://www.iso20121.org/ [Accessed: 14 Dec 2012].
Scheirer, M.A. (1994). Designing and using process evaluation. In Wholey et al. (Eds), Handbook of practical program evaluation
Tinnish, S.(n.d.) Barriers and Enablers to the Adoption of the ISO 20121 Standard for Event Sustainability Management.
Understanding Event Operations 