MICEBOOK - POWER30 BROCHURE 10 (1) - Flipbook - Page 11
Client or Agency led?
The Big Social Shift
When it comes to event sustainability, are agencies
or clients driving the sustainability agenda and which
accreditations are being adopted?
Another key trend to note is that
many agencies said their focus is
shifting from just carbon reduction to
holistic ESG impact.
According to Matilda Riley, lead sustainability consultant
at emc3, different clients have different priorities.
“Procurement teams may focus on ISOs, while brand
managers might align more with B Corp certifications.
The more accreditations you have, the stronger your
position during the RFP process, demonstrating that
you’ve met rigorous, ongoing standards—not just once,
but continuously. It’s not about ticking boxes; it’s about
proving a genuine commitment to high standards.
While ISOs are often client-driven, many of our other
certifications are initiatives we’ve proactively pursued
internally.”
The data revealed that agencies generally perform
better in internal sustainability than in client-facing
event sustainability, and the ISO trend with 14001 being
more common than 201212 reinforces this. Grey says:
“Our best estimate as of now is that agency boards can
control process internally and therefore more closely
control standards and accreditations. ISO 20121 relates
to events not event companies, but is based on an
event company’s process, so perhaps agencies feel that
inadvertent client pressures mean that 20121 processes
are harder to adhere to or to prove adherence to?”
Most agencies also have a portfolio of clients with varying
attitudes towards sustainability, some demand it and
actively integrate sustainability strategies, some are
ambivalent and will accept sustainability measures but
not actively push for them, while others refuse to pay
extra for sustainability initiatives. This can make it more
challenging for agencies to balance sustainability with
profitability, especially when clients refuse to allocate
budgets to ESG initiatives.
When asked whether it’s the client or agency’s
responsibility to drive sustainability, the agencies we
interviewed believe it should be a collaborative approach,
though conceded that they have a responsibility to
encourage clients to adopt more sustainable solutions.
“We are influencers, not the controllers. We can only do
what we can do, but there is lots of reduction you can
do irrespective of client requirements,” says Lemon Lane
sustainability manager, Zoe Waterhouse. Some agencies
have started to measure and report on carbon impact
across all events—whether the client pays for it or not—
making it a non-negotiable part of their service. These
agencies will no doubt reap the benefits associated in
development going forward.
“The event sector mainly adopted
the ‘carbon-cause’ very swiftly from
2021 onwards. A realisation that
social, public and business practice
is changing, albeit at different rates
across the globe, has led to an
awareness that responsible and
sustainable event delivery should
include each of the Environmental,
Social and Governance (ESG)
elements. This aligns with other
sectors outside of events – and
should allow us to more clearly
demonstrate event alignment with
organisational values,” explains Grey.
“Events are also uniquely positioned
to support social bene昀椀t. Take for
example the social regeneration
associated with large global events
such as the Olympic Games & other
sporting events. Events are peoplefocused, often locally supplied,
create demand for service and
product and harness the collective
power of bringing people together.
Now all we need to do is be better at
demonstrating our effectiveness.”
emc3’s Riley agrees and says they
are seeing a major shift in client
priorities. “The social and community
side of sustainability has become
just as—if not more—important than
the environmental side. There’s
a storytelling element to it that
resonates in a way carbon savings
don’t. Telling a client that their event
saved ‘X’ percentage of emissions is
great, but it’s abstract. However, telling
them that their event furnished 10
families’ homes in East London with
donated furniture - that creates an
emotional connection.”
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