Sustainable Event Management: A Practical Guide (2010)

Specifications

Book Description

There are celebrations of virtually every imaginable kind taking place all across the world each and every year. It doesn't matter if they are little community gatherings, major academic conferences, important corporate gatherings, or enormous music performances, festivals, expos, or sporting events; they all have a significant impact on the local ecosystem.

One could argue that not holding an event at all is the most environmentally responsible thing to do. However, that would be boring. The history of humanity has always included public gatherings and celebrations, and this will continue to be the case. However, persons who organize events have a responsibility to society and the environment to lessen the negative effects of their activities. If every person working in the event industry made sure to place sustainability at the forefront of their planning and decision-making, the total effect would be truly remarkable throughout the entire planet. However, where do you even begin?

This new practical, step-by-step guide is written by an expert in the area, and it walks readers through all of the main components of how to understand and manage the repercussions of catastrophes of any sort and scale anywhere in the world. The coverage includes an overview of sustainable event management as well as detailed discussions of energy, zero emissions options, carbon management and, transport, water, waste management and reduction, procurement and supply chains, as well as communications and marketing. These methods have been tried and tested throughout the event industry.

In order to further demonstrate crucial concepts, such as how to avoid typical errors, the author incorporates a large number of examples and case studies from all around the world throughout the text. Festivals such as the iconic and extremely environmentally friendly Boom Festival in Portugal, the desert-based Burning Man in Nevada, USA, the grandmother green event Glastonbury Festival, rock icons Reading and Leeds Festivals in the United Kingdom, and the Danish over-achiever Roskilde Festival are all profiled in this book, along with their respective systems.

Other prominent Australian festivals that provided case studies and examples include the Peats Ridge Festival, Big Day Out, Splendour in the Grass, Meredith Music Festival, Falls Festival, Southbound, and the legendary Woodford Folk Festival. Festivals such as Boonaroo, Rothbury, and Coachella, in addition to the most recent US Democratic Convention, are responsible for covering the green ground in the United States.

In addition to that, readers are given action checklists as well as other tools for measuring performance and evaluating key sustainability indicators. In addition, there is a companion website that can be accessed through the book's URL. This website offers additional resources, such as case studies, contacts for relevant suppliers, discussion groups, and more.

This is the indispensable one-stop guide for event and facility organizers, managers and professionals, and students studying event management who want to adjust their thinking and planning decisions towards sustainability and who require a powerful, easy to use collection of tools to deliver events in a sustainable manner.