ESSA Sustainability Accreditation
The ESSA Sustainability module is an optional, additional accreditation available for those companies who have already attained ESSA Accredited status. Similar to the H&S accreditation it is an annual accreditation and requires yearly renewal.
Sustainable Procurement
ESSA H&S Manager Josh Taylor has contributed to a Hire Space article surroung Sustainable Procurement, read it here
ESSA Sustainability Awareness Course
ESSA is proud to provide a sustainability awareness course to all its members. Created with ESSA Member Green Circle Solutions it takes you on a journey through sustainability in events and how we can all do our part to make the industry more sustainable.
Course access is dependent on the level of ESSA membership your company has. Full members of ESSA get unlimited access for all their staff. Associate members get 2 accounts and individual members get 1 account. It is available to non-ESSA members for £99.99
Access the course here.
Click here for information on how to sign up to the sustainability awareness course as well as the other courses ESSA provides.
ESSA Member coupon codes can be found in the members area of the website.
An industry intiative to address climate change
At COP26 in November 2021, world leaders met to present how their countries will achieve the 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 in order to deliver on the Paris Agreement. During this meeting, the Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge was launched setting out the events industry’s commitment to play its role in addressing climate change.
What does this mean? 
The Net Zero Carbon Events initiative aims to bring together a wide range of industry stakeholders to:
Jointly communicate our industry’s commitment to tackling climate change and driving towards net zero by 2050
Develop common methodologies for measuring the industry’s direct, indirect and supply chain greenhouse gas emissions
Construct an industry-wide roadmap towards net zero by 2050, and emissions reductions by 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement, with support and guidance on key issues
Foster collaboration with suppliers and customers to ensure alignment and common approaches
Establish common mechanisms for reporting progress and sharing best practice
This year, supporters of the initiative will be invited to work together to define an industry Net Zero Roadmap for Events that is aligned with the targets of the Pledge. The Roadmap will be launched at COP 27 in November/December 2022.
The race to net zero is on!
COP26 fired the starting pistol, and the UK Events industry is up and running. Sustainability must be part of our thinking in every aspect of our business
The associations have a part to play in ensuring our members have the support and insight that they need to work towards meeting the industry pledge.
Our Cross Association Sustainability group has welcomed an influx of members to participate in the great work they continue to carry out.
The plan for 2022
An industry wide pilot project to measure the carbon footprint of a large UK event at KBB Birmingham, which takes place in March.
Informa Markets, GES and the NEC have joined as a taskforce to map out the processes of each stakeholder and their carbon contribution to the event. The learnings and results will then be shared with the wider sustainability group, assessed and put into practice at a second event case study in AW22.
Our short-term objective is to open up dialogue between stakeholders, so they understand the types of questions that they should be asking each other, with each taking away different learnings from the process and implementing these in their businesses.
Long term, this will feed directly into our existing sustainability commitments, support the industry pledge road map and give us the data needed to create an event carbon calculator that can be used by all to measure the environmental impact of live events.
Our members can then choose to prioritise and focus on areas of concern and take responsibility for the actions that will help them towards their net zero goal.
If you are interested in being part of the conversation, get in touch.
Cross Association Sustainability Commitments
Our Journey to Sustainability
The Cross Association Sustainability Working Group provides AEV, AEO and ESSA members with focus on the important issues around sustainability and gives all the ability to work together to help reduce the event industry’s impact on the environment.
How will they work?
The aim is for AEO, AEV and ESSA Association members to work towards a consistent base level of sustainability performance. The sector specific commitments enable all parties to have a clear idea of what they should be looking at and allow for tracking progress against this guidance.
- Each commitment is divided into one or more principle
- The set of principles are designed to provide a framework for all to ensure they are implementing a basic level of sustainability
- They are intended to help identify if there are any areas needing particular focus
- Resources such as achievement case studies, eGuide content, templates and guidance documents will be available to help Association members achieve the principles
- Members of the Cross-Association Sustainability Working Group will be invited to feedback progress during group meetings and offer mutual support
- A self-scoring system will allow members to track their progress against each principal within the set of commitments
This is not a proviso of membership; responses will not be reported publicly. It is recognised that sustainability planning is for some in its infancy and these can guide our members direct focus and evolve their environmental responsibility considerations in line with industry peers.
Members Only Resource
This resource is open to AEO, AEV and ESSA members only, accessible behind the association's member zones.
If you're a non-member venue and you would like to access this resource, and the wealth of other resources and information that we offer - please contact us to discuss membership opportunities.
