Sustainability Standards and Registry

Events Industry Council Sustainable Event Standards

Major changes have been made to increase the EIC Sustainable Event Standards' ease of use, strengthen social responsibility considerations and recognise innovation and exemplary performance. These standards will replace the APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting Standards.

More than 100 of the industry's leading practitioners contributed to the development of the new standards, which have been purposefully designed to increase sustainable practices across the events industry. 
 

Download the standards: 

Update to the 2019 Provisional Event Standards

As part of EIC’s long-standing commitment to leading and accelerating our industry’s transformation, we are releasing an updated version of the EIC Sustainable Event Standards in 2022. The journey toward certification provides organisations, destinations and professionals with a framework and transparent process to set and implement targets as well as a way to set and achieve community wide goals, drive ambition, and accelerate change. 

The EIC Sustainable Event Standards have been written through a global collaborative process with participation from subject matter experts in all sectors. They provide a strong focus on guidance and metrics so that event professionals, at all stages of their sustainability journey, will have the support needed to implement and measure sustainable practices. To date, more than 300 professionals have participated in the review of the standards.

Click on the images to view the draft 2022 EIC Sustainable Event Standards.

Frequently asked questions: Sustainable Event Standards

What are the new EIC Sustainable Event Standards?

The EIC Sustainable Event Standards are a collection of eight (8) specific standards that assess events and industry suppliers on a wide range of sustainability criteria in support of environmental and social responsibility. Transparency and accountability are provided by third-party verification of compliance with these standards. The EIC Sustainable Event Standards replaced the former APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting Standards in 2019, and an updated version is being released in 2022. There are four levels for the new standards – Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum.

EIC is releasing an updated version of the EIC Sustainable Event Standards in 2022, and have made the current draft available for public commentary. The journey toward certification provides organisations, destinations and professionals with a framework and transparent process to set and implement targets as well as a way to set and achieve community wide goals, drive ambition, and accelerate change.

The standards have been written through a global collaborative process with participation from subject matter experts in all sectors. They provide a strong focus on guidance and metrics so that event professionals, at all stages of their sustainability journey, will have the support needed to implement and measure sustainable practices.

In order to reach a certification level, applicants will be required to demonstrate their achievement of the criteria. Based on the percentage of completion, and on the maximum number of points for each specific sector, certification will be awarded as follows:

Bronze 50% Silver 65% Gold 80% Platinum 90%

What are the individual standards in the 2022 version?

The EIC Sustainable Event Standards are a collection of eight standards for events and events industry suppliers. New in 2022 is the Integrated Property standard,

Event organiser, accommodation, AV and production, Destination, Exhibition Services, Food and Beverage, Venue, Integrated Property

Assessment Areas:

Each standard includes criteria in seven areas:

Organisational Management, MarCom and Engagement, Climate Action, Water, Materials and Circularity, Supply Chain, Social Impact

How were the 2019 standards developed?

  • More than 100 of the industry’s leading practitioners contributed to the revision of the standards, which have been purposefully designed to increase sustainable practices across the events industry.
  • Throughout the revision process, EIC focused on making them globally relevant. In addition to having volunteer reviewers from 15 different countries, EIC designed the requirements to focus on environmental and social outcomes, rather than country-specific regulations and programmes.
  • The standards revision process included a 60-day public commentary phase to engage a greater number of stakeholders in ensuring the standards are globally and materially relevant.
  • The standards are being released with a one-year provisional status to allow for a final phase of industry participation.

What was the consultation process for the 2022 standards?

An extensive consultation process was undertaken to review the 2019 Provisional EIC Sustainable Event Standards. These consultations included participation from the EIC Sustainability and Social Impact Committee, past contributors in the development of the standards, EIC members, organisations that had previously certified to the standards, subject matter experts, and a survey and webinar for the broader EIC database of stakeholders. In total, over 300 individuals provided comments, including members of more than 20 industry associations. Feedback was received from participants from more than 20 countries. These consultations resulted in the key changes summarised in the following section.

Key Changes in 2022 Draft Version

Following an extensive global consultation process, the following changes have been proposed in the 2022 Draft:

  • Foundations Level: A new Foundations Level replaces the former "Industry Wide Criteria" and have a greater emphasis on education, tools andresources to support adoption.
  • Improved Ease of Use and Expanded Criteria: Criteria, Assessment and Guidance have been updated for greater flexibility for regional adaptation, and have been expanded inareas of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Accessibility and Climate Action. Points values were also adjusted to reflect materiality andinvestment.
  • Integrated Property Standard: A new integrated property standard was introduced to incorporate elements of the accommodation, venue and food and beveragestandard for properties that offer all three services.
  • New Certification Cadence: A new certification model that now includes a comprehensive audit in the first and fourth years and surveillance audits for a smaller numberof criteria for the second and third years was introduced for suppliers. A streamlined process for events using the same suppliers was alsoadded.
  • Clearly Defined Roles: The Event Standard now clearly indicates the responsibilities for the event organiser and for their suppliers in meeting the standard's criteria.

What are the fees for obtaining the certification?

  • Fees are based on the complexity of the auditing requirements and size of the organisation or event. For more detailed pricing information, please contact sustainability@eventscouncil.org
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