Environmental
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Why Measure Environmental Impact?
It is becomingly increasingly important for event organisers to understand the environmental impact of their event, in the interest of sustainability, sound strategic management, cost effectiveness and maximising sponsorship/funding.
In some cases, there may be an acceptance that an event will have some negative implications for the environment. Some event organisers may simply want to limit the scarce resources used in delivering the event and in so doing may put in place event management practices to demonstrate their commitment to limiting such consumption. Others will identify positive environmental impacts and, in these cases, developing a strategy to capture such impacts is critical.
Choosing a Level of Impact
Environmental impacts have been broken down into three categories based upon the ease with which they can be measured. Further details on this categorisation can be found here.
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Basic Environmental Impacts
Number and type of environmental management plans in place. Systems should include the identification of environmental impacts to be measured
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Intermediate Environmental Impacts
Assesses how attendees have travelled to an event, their perceptions of the event's environmental credentials, and their intent to change their environmental behaviour
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Advanced Environmental Impacts
Considers long-term change in people's environmental behaviour, especially linked to any changes in participation
Case studies
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Developing Environmental Indicators - 2008 BUPA Great Yorkshire Run
This report investigates three evaluation themes: Attendance; Social Impacts: identity, image & place; and Social Impacts: participation. Within these themes, there was a special focus on Children and Young people.
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Carbon Footprinting the 2008 Edinburgh International Film Festival
The 1,630 delegates to EIFF 2008 had a total footprint of 760 tonnes of carbon-equivalent emissions. Of this total, around two thirds was due to attendees travel to and from the event.
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London Freewheel: Environmental Analysis
The results below show that A total of 242 tonnes of carbon were estimated to be saved as a result in the year following the 2007 London Freewheel as a result of the changed travel patterns of those who participated in the event.
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IRB Rugby Union Junior World Championships (June 2008, Wales)
The aim of our research was to assess the events environmental impact, with a secondary aim to undertake some longitudinal research with people who had been through ancillary activities as part of the accompanying rugby development programme.
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Edinburgh Film Festival (June 2008, Edinburgh)
This report focuses on the experiences and perceptions of volunteers working at the 2008 Edinburgh Film Festival.
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The Bupa Great Yorkshire Run 2008
This report investigates three evaluation themes: Attendance; Social Impacts: identity, image & place; and Social Impacts: participation. Within these themes, there was a special focus on Children and Young people.
For more information about the aims, objectives and concepts underpinning the Toolkit, please click here