Environmental

View of a gold course over looking the sea

All sporting, cultural and business events impact the environment, not just while they are taking place but before and after too.

These impacts occur through events’ use of resources (e.g. land, energy, building materials), activities related to their staging (e.g. transport, food consumption, pollution) and the influence they exert over people’s attitudes and behaviours towards the environment (e.g. recycling, saving water). Impacts related to the first and second of these are usually negative, while those stemming from the last can have a positive balancing effect. Events can also have a longer-term positive impact on their environment through regeneration effects that improve their surroundings over time.

Event organisers should always understand the impact their activities have on the environment and consider how they can operate more sustainably. That is not just the right thing to do but also now the expected thing to do as sustainable development grows in importance to event funders, sponsors, participants and attendees. Government and the public sector bodies that support events in the UK typically have environmental targets and policy objectives they expect events to help them achieve. Sound environmental credentials can help events access more valuable and wider-ranging support from sponsors, while understanding the drivers of these impacts can enable them to operate more cost-effectively too.

Types of environmental impact

  • Carbon footprint is one of the most common measures of environmental impact, and is based on the total greenhouse gas emissions of an event.
  • Environmental promotion can balance the negative impacts of events by encouraging participants and attendees to make lifestyle and consumption changes that will benefit the planet.
  • Waste impacts relate to both the amount of waste events generate and how they dispose of it.
  • Energy impacts stem from the use of power in everything from venue construction and spectator travel to running the event itself.
  • Water impacts reflect the fact that sporting, cultural and business events can significantly increase pressure on their host communities’ water supply and infrastructure.
  • Transport and travel impacts can be some of the most significant events create, particularly for those that attract visitors from around the world.
  • Food and drink impacts are affected by the quantities event attendees consume, how it is sourced and where associated waste ends up.
  • Additional impacts can be generated by events staged in natural settings rather than man-made venues and can have positive or negative implications for green space, air quality and biodiversity.

All negative impacts can be reduced and/or minimised by following international standards for sustainability planning and management.

Measuring environmental impact

This section of the eventIMPACTS toolkit will help you start measuring your event’s impact on the environment.

It highlights relevant indicators recommended by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and by the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), as well as their contribution to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Free calculators to use in estimating carbon emissions are also available online. These tools are not officially endorsed by eventIMPACTS partners; you should always consult with potential partners such as local authorities and other agencies when determining the most appropriate mechanism for assessing these impacts.


Event Carbon Footprints

Carbon footprint is one of the most commonly reported measures of an event’s environmental impact.

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Environmental Promotion

This section considers the how events promote environmentally conscious behaviour

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Event Waste Impacts

This section considers approaches to measuring waste management, reduction and recycling at events

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Event Energy Impacts

This section considers measures to assess the impact of energy use at events

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Event Water Impacts

This section considers measures to assess the impact of water use at events

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Event Transport and Travel Impacts

This section considers measures to assess the travel impacts associated with events (including event visitors, staff and volunteers)

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Event Food and Drink Impacts

This section considers measures to assess the impact of event food and drink

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ISO20121 - Incorporating sustainability into event planning and operation

This section considers measures for sustainability planning and management at events

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Protecting ecosystems and promoting biodiversity

This section considers additional environmental considerations including biodiversity and pollution

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