SETTING THE SCENE

Events are key to human collaboration. They provide a platform for innovation, business, partnerships and new experiences. From large trade shows and exhibitions to festivals and live music or sporting events, to smaller business events and conferences, to gatherings of teams or families, events are an integral part of our society. The events industry understands its economic and social benefits, and at the same time is clear on its responsibility to minimise the climate impacts it generates.

The Net Zero Carbon Events initiative was launched in August 2021 with the aim of bringing the global events industry together on a common journey to Net Zero by 2050. This Roadmap is the result of a collaborative approach by the 400 plus organisations from 55 countries which have become supporters of the initiative and aims to set out a common pathway to achieve this ambitious goal.

This collaborative cross-industry approach is more important than ever in the current context of economic downturn, challenging global supply chains and increasing costs. Smaller players are already being squeezed financially and, while the economic benefits of decarbonisation will come into play in the medium term, in the short-term economic challenges may prevail. By working together, the full force of the events industry can highlight not only the benefits it brings to the world, but also the support which may be needed to make the required changes in order to achieve Net Zero.

ESTABLISHING A JOURNEY TOGETHER

The Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge

The Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge was launched in November 2021 as a means to gather momentum across the industry. Signatories commit to the following four actions in order to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050:

• Before the end of 2023, publish the organisation’s pathway to achieve Net Zero by 2050 at the latest, with an interim target in line with the Paris Agreement’s requirement to reduce global GHG emissions by 50% by 2030.
• Collaborate with partners, suppliers and customers to drive change across the value chain.
• Measure and track our Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions according to industry best practice.
• Report on progress at least every two years.

Engaging across Stakeholders

Perhaps more than any other industry sector, the events industry is a complex multiplicity of stakeholders working on a huge number of projects of all sizes, all over the world. This includes not those directly involved in event delivery such as event organisers who may range from multinational businesses to individuals within a company (and much in between); venues, which may be large convention centers with multiple uses, sports stadiums, concert halls, hotels, or even an empty field; and all the service providers which help deliver events on the ground; but also destinations in the form of governments, convention bureaux, destination management organisations or local communities that encourage and support events in their areas; companies which exhibit at or sponsor events; and of course the attendees without whom events would not exist.

This Roadmap does not seek to provide the answers to all these groups and to all variations of events, but it aims to provide a common framework for approaching Net Zero which can be applied and adapted by individual companies and across the industry. This first version of the Roadmap focuses on the operators who are directly involved in the delivery of an event, namely organisers, venues and service providers. That is not to say that other stakeholders such as destinations or clients (such as exhibiting companies in the case of exhibitions, for instance) do not have an important role to play, and this will be addressed in more detail in further iterations of the Roadmap. In the meantime, Part 2 - Section 6 provides some guidance on how this Roadmap can be used to engage with these important stakeholders.

A System-wide Approach

Ultimately, given the challenges of climate change, it is anticipated that it will not be sufficient for a single organisation or group of organisations, or indeed individual events, to take steps to decarbonise. While the need to meet, discuss and showcase products and share experiences remains the starting point for establishing events, a rethink in how events are planned and designed across the whole system will need to be considered. This is also required in the context of rising costs for customers. As such change needs to be driven through the whole events value chain.

Making the systemic change necessary will require not only individual companies to focus on the decarbonisation of their own activities and supply chain, but also necessitate cross- collaboration to ensure that some of the most challenging elements of the events industry are prioritised and addressed. Within the industry, there might be a need to address the extra spending required to become Net Zero for some small business operators who are the backbone of the event industry. The cross-collaboration will also include partnering with other industries such as aviation, shipping, haulage, and food production to develop new solutions and align on progress.

For this reason, the Roadmap sets out:

• The Company Pathway, in Chapter 3, which provides guidance for those companies who have signed the Pledge (and others who have not but still wish to pursue Net Zero by 2050) as to the progress they should plan to make by certain milestones.
• Priority Action Areas, in Chapter 4, which identify the priority areas for collaboration across the industry and with external stakeholders, such as those in ‘supporting’ industries (e.g. aviation, food production, energy supply) and where new approaches and innovative solutions will need to be applied as we move towards the 2050 goal.

Level Setting

The speed at which action towards Net Zero can be taken will not only depend on the commitment and resources an organisation or group of organisations dedicates to decarbonisation, but also external factors relating to the locations in which they operate. In addition, organisations which have already taken significant steps may show slower progress than those starting out as they will have already addressed the ‘low hanging fruit’. In some cases a specific business model may influence how an organisation addresses Net Zero. There is therefore no single pathway or timeline which can be applied to all organisations in all locations. While the end goal is the same – Net Zero by 2050 – some may reach this sooner than others, and the pathway taken may differ from company to company with different milestones reached at different times. These ‘equity considerations’ are highlighted throughout the Roadmap. Given the multitude of different approaches these have not been fully defined at this point, and work to provide more guidance will be provided in further iterations of the Roadmap.

Setting a Baseline

Identifying a starting point, or baseline, is a key element when setting carbon reduction targets. The Paris Agreement calls for a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030, but does not state a universal baseline. As such companies can determine their baseline depending on data availability or other factors relating to their business such as after a growth period or acquisition. The Roadmap provides guidance on how to set a baseline which can be applied at company level in Part 2 - Section 3.

Digital and Hybrid Events

The Covid-19 pandemic had a deep impact on the events industry. The forced move online was embraced by many players and has fundamentally changed how people think about events, the need to travel to events, and how to engage with geographically diverse audiences. It

is clear that increased use of digital solutions and opportunities for hybrid events are now embedded in the future of the events industry, and provide a significant opportunity to make event content accessible to much wider audiences, many of whom would not have been able to access the content or event in person. However, the advent of such opportunities has not negated the value of face-to-face interactions. While content can successfully be delivered online, it has proven less effective in replicating the opportunities for networking and business generation (in the case of business events) or pure enjoyment and communal experience (in the case of sporting, music or other consumer events).

As a result, while the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative recognises the role that digital and hybrid events can play, they are not proposed as a solution to decarbonising the events industry. Not only does digital have a footprint of its own, but more importantly the role of this Roadmap is to provide the means for decarbonising the face-to-face element of events which is the foundation upon which the industry’s positive contribution to humanity is based. Simply moving events online, as we were forced to do during the pandemic, is not a long-term solution.

Addressing the Impact of Attendee Travel and Accommodation Emissions

The emissions generated by the travel of attendees to events are significant and in almost all cases the largest contributor to an event’s carbon footprint. The events industry is clear that it has a responsibility to address these emissions, through working with partners in the travel industry, communicating sustainable travel options to participants, and making planning decisions which result in more efficient or reduced travel. As such, one of the five action areas identified in this Roadmap focuses on travel-related emissions. The guidance in this Roadmap recommends that event organisers measure and report the travel emissions related to attendees and, that when calculating the overall carbon footprint of an event, they should be included. However, given the perceived low level of influence events organisers have over travel emissions, currently emissions from attendee travel to the destination and accommodation may be excluded from a company’s Scope 3 (value chain) emissions calculation (except when the organiser directly facilitates the purchase of a ticket or room). This will be reviewed in two years’ time. In the meantime, event organisers wishing to get ahead of the game can choose to include attendee travel and accommodation emissions in their Scope 3 from now and develop their net zero pathway accordingly. Events wishing to certify as ‘carbon neutral’ can do so by measuring the full carbon footprint of the event, including attendee travel and accommodation, and offsetting accordingly (following the guidance on ‘good’ offsetting set out in Part 2 - Section 5 and relevant carbon neutral guidance).

THE ROADMAP

Navigating the Roadmap

The Roadmap is divided into three parts:

• Part 1: A Common Approach sets out the Company Pathway and Priority Action areas and provides the overarching framework for the events industry to move towards Net Zero.
• Part 2: Guidelines and Resources provides technical support to companies as they start to construct their net zero pathway, and endeavours to establish some common approaches to be used across the industry to ensure consistency.
• Part 3: Further Information includes a number of appendices which provide background information on key topics.

How the Roadmap was Developed

The Roadmap has been developed as a consultative process involving the members of the Net Zero Carbon Events Task Force1 and the wider supporter community. A survey of supporters was undertaken in January 2022 which, combined with a review of relevant literature and existing information and enhanced by consultations with Task Force members, as well as an initial review of the working document by the Task Force and other selected stakeholders, informed a first draft. This first draft was then presented to all supporters for comment and feedback, which was integrated into a second draft which was then made available to a wider group of stakeholders for review. It was then updated following feedback and is now presented in its final form.

Next Steps

The Roadmap provides the framework which will guide the events industry on its journey to Net Zero. In the next phase of the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative, the focus will shift to enabling companies to address the challenges of decarbonisation through workstreams which align with the Priority Action Areas in order to:

• Identify actions which can be implemented easily and without major changes needing to be made.
• Highlight projects and initiatives already underway which are defining new approaches and provide a mechanism for sharing learnings and best practices.
• Apply creative thinking to explore new and innovative ways of doing things, such as use of local suppliers, consolidation of operations and developing a calendar of events to reduce transportation needs between shows.

Additional workstreams will focus on the development of metrics and measurement methodologies, industry-wide reporting of progress and further exploration of the opportunities from a strategic cross-industry approach to offsetting.

1. Introduction
2. The Road to Net Zero
3. The Roadmap – An Overview
4. The Company Pathway
5. Priority Action Areas
6. The Roadmap in Action
7. Framework for Scope 1, 2 and 3 Boundaries for the Events Industry
8. Framework for Consistent Metrics for Measuring the Carbon Footprint of Events
9. Setting A Baseline
10. Reporting Template
11. A Carbon Offsetting Strategy for the Events Industry
12. Engaging With Destinations and Attendees
13. Annexes