We want to see a thriving events industry long into the future but we’re facing multiple unprecedented crises; a health and wellbeing crisis, a climate crisis, nature and wildlife loss, social injustice, and huge economic challenges – and they are all connected. That’s why ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues are increasingly appearing at the top of the agenda. People around the world are taking action and we are here to play our part.  We need widespread collaboration to safeguard the future of events and have a positive impact on people and the planet. We’re working with/bringing together key industry players to help make this happen (ecolibrium, isla, mental health UK, any others).

Delegate travel is our event’s greatest carbon impact with people travelling from all corners of the UK. We’re partnering with the environmental charity, ecolibrium, which works at the heart of live events to accelerate the shift to low-carbon travel and create positive climate impacts.

Our call to action:

We are asking delegates to take low-carbon forms of travel to Event Buyers Live 2022 to help us and our community of live event professionals to tread more lightly on the planet. Did you know, for instance, that travelling 150 miles in a car generates 83kg of carbon whilst travelling by train generates 17kg – that’s nearly 5 times the amount. It’s all down to the burning of fossil fuels to power our vehicles.

Whilst reducing emissions is our first priority, we recognise that not everyone can take low-carbon forms of transport. However you decide to travel to Event Buyers Live, we ask that everyone make a small contribution to ecolibrium’s climate solutions programmes – Trees+ or Energy Revolution – to help mitigate the impacts of travel and deliver positive climate impacts. You can do this online using ecolibrium’s carbon calculator or by downloading the ecolibrium app – just search for ecolibrium in the Apple store or Google Play.

Trees+ helps to fund tree planting, the regeneration of vital ecosystems and the protection of rainforests that are critical to combating climate change. It also supports community development initiatives in Malawi – working with people on the front lines of climate change.

Energy Revolution powers community-owned clean renewable energy projects across the UK to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and empower communities to take control of their energy consumption with financial gains.

More information can be found on ecolibrium’s website. If you would like to reach out to the ecolibrium team directly then please contact hello@ecolibrium.earth.

In building Event Buyers Live (EBL), we recognise our role in ensuring that we include sustainable production processes in our build and operations. We endeavour to promote the responsible use of resources throughout the supply chain, and to encourage more sustainable behaviour internally and among all attendees.

We understand the events industry needs to improve on sustainability processes and we endeavour to implement all advice and best practice, taking all partners’ frameworks as part of our event management plan.

We are working with isla, the event sustainability body, to implement ‘proseed‘, the best practice framework for sustainable events, This enables us to set sustainability targets with robust planning and transparent reporting.

Some basics:

• We have avoided waste going to landfill by reusing and recycling to promote circularity in the build and design.
• As the event is focused on encouraging event organisers to implement more sustainable practices, this has reduced the requirement for extensive and elaborate set designs. Instead, the design aesthetic is more stylised and minimal in its execution.
• We have been committed to only working with production partners which have a sustainable approach and include sustainability as a parameter within their procurement process.
• Every effort has been taken to consult with experts and partner organisations to ensure the highest levels of advice on sustainability have been adhered to.
• During the build, deliveries are being combined to reduce the number of individual journeys and reduce CO2 impact.
• We have eliminated the use of single-use plastics in our build production. No single-use plastics will be available or supplied to consumers or staff.
• We have made the decision to not give away plastic branded merchandise to reduce our CO2 impact.
• We have prioritised leaving a legacy in the events industry by way of best practice and by hosting internal workshops to improve standards for future events.
• We have ensured that all technical equipment and any wayfinding and messaging is digital.
• We have pushed for plant-based and fully biodegradable menus.

How you can help as a visitor

• Please do not print itineraries and utilise all technology available to you.
• Please use public transport to arrive at the venue if possible.  Please remember to review ecolibrium’s travel calculator.
• Please take any waste away with you to dispose of responsibly.