to make industry more efficient and effective, and helping to break down barriers to international trade. Every new standard starts out in one country, said Fiona
Pelham, owner of U.K.-based Sustainable Events Ltd. and co-chair of the ISO 20121 committee. During the beginning phases of planning for London 2012, Stubbs suggested to a representative from the British Standards Institute that a standard for sustainable event management should be cre- ated. That standard, BS 8901, was published in 2007 and helped govern LOCOG’s approach to a sustainable Games.
“Almost immediately, people around the world began imple- menting BS 8901,” Pelham says. “And when a national stan- dard is being adopted internationally, that’s when it’s time to develop an international standard.” ISO 20121 was published in June, just in time for its name-
sake, the 2012 Olympics. Now that the Games are over, the new- est international standard is finding new life across the globe in the hands of sustainability-minded event organizers. “The standard is not a checklist,” Pelham said. “It’s more about giving people a framework so they look closely at what their potential issues are at any given event and develop objectives and mea- surements to tackle those issues in a sustainable manner.”
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When organizations implement ISO 20121, there are
“clear economic benefits,” Pelham said. “It’s a brilliant frame- work for good business practices. You constantly understand what messages you’re sending and what vision you’re creating for your company.” Anybody can implement the standard; it’s not necessary to
become ISO 20121–certified. “Certification is just a badge that can give you some press and marketing opportunities,” Pelham says. “The real benefit simply comes from implementation.”
. Nancy Mann Jackson is a freelance writer based in Huntsville, Ala.
› Download an overview of ISO 20121 at convn.org/ISO-20121. › A guide to understanding the ISO 20121 international standard can be downloaded at greenshootpacific.com/resources. › Read a Scientific American blog post about the sustainable disassembly of Olympic Park at convn.org/SA-sustain.