Introduction:
Event management applies the use of the skills of project management to create and develop both small and large scale events that include a great deal of planning and logistics such as ceremonies, conferences, weddings, formal and informal parties among others. The field involves identifying the target audience, coming up with concepts that are related to the event and relating the technical aspects of the event beforehand. Event management is merged to serve as the marketing tool for the event being organized. In this case, event organizers devise the best methods they can employ to reach the target audience in the hope that their strategies create the required awareness about the event. An event manager is capable of bringing together the technical, creative and logistical elements of event management in proportions that ensure the event’s success.
A key characteristic of event management is that it should be sustainable. This is generally referred to as event greening, and it means that the event organization has taken consideration of the environmental, economic and social matters in its hosting location. Decision making involving the planning, organization, and participation in the event is done in accordance with sustainable development principles that have social and environmental responsibility values. Event greening involves all the participants of the event including clients, contractors, organizers and suppliers. Technology use in the stages of preparation and implementation of the event should also be well catered for. For example, technology trends have allowed the use of customized websites and applications that participants can use book rooms, travel options, and even exhibition spaces. The need for event management has increased, and thus professionalism is more emphasized in this area. This is demonstrated by the fact that there has been an increase in the number of universities offering degree, diploma and even certificate courses in event management. The study of event management as a discipline has sharpened the skills of event organization professionals and also ensured that more research and studies are made towards improving the field. This paper shall provide a critical assessment of the sustainability policy of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Congress of 2014, held in Sydney Australia. The paper shall also offer various recommendations and critical appraisal of the policy based on theories studied in class.
A Critical Analysis of the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014 Event Sustainability Policy.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Conference (WPC) for the year 2014 was held in Sydney, Australia between the 12th and 19th of November, 2014. There were more than 5000 participants representing various organization entities such as governments, non-governmental organizations, academic and research institutions, companies, and community and indigenous organizations. The 8-day preliminary and workshop activities were aimed at: reaching environmental conservation goals; eliciting positive response to climate change; improvement of the health sector; addressing upcoming development challenges; enhancing the quality of governance and diversity; respect for culture diversity and knowledge; and inspiring the new generation to environmental conservation practices. The results of this conference were captured in a document titled the “Promise of Sydney.” The parties that participated focused on protected areas, strategic issues, sustainable development, and environmental conservation.
The IUCN WPC conference was about environmental conservation and sustainability; this also meant that the event organizers had to set an example by ensuring that the event met all the requirements and expectations of the event sustainability policies. The reference used in making sure that the event organizers complied to set standards was the ISO 20121 standards document which outlines how the use of these standards was beneficial to the users and the environment. There were key challenges that came up while applying the standards and these were documented so that they could be eliminated in future and ensure that there are minimal or no problems encountered in future when events like these are organized and implemented.
The IUCN World Parks Congress was organized by the IUCN, Parks Australia, and the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. The theme for this event was “Parks, people, planet: Inspiring solutions.” The organizers were specialists in the fields that the event aimed to address, and this was an important factor in the whole event organization activities. The basic requirements for an event like this were easily grasped in the organization and planning stages since the organizers had prior knowledge of the requirements based on previous similar events. The data that was required when printing materials to be used during the conference was readily available, and the organizers had also acquired knowledge on the standards that are acceptable in organizing event sustainably and following the stipulated ISO guidelines. This above was achieved after careful and sustainable development considerations were made in the design, financial, and also in the logistical aspects. The implementation was strictly monitored to ensure it followed the design that was jointly prepared by the three organizers.
The event organization followed the right procedure where the stakeholders were consulted to identify the changes that would be expected in the implementation stage of the event. The basic emphasis of the Stakeholders theory is to seek the arguments and ideas that are raised by stakeholders and considering them in depth. This is a way of making sure that implementation of the event design is as required by the delegates and users of the event. The ideas collected from the organizing team as well as the participating organizations and people were used to come up with the basic design. The challenges that would be faced in preparations were brought together, and the teams were involved in coming up with the solutions to the issues. The solutions brought benefits to all the involved stakeholders in the cycle. The employees were motivated to share their skills and ideas in sustainability policy of the organizers and experiences they might have from elsewhere. Sustainable management is achieved when the process is initiated from the stakeholders towards implementation.
The principles of sustainable development that were used in the organization design and implementation of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Conference were adopted from Event Sustainability Policy. They insisted on consideration of the interconnectedness of the economy with the society and the environment. They took all the precautions seriously when making decisions in all the stages of the event execution such that the goods and services used were socially acceptable and environmentally friendly. They also took great caution to the use of natural resources and the environment in the manufacturing of goods and the creation of services provided for the event. This was in support of the intergenerational equity principle which ensures that the current generation enjoys the resources available in such a way that the generations to come will have equal benefits from the same resources. This principle was emphasized even in the theme.
The commitment that the organizers of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Conference had was to conduct the event with high regards of the law and with integrity. The international human rights including regulations on child labor and forced labor were observed. The event organizers were keen to check the identities and ages of the workers who were involved to ensure they are not complicit in human rights violations. The event brought together organization’s workforce as well as contractual jobs that were awarded on merit to several suppliers to make the event a success. It was important for the three organizations to have a proper conversation on the allowances and salaries of the team members who took part in the event. This helped ensure that they did not force them to work under salaries and circumstances that they were unwilling to work in.
Sustainability and environmental excellence were demonstrated throughout the event design, procurement and implementation. The amount of paperwork and printing that this event had was enormous. The organizers agreed to use raw materials obtained recycled timber to set up the event where needed. The papers used in printing came from recycled pulp or pulp certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Corporate social responsibility theory insists that certification should be done by local authorities of the certifying firm which was strictly followed during this event. The papers were preferred if they were milled locally in Australia as a way of reducing the resources involved and ensuring valid certification. The papers were also supposed to be chlorine-free bleached. The printing ink used was sourced from organic vegetables and from companies that had certification from Sustainable Green-print as well as FSC. All printers were set to print on both sided by default to reduce the amount of paper required. The certification requirement in this case and many others that needed certificates took the organizers more resources to eliminate chances that some of the authorities may be compromised. The extra resources allocated added on cost but there was no value for money given that it would have otherwise been based on trust.
The signage used during the event was also screened to be sustainable. The venue that hosted the event provided proper electric lights signage in most of the areas that required signs while reusable and renewable materials were used to make the signs and decorations where the electric ones were not applicable. The materials that were not renewable or reusable were leased to ensure that the resources were optimally used without wastage. Living potted plants used were regularly used if needed for decoration, and it was critical to make sure that endangered species of plants were not used as living potted plants.
Another area that the event organizers of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Conference were concerned about was the merchandise and giveaways that were used during the event. The amount of budget allocated to this was cut to its least possible amount to minimize the gifts and giveaways. Locally produced and least wasteful materials were used in manufacturing the lanyards and name tags given to delegates. Branded merchandise was required to be certified by the International Labor Organization (ILO), Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP) or the Fair Wear Foundation. The above-mentioned organizations only give certificates to organizations that meet environmental requirement policy of Australia, and the implemented regulations helped the event management team score highly on sustainability policy.
One of the key issues that any even manager looks keenly into is the catering department. Recent management teams have outsourced the services because it is complex and required a high level of skill and professionalism. The organizers of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Conference selected several hoteliers who were at close distance to the hosting venue. This was for accessibility and easy observation before, during and after the event. The hoteliers and restaurants who were involved in this event were instructed to use locally sourced ingredients that organic and chemical free or grown and harvested using sustainable methods. The seafood available was required to be compliant with the AMC Sustainable Seafood Guide. By being close to the venue, it also meant that minimal transportation was required and this a reduced carbon footprint due to lesser vehicle emissions.
The delegates were supposed to be served with options that meet dietary requirements and meal choices that are healthy. The beverages such as tea and coffee provided for sale at the event were Rainforest Alliance, and Fair-trade certified. It was a major effort on the organizers’ part to provide water in jugs and reusable glasses, and completely avoiding pre-packed water bottles which harm the environment. The event also took the opportunity to promote the use of reusable water bottles and had some of them as selling merchandise to the delegates. The waste that came from the catering departments was ensured to be disposed of in renewable service ware and diverted from landfills when disposed of. These precautions made the catering service industry in Sydney and the rest Australia feel that it was a corporate responsibility to practice sustainable development and use of resources.
The energy used in preparing the meals was from renewable sources, and the equipment and LED lights used were low wattage and energy efficient certified. This ensured that energy resources available were used minimally. Another important step that the event organizers were keen to put into practice was the segregation of house waste. There was clear signage on the waste bags and bins provided. This was a practice that the event organizers thought would be a good take away behavior for the delegates that were attending the event.
The accommodation of delegates was mainly in hotels in and around Sydney. This was to ensure that the event venue was accessible easily by walking or cycling. Other hotels that were recommended for the delegates to book were those that had reliable public transport such as buses or trains. The organizers of the event also had made arrangement to have shuttle busses collect delegates that had no reliable public transport. There were delegates who still opted to use personal transport means because it was not ultimately prohibited. This was not according to plan and affected the carbon emissions target ratio negatively. The goal achieved in this is that the event was served by sustainable transport means. The organizers discouraged delegates from using taxis because they would only ferry a single person at a time.
IUCN, Parks Australia and the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service who were the organizers of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Parks Conference were concerned about the health and safety awareness at the workplaces of all the stakeholders in the event. The delegates’ safety was assured by employing risk assessment skills, enhancing fire and emergency response tools, and the provision of first aid kits in case of accidents. According to Edward Freeman Stakeholder theory of organizational management, the morality and values in business and event management should be upheld. The permanent staffs at the event as well as staff from the hired contractors were given fair workloads during the event. This was to ensure good labor practice as well as leave a positive legacy supporting sustainable labor practices. The awareness of delegates would also be raised by these practices, and this would go a long way to encourage non-complicity in workplaces and support of human rights.
Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations
As defined in the triple bottom line theory, the dimensions of social, environmental and financial uptake of the event were supposed to be lower than those of the standard outlays of such events. The achievements of the three vital standards achievements are expressed in the following target achievements reports. The event sustainability targets were a reduction of power consumption by 10% which was achieved in the use of LED lighting systems. There was reduced waste from the event that even surpassed the targets that were set. Carbon emission was reduced by use of public transport. In this case, the event was a success in terms of its sustainability policies management. It was also meant to set an example of sustainable living and best practices that were being discussed during the event. Delegates who attended had a sustainable living experience firsthand, and it was hoped that they would take the lessons learned and practice the same in their countries and the organizations that they represented.
Conclusively, the overall take back from analyzing the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014 Event Sustainability Policy is that the event management was highly successful from a sustainability perspective. In fact, due to the level of detail put in the policy document, identifying loopholes and areas that need improvement was a difficult task, and thus no notable flaws or areas that need fixing were identified. All factors ranging from the energy costs and usage to the choice of materials used to create goods and services have been considered. The main challenges that were experienced during the preparation were sourcing of the sustainable materials since most of the producers were not certified by the relevant authorities. This mainly because they did not comply to some of the standards and regulations or were completely unwilling to undergo the inspection and certification processes, and incur the associated costs. The solution to vendor compliance issues is simply to provide awareness and education of the importance of social and environment sustainability as well as corporate social sustainability to ensure the future of upcoming generations is secure. Incentives such as subsidizing reusable and renewable raw materials and energy can also go far in motivating manufacturers and service providers to use these subsidized products and reap great benefits. Finally, the event also carried out monitoring and review processes to assess the quality and quantity of performance in comparison with the policies laid for sustainability. The views of the management and other stakeholders and delegates involved in the review process were that it was a good performance towards sustainability and a good example of future targets for such major events.
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