ISO 20121:2012 applies to events of various shapes and sizes, from a one-day seminar for 50 people to a one-month mega sport event. Thanks to its flexibility and versatility, meeting and event planners find it simple to expand across all sizes and types of events they manage. ISO 2012:2012 benefits event planners and organisations in various ways.
Check out the benefits of ISO 20121:2012 here
The four-step PDCA, or Plan-Do-Check-Act, process simplifies the implementation technique. Organisations can easily use this process to methodically test sustainability projects, access the results, and implement the best practices.
Steps to get started with ISO 20122:2012 Event Sustainability Management Systems
Step 1: Understanding your purpose
The first step is to understand the purpose you would like to achieve ISO 20121:2012 by asking yourself why is achieving ISO 20121:2012 significant to your organisation or event. This step lays the foundation for the following steps.
Step 2: Defining your principles of sustainable development
You must have governing principles of sustainable development in the form of a statement of purpose and values. This statement of purpose and values should mention the following four principles of sustainable development: Stewardship, inclusivity, integrity, and transparency.
Step 3: Conduct a gap analysis
Next, a gap analysis will be conducted to assess your existing sustainability practices and identify areas of improvement. Then, evaluate your policies, procedures, and processes related to event management and identify areas where it can incorporate sustainability into its operations.
Step 4: Plan and develop a sustainability management plan
Now, you can plan and develop a sustainability management plan that outlines your goals, policies, and procedures for incorporating sustainability into your event management processes.
Step 5: Communicate with and engage employees and stakeholders
After the planning stage, you have to communicate the plan by spreading awareness and training your employees on the importance of sustainability and how they can contribute to the company’s goals. Meanwhile, you will work closely with your suppliers to ensure they know your sustainability expectations and encourage them to adopt sustainable practices.
Step 6: Prepare documents
In this step, you establish and prepare sustainability policy, procedures, instructions and other relevant documents to monitor and guide you in the following stages.
Step 7: Implement your sustainability management system
Now, you will be ready to implement your sustainability management system designed in the previous steps and integrate sustainability into your event management processes.
Step 8: Conduct internal audits
You need to conduct internal audits to comply with the ISO 20121:2012 standard. Another purpose of conducting internal audits is to identify areas for improvement.
Step 9: Get certification
Get your ISO 20121:2012 certification from an independent verification certification body by undergoing a certification audit to prove your credibility.
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Step 10: Improve continuously
You need to continue to monitor and improve your sustainability practices in line with the ISO 20121:2012 standard even after getting certification. This involves conducting regular internal audits and making necessary improvements to enhance your sustainability performance.
In conclusion, implementing ISO 20121:2012 Sustainable Event Management Systems helps event planners and organisers and orgnisations constantly improve with best practices. Getting started with ISO 20121:2012 could be easy with clarity on your purpose and expert consulting.