Three Squares achieves ISO 20121 Sustainable Event Management System Conformity
Applying the ISO 20121 international sustainable event standard to the production of the Women In Green Forum marks the first time in history that an American event organizer achieved conformity with the standard popularized by the London Olympics.
As a part of its environmental commitment, Three Squares Inc. applied the Sustainable Event Management System (SEMS) Tool to measure the event organizer’s compliance with ISO 20121 for its flagship event the Women In Green Forum. ISO 20121 is an internationally recognized standard which requires that event organizers identify and understand the effects that their activities have on the environment, on society and on the economy and assures that they have a system in place to enable optimal sustainability performance outcomes.
Conference organizers, Three Squares Inc., sought out the SEMS Tool for its innovative, online system that measures the performance of sustainable event production initiatives with respect to their environmental, social and economic impact, and confirms the establishment of a management system, the primary requirement of the ISO standard. The completion of the rigorous and independent ‘2nd party’ audit and conformity assessment signifies the opening of a new opportunity for North American events to demonstrate on the world stage that their events are on par with the international standard.
Using SEMS as a measurement and data collection tool allowed event organizers to take credit for the wide range of event greening initiatives implemented every year, including planning the event from the green business certified Three Squares Inc. office to critical impact areas such as catering, décor, staging, conference materials and waste diversion systems. In order to earn ISO 20121 compliance, Three Squares Inc. worked closely with the conference venue and all of the event’s suppliers to ensure that materials sourced for the event were held to the highest environmental standard and documentation was gathered for upload to the online certification system.
“It was an absolute joy to walk through this event both back and front of house. My first impression of excellence in sustainable event management was then reflected by the SEMS assessment and then further by the audit report. We are thrilled to award our first second party ISO 20121 conformity certification in the North American region. I trust this demonstration of leadership by Three Squares Inc. will inspire others to do the same,” commented Jane Fullerton-Smith, Managing Director of Sustainable Event Solutions - The SEMS Tool.
In an effort to educate Forum attendees on these efforts, Three Squares Inc. president, Jaime Nack and Jane Fullerton-Smith, Managing Director of Sustainable Event Solutions - The SEMS Tool presented a workshop on real time green event practices and certification during the final session of the 2012 Forum. The video of this session can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/womeningreenforum.
http://www.semstoolkit.com/section/Home/SEMS_Blog
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