BS8901 – sustainability as standard

Posted by andrew on Friday, May 9th, 2008

Press release
14 April 2008

Seventeen Events deliver BS8901 as standard – a first for green events in the UK.

Seventeen Events, the sustainable event management agency, has announced a new initiative which marks a first in the UK events industry. Last year Seventeen helped to trial the new British Standard for sustainable event management, BS8901. Now, Seventeen are offering clients compliance with the standard for all events which Seventeen are appointed to manage. This service is offered at no extra cost to the client – Seventeen pride themselves on producing sustainable events without charging a “greenâ€? premium, or adding on hidden commissions or mark-ups.

This unique initiative will allow all clients appointing Seventeen to manage their events to see transparently the sustainable approach they take. All sustainable factors connected to the event will be tracked and monitored in order to ensure that events become more environmentally friendly over time.

Seventeen have sustainability at the heart of their business, combing stylish delivery with an ethical approach. Last year they were one of six groups chosen to trial the new BS8901 standard. For Seventeen this involved managing the Guardian and Observer areas of the Innocent Village Fete.

Sara Rhodes, Head of Sponsorship & Events at Guardian News & Media said:
“We were delighted to be working with Seventeen on our sponsorship of the Innocent Village Fete. We chose to work with them because of their professional and creative approach, their understanding of the Guardian and Observer brands and the priority they give to an environmentally friendly approach to all areas of event management.”

Andrew Williams, Managing Director of Seventeen Events, is excited about this new initiative and commented, “We have always stressed to clients that we want to make their events more sustainable without making life more difficult for them. Offering BS8901 as standard is a natural progression of the work we have been doing over the past year to embed BS8901 into the heart of how we do business. I’ve never believed that clients should be expected to pay more to be sustainable – it should be the norm. So we won’t be charging extra to ensure BS8901 compliance for projects we are managing.â€?

Among the first events to be BS8901 compliant will be the Observer Ethical Awards and the CIPD Recruitment Marketing Awards.

Notes to Editors:
Seventeen Events is an ethically and environmentally conscious event management agency based at Container City, East London – www.seventeenevents.co.uk.
Andrew Williams is available on 020 7515 8402 to discuss your event or to arrange a visit to Seventeen’s eco-offices in east London.

About BSI British Standards

For media information:
Lucy Fulton
Public Relations Officer
BSI British Standards
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8996 7248
Mob: +44 (0) 7717 451 990
Email: lucy.fulton@bsi-global.com
Website: www.bsi-global.com

BSI British Standards works with businesses, consumers and government to represent UK interests and facilitate the production of British, European and international standards to meet economic and social needs. For further information please go to www.bsi-global.com/british_standards.

BSI British Standards is part of BSI Group, a global independent business services organization that inspires confidence and delivers assurance to customers with standards-based solutions. Originating as the world’s first national standards body, the Group has over 2,250 staff in more than 50 global offices. The Group’s key offerings are:
• the development and sale of private, national and international standards and supporting information
• second and third-party management systems assessment and certification
• product testing and certification of services and products
• performance management software solutions
• training services in support of standards implementation and business best practice

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