This year we are hoping to receive more entries and nominations than ever before. Our high profile judging panel includes Colin Firth, Lily Cole, Ben Fogle, Rick Edwards and Melvin Benn, head honcho of Festival Republic. To find our more and to submit your entry or nomination, head to the awwards website at www.observer.co.uk/ethicalawards. Good luck to all this year’s entrants.

As ever we’ll be focusing on how we can make the awards process and the event itself as sustainable as possible. You can check out our case study to see what we’ve done in years gone by.

After the worldwide shockwave that was 2011 I’m sure we’re all hoping that this year will be a little calmer, but we may well be disappointed. Here in the UK alone we have the Olympic Games, the Queen’s Jubilee, discussion and debate about the future of the United Kingdom and a whole lot more.

At Seventeen we’re looking forward to working on some incredible events. First up we have the Guardian Awards for Digital Innovation followed by the Barking & Dagenham Business Awards and then the Observer Ethical Awards later in the year. We’re planning a really exciting two day event in London for late March which will redfine the way the public interacts with the press. We’ll be helping to reward the UK’s best workplaces in May. And we’ll be pushing the sustainable agenda within the events industry, attempting to define the way we approach these important issues in a post-Olympics landscape.

It’s sure to be a year of change, development and surprises – so stay tuned!

These roles would suit recent graduates though a degree isn’t the be all and end all – we’re looking for sharp, confident candidates who combine a precise, analytical approach with creative flair and vision. Of course, you’ll know all about our sustainable approach and while we’re not expecting anyone to have a PHD in environmental science, a personal interest in sustainable issues is essential.

We pay all our interns, and while you won’t make your first million you will be a valued member of the team. In the first instance we are looking for candidates who can work full time for at least six weeks. Beyond that period we’ll consider extending your contract on a more permanent basis.

Interested? Drop us a line with your CV and a short covering letter outlining a recent event which you think would have benefited from a more sustainable approach. Send it to Andrew – andrew@seventeenevents.co.uk.

What I find disheartening though, is when you have a room full of beautiful centrepieces which have to be left behind and thrown away after just a few hours at a dinner or awards event. We often try to find future homes for flowers when we do use them (e.g. giving them to sheltered housing nearby), but it’s not easy to do.

Lettuce Flowers have come up with a unique concept to ensure a longer shelf life for your centrepieces. You can eat them! Or at least your guests can. Their displays include edible flowers like pansies and rosemary flowers, and other flowers and herbs which can be used in recipes. Each display includes a recipe for guests to take home and make with their flowers from the event. And, what’s more, they look fantastic too!

What sort of service could have inspired this behaviour? Well, above all, a very professional and efficient service. To add to that, a very reasonably priced service. And to top it all, one that is provided by a charity that gives work to those suffering from mental health problems.

Re-instate are the supplier in question, and they can do all sorts of jobs like mailings, labelling, collating literature, packing boxes, stuffing conference packs or goody bags. They are based in Kent, just outside London, and have a sheltered workshop providing training, social skills and confidence to adults with mental health problems.

They recently stuffed 350 goody bags for us and did a brilliant job – receiving and logging the arrival of over 25 products (x350!), packing them neatly in bags, then loading vans for the safe arrival of the bags at the venue.

I think it goes without saying that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them!

Of course there are always things we can tweak and improvee, and I thought as Chair I would give you my personal take on some of the elements of the day.

Speakers
I thought the speakers this year were excellent and seemed to really capture the attention of the audience. It was interesting that delegates seemed to respond to Tristram and Wayne just as positively as the other speakers, which suggests that keynotes don’t always have to be exclusively about sustainable events to be relevant to the audience.

It was also a real boost to have Nick de Bois MP with us – and I know that he was impressed with the level of passion and debate through the day. Hopefully the start of some real lobbying from our industry to parliament.

Round tables
A bit more of a mixed bag. Feedback was generally positive, and the message seemed to be that this format would work again in the future. However some delegates felt that a more “instructional” environment might have been preferable to the interactive nature of the tables. We could potentially look at running two round table sessions next time, or having a clearer split on each table between interested delegates and “experts.”

Venue
Our thanks once again to the Barbican Centre who proved excellent hosts for the whole day. We’re looking forward to working with them again in the future as a venue and also as part of the Green Meeting Industry Council.

Next time
Guy Bigwwod was fantastic in his call for more leaders to emerge as part of the Summit. While it’s always a morale boost to meet other people who are interested in sustainability, the focus has to be on increasing our reach rather than preaching to the converted. We need your feedback in order to be able to make this happen. Some suggestions we’re already looking at include more regional events and more online activity to supplement the Summit. If you have thoughts on how we can collaborate to push the sustainable agenda in 2011 and 2012, then get in touch.

Andrew Williams, June 2011

We’re looking for students to act as scribes at our round table discussions, noting down the comments that come out of each session and preparing the information to be shared with delegates over lunch. Scribes will also be able to attend all of the main seminar sessions. Tickts are greatly discounted to £50 + VAT and booking fee. We hope that any interested students will be able to join us for a landmark day in the UK events calendar. To express your interest in the event, please email andrew@seventeenevents.co.uk.