Social sustainability is concerned with individual welfare in the development process. Sustainable events promote gender equality and quality employment & education.
The marvel of sustainability lies in its potential to impact not just our environment, but also issues of social justice. In Europe, social sustainability means pursuing gender equality, promoting women to leading roles in the public and private sectors. In practice this means that suppliers in the event industry supply chain, who have sustainability accreditation, proactively pursue practices to promote gender equality in positions of power & ownership. By using these accredited suppliers, event planners are actively engaged in the promotion of gender equality, as well as other prescribed or associated social policies.
Somewhat distinct from concerns around the well-being of the planet, social sustainability is similarly represented in the 17 United Nations sustainable development goals. The environment gets most of the sustainability headlines, but social goals are codified in terms of tackling poverty, hunger, and poor education & employment opportunities. Hunger in Scandinavia is obviously less apparent than in parts of the developing world, so the Nordic countries focus on issues such as gender equality as a sustainability requirement.
SOCIALLY SUSTAINABLE EVENTS - WHAT TO EXPECT
SUSTAINABILITY CREDENTIALS
Robust sustainability accreditation mandates economic, environmental, and social targets are met before eco-awards are issued. Destinations, hotels, activity suppliers, conference venues, transfer companies and restaurants make up most of the event supply chain. Criteria varies between the accreditation bodies, but robust sustainability award processes include social sustainability targets. In Europe this social sustainability notably focuses on gender equality issues. Targets are quantifiable and transparent and working with accredited suppliers ensures that a company spend on an event has a lasting impact on the local society, in addition to the economy and environment.
SUSTAINABLE PLEASURES
It could be argued that social and economic sustainability enhancements are more visible than environmental sustainability currently. Environmental sustainability is still very much about mitigating impacts, whereas social sustainability is delivering real improvements. Gender equality promotion has produced tangible results in many developed nations that engage in sustainable practices. Women in significant roles in the public and private sector are palpable results of female empowerment through sustainability.
WHY PLAN A SUSTAINABLE EVENT?
Environmental sustainability is spectacularly vital at present. Tragically, whilst there is movement in the right direction on the environment, the results aren’t visible yet – it is a big ship to turn! The same isn’t true of social sustainability, where enacted policies are having visible impacts on the social fabric of destinations. Gender empowerment is very much an issue for corporate social responsibility compliance, in addition to the empowerment message it sends to the teams visiting the destinations.
As failing as the world can sometimes seem, there are rays of hope, times where consumption can be a force for good rather than drain on global resources. Companies spending on events hosted by sustainable suppliers can have a positive material impact on the social fabric of a destination. Very often this positive impact bleeds through into related social sustainability areas such education & employment opportunities as well as positive economic impacts on the local supply chain.
MORE SUSTAINABILITY CONSIDERATIONS FOR EVENT PLANNERS
It is rare for sustainable event effects to be confined to a single area, rather the positive impacts of sustainable event spending will be felt in the environmental and economic spheres, in addition to the destination social fabric. More information on economic and environmental sustainability can be found below.
There is also information on the founding principles of the global sustainability movement – the UN sustainable development goals. How we travel, where we stay and what we do during an event is also highly relevant for an event planner – information on this is available below.
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