#BuildBackBetter Roundtable
ReportJanuary 2021

#eventscreatechange
www.positiveimpactevents.com

On the 28th of January 2021, UNFCCC and Positive Impact
Events invited 39 people to a #BuildBackBetter Roundtable todiscuss the event sector identifying a carbon target andreduction strategy to be launched at COP26 in the UK.
What could the compelling future of the events sector be:
The UK Event Sector could be a leading example at theCOP26 conference.
UK could be the place to bring your events as we have theexpertise and understanding to deliver them in a sustainableway.
The UK Event Sector could have exportable skills insustainability.
The UK Event Sector could be a leader with a carbon target
and reduction plan, which other countries can join.

Contributions during theRoundtable
Nick Baker, Deputy Directorof Business andEngagement, COP26'We are asking companies tocommit to going net zero by2050 or earlier and to publish
a short to medium term planon how they are going toachieve that target, as wellas, committing to Science
Based Targets.'

Theresa Villiers, Chair of theAll-Party ParliamentaryGroup for Events'The government has a keyrole to play, not least in thedecarbonisation of travel,
because we knowinternational and domestic
travel is the lifeblood of
successful events andconferences’

Sarah Fowler, Board
Member of Visit England
Advisory Board‘I really value the conceptof developing a frameworkaligned to COP26, that
advances the Sustainable
Development Goals.... I know
MeetEngland and VisitBritain
welcome this initiative andwant to work in collaboration’Anne Hayes, Director ofSectors, British Standards
Institute'As the event sector starts tomove towards a restart, canit restart as it was or could itbuild on the opportunities
provided by COP26 andaddress the issues of climatechange? Standards can help
address this challenge.’

Miguel Naranjo, ProgrammeOfficer, UNFCCC'A target would beagreed and a reduction
framework createdtaking into accountexisting initiatives in thesector.'

Niclas Svenningsen,Manager, Global Climate
Action at UNFCCC'The UNFCCC
secretariat helped
shape sector initiatives
for fashion and sports'

Simon Evans, Sustainability
Director of Ecobooth'There is ultimately acompetitive advantage
for the UK events sectorto be getting this rightand taking action now.'

Susan Spibey, Executive
Board Chair of Institute of
Event Management'The way forward is tosupport the redevelopmentof the professional
standards for event
management ensuring
sustainability is embedded
as a common threadthroughout.’Response from our Ambassadors
We asked our 1300 global ambassadors for their opinion:

yes (93.48%)

no (6.52%)

Over the last 3 years have you
been implementing moresustainability initiatives?

yes (51.06%)

no (48.94%)

Do you have a carbon
reduction target?

Yes (97.83%)

No (2.17%)

Do you think the UK government
should support the event sectorto #buildbackbetter i.e. support
the event sector to be an
example of a sustainable sector(economic, environmental andsocial) and promote the sector as
having done so?

yes (80.85%)

no (19.15%)

Over the last 3 years have you
experienced your clients asking
for more sustainability
initiatives?

yes (89.13%)

no (10.87%)

Do you want to provide sector
specific insight in a way that
could influence future
government regulation andpolicy?

yes (91.3%)

no (8.7%)

Would you commit time tobuilding your sustainability
skills (E.g. how to implement
ISO20121 and other relevantstandards) so the UK
government could promote
the UK event sector as having
exportable skills?

What the next steps could be?
There is a funding gap for the compelling future outlined inthis report to become reality.
Positive Impact has launched a grassroots campaign, Educate,to generate £30,000 to fund the UNFCCC framework. The
education purchases will be on how you can deliver an event
and advance the sustainable development goals, where 100%of the cost will go towards creating this framework.
Find out more
However, this is not enough. COLLABORATION to close thefunding gap and ENGAGEMENT to embed the ideas from thisroundtable in the wider strategy for the UK event sector isrequired for the UK Event Sector to have a carbon target andreduction framework; the following benefits that would comewith that are:
The UK Event Sector could be a leading example at theCOP26 conference
UK could be the place to bring your events as we have theexpertise and understanding to deliver them in asustainable way
The UK Event Sector could have exportable skills insustainability
The UK Event Sector could be a leader with a carbon
target and reduction plan, which other countries can join.

Thank you to those who attended to contribute:
Fiona Pelham, CEO, Positive Impact
Nick Baker, Deputy Director of Business andEngagement, COP26
Miguel Naranjo, Programme Officer, UNFCCC
Niclas Svenningsen, Manager, Global Climate Action at
UNFCCC
Theresa Villiers, Chair of the All-Party ParliamentaryGroup for Events
Sarah Fowler, Board Member of Visit England Advisory
Board
Simon Evans, Sustainability Director of Ecobooth
Anne Hayes, Director of Sectors, British Standards
InstituteSusan Spibey, Executive Board Chair of Institute of EventManagement

Thank you to those who attended to listen:
Carina Bauer, CEO, IMEX Group
Richard Shackleton, Deputy Head of Mission, Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office Budapest
Bénédicte Williams, Climate Policy Officer, Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office Budapest
Amy Calvert, CEO, Events Industry Council
Mark Cooper, CEO at IACC Meetings, Chair of the Events
Industry Council
Michael Hirst, Immediate Past Chair Business &Executive Committee Member, Business Visits and EventsPartnershipMark Chapman, Head of Trade Team, Foreign,
Commonwealth and Development Office Denmark
Susannah Fairbairn, Senior Trade Adviser, Foreign,Commonwealth and Development Office Denmark
Søren Riisgaard, Junior Trade Adviser, Foreign andCommonwealth Denmark
Lisa Christensen, Senior International Trade Specialist at
Scottish Development InternationalKerrin Macphie, Head of Business Events for Visit Britain
Martin Fullard, Editors, Conference NewsJames Lancaster, Editors, Association Meetings
InternationalAlistair Turner, Managing Director, EIGHT PR &Marketing
We also invited the Joint Meeting Industry Council
Due to limited funding, the stakeholder engagement
delivered for the initiative was limited. We hope this will
be addressed when there is funding for this project.