Designing a certified sustainable event

How might a regional authority start on its path, leading by example?

The Valencian Community Sustainability Cluster is a regional project, which Monnou has been part of since its inception.

After months and months of defining the foundations of this organization and incorporating key entities as members, how could we launch it publicly in a way that would set an example?

The answer was: with an event that would not simply focus on sustainability, but would also measure its impact and communicate it honestly.

Certificating as a Sustainable Event

Creating a truly sustainable event requires measurement and partnerships. And, of course, it requires strategic creativity.

The first key partnership was with Bluease, a company specializing in evaluating and advising on improving the impact of events, with its own measurement platform. With Bluease, we defined the materiality of the event—that is, which sustainability issues were priorities in this case—and began to evaluate, iteration after iteration.

Other key partnerships were with suppliers: local catering by Valencia Club Cocina, reusable materials—posters, accreditations—by Chócala Ecodesign, and the venue at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) with renewable energy and a whole set of sustainability and accessibility measures. And finally, the sponsors, Urbaser and SENDA Vivir Seguros.

This is how we managed to certify this initial meeting as a Sustainable Event, with a score of 83/100.

The event’s carbon footprint has been a key issue. Thanks to the UPV’s School of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering and its 100% renewable energy suppliers, we have achieved zero emissions in scope 2 of the event. However, there is still room for improvement in scope 3. Catering emissions were moderate, at 0.046 tCO₂eq, thanks to criteria of proximity and waste minimization. The greatest impact in this regard was the transportation of attendees, which produced more than 6.4 tCO₂eq. How can we improve this aspect in future events? We will continue to use strategic design to achieve this.

Other measures incorporated had to do with accessibility—for example, in signage, communication, and space—and with specific SDGs.

Finally, at the communication level, education and awareness about regeneration, transparent dissemination of the event’s results, and the building of alliances were promoted.