Downloads
The following documents are downloads from various websites made available here for easy reference. We would like to thank and acknowledge the various sources.
Unpacking Net Zero Carbon Events
On 20 July 2023, the Event Greening Forum hosted a webinar in collaboration with JMIC – the Joint Meetings Industry Council on the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative. You can access the presentation by JMIC executive director Alex Alles here.
The Green Venue Workshop
On 10 November we hosted an in-person and on-line workshop unpacking the relationship between organisers and venues when hosting sustainable events. Our three industry speakers were (click on their name to download their presentations): David Ashdown – VUKA Group, Chris van Zyl – The Vineyard, and David Antony Pollock – Hotel Verde, Cape Town Airport.
Your Green Venue Checklist
Looking for a sustainable venue to host your next event? Our Green Venue Checklist is a great tool to make sure you identify which venues are truly embracing sustainability. Download it here (180KB).
Draft environmental vision statement
Greg McManus, the Director of Heritage Environmental Management Company, delivered the keynote address for our ‘Back to Basics of Event Greening’ event on 21 July 2022. During his presentation he emphasized that a critical first step to hosting sustainable events is to create an environmental vision statement. To help get started on yours, Greg shared this useful template. Download it here.
Back to Basics of Event Greening
We held a ‘Back to Basics of Event Greening’ hybrid event on 21 July 2022 at Delta Cafe in Johannesburg. You can view the Facebook Live recording here, and download the presentations: Greg McManus’s ‘Back to Basics of Event Greening’ can be accessed here, and John Arvanitakis’s ‘Selling Sustainability in Eventing’ can be found here.
Reusables hygiene at events: Global best practice guidelines (First edition, released October 2020)
Sustainable event advocates have anticipated the global Covid-19 pandemic may result in pressure on events to revert to single-use plastic in food and beverage serviceware, due to a perception of this being more hygienic and safe. These guidelines have been created in response, to provide information on globally applicable hygiene practices that will ensure consistent, safe and hygienic reusable food and beverage serviceware (‘reusables’) in event settings. Download it here (4.4MB).
Event Safety Council: re-opening Guidelines (First edition, released 12 June 2020)
The aim and scope of the Re-Opening Guidelines is to provide COVID-19 specific processes and protocols that should be followed in planning and hosting an organised event gathering in South Africa. The document will be updated as new information becomes available and best practices evolve. Download it here (1.8MB).
Event Greening Training (Jhb, Cpt, Dbn – January 2020)
The EGF hosted event greening training workshops in collaboration with the Meetings Africa and Africa’s Travel Indaba exhibitor briefings, which was open to anyone to attend and kindly sponsored by South Africa National Convention Bureau. The presentations can be downloaded here: Event Greening Case Study: Meetings Africa & How to win a Green Stand Award by Morwesi Ramonyai (645KB); Understanding the waste hierarchy by Gavin Heron (JHB & DBN) and Berenice Westmore (CPT) (1.4MB); EGF Green Database by Precious Nyoni (1.7MB); and Social sustainability & your procurement by Nomaswazi Tinus (1.25MB).
IELA Sustainability Guidelines (2019)
IELA, the International Exhibition Logistics Association, has put together these sustainability guidelines for the exhibitions industry in order to urge all of its members to integrate the suggestions into their operations and culture. Download it here (1.93MB).
PETCO Design packaging for recyclability guidelines (2019)
The recycling of packaging does not begin with its collection, but rather with its design. Therefore, to maximise the recycling of plastic packaging, it is essential that retailers, brand owners, packaging manufacturers and designers embed recyclability principles into their pack design processes so that, at the end of its life, the packaging material can be successfully recycled and used again in new products and packaging. Click here to download this guide (315KB).
EGF Event Wood Waste Research Presentation (2019)
Justin Hawes gave this presentation on the EGF’s research into the use and disposal of wood materials in events (5.34MB) at the AAXO and SA Tourism networking event in Durban on Friday 22 March 2019.
EGF Eco-procurement questions (2019)
This short checklist highlights some of the key sustainability questions you should be asking your suppliers and service providers, in order to make more informed procurement decisions. If you want to become a more responsible business, you can also use these questions to assess where you can improve and how. Download the checklist here (84KB).
Event Greening Training (Cpt, Dbn, Jhb – January 2019)
South Africa National Convention Bureau sponsored free event greening training workshops for the Meetings Africa and Africa’s Travel Indaba exhibitors, and invited the whole events industry to attend. You can download the presentations here: Greening your expo stand (5.9MB) which was presented by Justin Hawes; Measuring the impact of an event (1.2MB) which was presented by Greg McManus (Durban & Jo’burg); Procurement (3.6MB) by Catherine Morris (Cape Town); Procurement (1MB) by Greg McManus (Durban & Jo’burg); and Green database (1.6MB) by Justin Hawes (Cape Town & Durban) and Morwesi Ramonyai (Jo’burg).
EGF Event Wood Waste Research Report (2018)
The EGF contracted the University of Pretoria to conduct research into: ‘The production, re-use and disposal practices of custom-built wood-based exhibition stands – in South Africa and abroad’. Click here to download and read the final report (2.14MB). Further research is being planned to delve into waste more generally – should you have any feedback please contact us at info@eventgreening.co.za.
Event Greening Training (Jhb, Cpt, Dbn – January 2018)
The Event Greening Forum hosted free training workshops as an introduction to event greening. You can download two of the presentations here: Meetings Africa Case Study: Greening Your Event (3.3MB) which was presented by Justin Hawes, and Sustainable Events: Getting Right (1.38MB) which was presented by Greg McManus in Johannesburg and Durban, and by Grace Stead in Cape Town.
Water Stewardship For Hotel Companies (March 2018)
This report, produced by the International Tourism Partnership in the UK, is a practical resource to define “water stewardship” in the hotel industry to help companies manage their water use and impacts better through six steps. Download the pdf here. (1.4MB)
Metabolic’s Handbook for a Waste-free Festival (2018)
In this guide, you will find several checklists and tables to help you create a detailed overview of the waste streams coming from festival visitors, catering companies and bars, as well as the waste produced when setting up and dismantling the stages, tents and decor. These can be used before and after the festival (by the organisers), as well as during the festival (by volunteers, for example). Download the pdf here. (1.87MB)
Sustainability and EMAS verification of COP 23 (2017)
To achieve the overall goal of climate neutrality, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions generated in connection to COP 23 will be reduced where possible, and offset where unavoidable. This document outlines the aspects that will be considered towards this end. Download the pdf COP 23. (807 KB)
Eco Chef: Sustainable Foodservice Evaluation Checklist (2013)
A quick check-list by which to assess the sustainability of a foodservice’s practices, and covering aspects such as the food, the packaging, the preparation tools, communication and fiscal responsibility. Download the pdf here. (327 KB)
Resource Directory: Sustainable Materials for Stand Building (2012)
EDPA, the Exhibit Designers + Producers Association, is an American association. Over the past two years their Green Committee has been compiling a database of environmentally friendly stand-building materials, which are listed in this EDPA ResourceDirectorySustainable Materials spreadsheet, with a product description and their benefits and limitations. (124KB)
Greenwashing (37 pages, 2012)
A presentation on greenwashing, which Grace Stead from Steadfast Greening presented at Markex 2012 on the behalf of the Event Greening Forum. Download the pdf with this link: Greenwashing (2.6MB)
Gauteng Green Events Guidelines (68p, 2012)
This handbook, sponsored by the Gauteng Tourism Authority, is aimed at industry role players and provides practical information for hosting events in a more sustainable manner. It includes a range of interesting case studies from Gauteng as well as additional resources. For your own copy of the handbook click here.
South African National Standard: Responsible Tourism Requirements (13 pages, 2011)
This South African standard was approved by National Committee SABS TC 228, Tourism and related services, in accordance with procedures of the SABS Standards Division, in compliance with annex 3 of the WTO/TBT agreement. The SANS 1162 can be purchased off the SABS webstore.
The Green Event Guideline Hosting Green Events in Durban (36p, 2011)
This publication has been prepared through the Greening COP 17/CMP 7 programme, which is aimed at hosting the COP 17 / CMP7 event in an environmentally sustainable way and to ensure that a positive legacy is achieved. EThekwini Municipality’s Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department is responsible for implementing certain components of this greening programme, including this publication. This document can be downloaded as a pdf with this link: Green Event Guideline Hosting_Green Events in Durban 2011-2012 (1.94MB).
Smart Events Handbook – City of Cape Town (51p, 2010)
This handbook was developed to address South African needs, while taking international best practice into consideration. It provides local examples and resources that are applicable to event organisers, venues, suppliers and sub-contractors. The book is divided into four sections considering what, why and how, as well as providing resources. The handbook is a legacy project of Green Goal 2010 of the FIFA World Cup and forms part of the Smart Living Series which can be downloaded here.
Nedbank Green Event & Catering Guide
The objective of this short and easy-to-use guide it to give event organisers guidelines on running earth- and eco-friendly events. Click here to download it.
Gautrain Bus (2010)
For safe, clean and reliable public transport in Johannesburg, catch the Gautrain buses. Download the timetable here.
One Planet Events by WWF (24p)
Events such as conferences, galas, dinners, meetings have an impact on the environment through the resources consumed directly (electricity, water, food, etc) and indirectly (energy and Co2 related to transport to the events, etc), as well as the waste created immediately and on the longer term (dishes, equipments, paper, etc). All these elements compose the ecological footprint of an event. Environmental considerations have to be taken into account before, during, and after the events. This document aims at providing tools for events organizers / managers to reduce their events’ ecological footprint. It is divided in two sections: Questionnaire for venue’s managers; and Check list for One Planet Events. For more information on the concept of One Planet Living please visit www.panda.org.
Accommodation questionnaire
This accommodation questionnaire can be sent out to potential accommodation venues so that they can provide you with information to help you in your decision making process. The questionnaire includes different questions relating to environmental activities at the venue in a easy tick box system, but also allows for supporting documentation to ensure credibility of the process. Please send us your comments and feedback if you have used it. Download questionnaire here.
Recycling of Packaging in South Africa (12p, 2009)
This useful guide was compiled by the Packaging Council of SA and provides why it is important to recycle and what you need to do. It provides information relating to cans, paper, plastic, glass and tetra pak, with contact details for the main industry role players. For more information and other related guidebooks please visit www.pacsa.co.za.
Green Meeting Guide – UN (72p, 2009)
This guide was prepared by ICLEI under the supervision of the UNEP Division for Technology Industry and Economics (DTIE) in 2009. This guide focuses in particular on the most common type of meetings within the UN: small and medium sized meetings with up to 200 participants. It will be updated over time and can also be downloaded from http://www.unep.fr.
General Environmental Management (16p, 2008)
This document has been compiled by GreenStaySA with a focus on the South African hospitality industry to provide guidance around general environmental management issues. It touches on issues of environmental policy, carbon footprint, environmental management systems and staff related issues. For more information and other related guidebooks please visit the GreenStaySA website (www.greenstaysa.org.za).
Green Events Checklist (2p, 2008)
This is a very brief and useful document, with additional website references, which was compiled by The World Forum in The Hague, Netherlands.
The Story of Stuff (20min, 2007)
This movie is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns, with a special focus on the United States. It exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues and calls for all of us to create a more sustainable and just world. For more info visit www.storyofstuff.com.
Six sins of Greenwashing (15p, 2007)
Greenwashing is the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. When promoting something as “green” it is also important to understand what green is, or is not. This provides some guidance on this topic. Download here.
Green Meeting Guide Canada (54p, 2007)
This Canadian guide is a practical reference tool for anyone faced with the task of organizing a meeting or conference with the aim of making the event environmentally responsible. It provides information on how to incorporate environmental concerns at every stage of an event. Download guide here.
Green Goal – Oeke Institute (2007)
In June and July 2006 the world experienced a breathtaking football festival, and for the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup the environment was on the programme. With Green Goal, an innovative and ambitious environmental programme was successfully carried out at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, which pursued new paths for large sporting events. The full 2006 Green Goal Legacy Report was compiled by the Oeke Institute. Download report here.
Green Meeting Toolkit GMIC (35p, 2007)
This document includes a variety of useful tools such as guidelines, checklist, interesting facts, as well as reference material relating to accommodation, exhibitor info, printing and some presentations. It provides guidance on getting started and preparing checklists. Download here.
Greening the Audio Visual Staging Company (8p, 2007)
The policy of best practices for sustainability is written as a basic guideline for the audiovisual staging industry. It focuses on indoor events such as meetings, seminars, conferences, etc. Download here.
Green Meetings Report (2004)
In 2003, the Convention Industry Council’s Green Meetings Task Force was charged with creating minimum best practices for event organizers and suppliers to use as guidelines for implementing policies of sustainability. The results of the Task Force’s work are a series of guidelines for event organizers and event suppliers on running environmentally friendly events. Those guidelines are available in this report.
Responsible Tourism Handbook (2003)
This handbook uses South Africa’s National Responsible Tourism Guidelines as a basis for providing practical examples and tips on how to operate more responsibly. It is aimed at owners and operators of tourism establishments e.g. hotels, B&Bs, guest lodges, game lodges and tented camps, self-catering resorts, cultural villages and other establishments. (1.82 MB) Click here to download: Responsible-Tourism-Handbook.
Sustainable Celebrations (36p, 1999)
This guide aims to assist with the implementation of sustainable celebrations in a practical way and was developed by the Barcelona Municipality, Spain. Color coded sections provide information on waste reduction, energy efficiency, transport, safety, communication and education. It includes a glossary and other interesting websites. Download here.
Guide to green meetings and events US (12p, 1996)
This guide provides information gathered from organizers of environmentally aware meetings and special events in the USA. It is intended to heighten the environmental consciousness of event planners and demonstrate the advantage of conducting environmentally aware events. Download here.
Meetings Africa 2017 : How sustainability translates into the business events industry
This document combines the research findings from GMIC, Meetings Today and the Exhibitor Magazine. Download the document here
