The best way to kick off the first Event Sustainability Live (ESL) was to drop by and tune in to hear co-founder Adam Parry interviewed by Anna Abdelnoor, founder/CEO of show partner isla.
Short and sweet: ‘Is there a better way?’ a question he asked twenty years ago while working on a festival-oriented trade magazine still forms the basis of every Parry project.
“I am open to criticism and I respond to it,” he laughs when Abdelnoor asks him if he wants to be in the spotlight with a show like this. “But I am also open to changing my opinion.”
Event Sustainability Live and Event Tech Live (ETL) obviously have a lot in common, not least the way technology powers both. But the engagement organizer EIN, together with sponsors, suppliers, exhibitors and visitors, has shown that Event Tech Live has been a clear advantage for starting ESL during the ten years that Event Tech Live has existed.
Speakers at ‘A Greener Future: The carbon footprint of festivals and events, and what you can do about it’ – first session on the Main Stage of ESL – is a veritable Who’s Who of names and brands, Claire O’Neill, CEO of A Greener Festival, including Sam Booth, director of sustainability at AEG Europe and Vikki Chapman, head of sustainability at Live Nation.
Powerful Thinking is also there, Tim Benson, chair of the ‘think-do’ tank with Jenny Samuels, grid specialist at Festival Republic, Jules Laver from PlusZero and Robert Long, Zenobe Energy’s business development director, in another Main Stage discussion, ‘ What is a sustainably powered event?’
Benson bucks the chair trend of asking a single question and letting each panelist comment, instead focusing in-depth on their specialties one by one. In the order above, these are hydrogen, mains electricity and battery – and what they can all bring to the party/event.
Tim Benson knows his green onions, his panel is relaxed and his questions are qualified, making the feedback from each participant truly insightful.
Of course, it’s hard to say who knows where to start, but the general public – and that’s telling for a first-year event – walks away from the session wondering how the prohibitive price of green hydrogen 2025 will be competitive through a government. grant program.
After detailing the savings, Jenny Samuels highlights the journey to grid installation, highlighting how many greenfield sites and sites are already connected to the grid. Robert Long amplifies the story of the event battery – and how it can deliver the best, efficient performance. from generators. There is a lot of learning potential, and a great achievement by everyone involved.
Event Sustainability Live is a learning experience for everyone involved, from top to bottom. It’s people coming together to explore the means to do things more efficiently, rather than handing out the mantra of “that’s not how you want to do it.” And it’s back at ExCel London tomorrow, Thursday 16 November, with sessions including ‘Getting rid of problematic single-use plastics’, ‘The Better Stands Program – Uniting and encouraging exhibitors together with their designated contractors to move away from single-use stands for single use at events’ and ‘Vision:2025 – What is good when we talk green?’