Comments Off on The real data challenges sustainability leads in businesses that run events are facing
Sustainability leads in businesses that run events are being held to higher scrutiny than ever before when it comes to their organisation’s emissions data. They’re expected to know what the numbers are and how confident the organisation is in them.
It’s part of the territory that events are internally and publicly scrutinised, which is why it’s extra important within this industry that an organisation’s sustainability data is as strong as possible.
For sustainability leads in businesses that run events who are finding this mission challenging, it is not a failure of intent or capability, but a reflection of the structural reality of how events are delivered and where current measurement practices still fall short.
As scrutiny increases, it’s important that we’re honest about where event data typically breaks down, and what credible progress really looks like in practice.
Events sit where data confidence is lowest
Insights from the Temperature CheckReports show a clear pattern: the areas with the highest emissions are often not the areas with the strongest data confidence.
Staff travel and accommodation data was completed in around 88% of measured events, making it one of the most consistently reported data areas.
Production transport data was recorded in approximately 75% of events, again with relatively low reliance on estimates.
In contrast, energy data was captured in only around 57% of events, and waste data even less consistently, despite both being known contributors to event emissions.
For sustainability leads, this creates a familiar challenge. An organisation may be measuring their events, but confidence varies sharply depending on the data type, particularly where primary data depends on venues or suppliers outside direct control.
Measurement effort does not equal measurement quality
Another key insight from industry data is that more measurement does not automatically mean better measurement.
Many organisations are already investing time in capturing event emissions, yet analysis shows:
Some of the most frequently reported emissions rely heavily on estimated data
Data is often captured inconsistently across events, even within the same organisation
Different teams apply different assumptions, limiting comparability over time
Audience travel is a good example. While often discussed as a priority, early industry reporting indicates only around 43% of events recorded any audience travel data at all, and the low rate of audience travel data capture is still accurate as of 2025. Where it was captured, it frequently represented only a proportion of total journeys.
For sustainability leads, partial data can still be valuable, but only when its limitations are clearly understood and communicated.
What leading organisations are doing differently
Organisational insights highlighted in the Temperature CheckReports point to a noticeable shift among more mature organisations.
These organisations tend to:
Prioritise data confidence over data completeness Focusing first on areas where reliable activity data already exists.
Embed measurement into event delivery processes Making data capture part of standard workflows, not a post-event clean-up exercise.
Standardise methods internally Applying consistent boundaries and assumptions across all events, even where gaps remain.
This approach reduces rework, improves internal trust in the data, and makes it easier for sustainability leads to explain results, including uncertainty, with confidence.
Learning from where the gaps are
One of the most valuable outcomes of industry measurement has been visibility of where data is missing or unreliable.
For example:
Waste volumes are often underreported, suggesting systemic reporting gaps rather than genuinely low waste generation.
Energy data is frequently estimated, highlighting ongoing challenges in accessing venue-level consumption figures.
Materials data, despite being heavily influenced by event design decisions, is inconsistently captured across event types.
For sustainability leads these gaps are signals, pointing to where internal processes, supplier engagement, or contractual data requirements need to evolve.
Reframing success for sustainability leads
As regulatory, assurance and stakeholder expectations grow, success is not defined by having a complete dataset.
It is increasingly defined by being able to say, with confidence:
Which data is robust
Where estimates have been used
How consistently methods are applied
And what is being done to improve quality over time
Industry reporting consistently shows that clarity builds trust, even when the picture is incomplete. Overstated certainty, by contrast, often creates more risk than transparency ever does.
Building progress without overclaiming
With time and due process, event data can become more consistent, more explainable and more useful.
For sustainability leads, progress often looks like:
Fewer assumptions year on year
Stronger internal alignment on boundaries
Improved data quality in priority areas
And a shared understanding of what ‘good enough for now’ actually means, at both an organisational and industry level
That is how event measurement matures, through repeatable, defensible practice.
For teams looking to strengthen how they approach event carbon measurement, the Event Carbon Measurement Starter Pack offers practical guidance on improving data quality, consistency and confidence.
Imagine an accountant telling you it’s fine to just reconcile the books each month and there’s no need to actually look at the P&L 😳
The numbers balance, so what more do you need?
No analysis of margins, cost, cash… and no view of future exposure.
🙅🏻♀️ You’d fire them 🙅🏻♀️
Now imagine that same accountant saying they can help you, but only by comparing your accounts to other companies they work with.
Not how you performed last quarter, not whether you’re improving or getting worse, not what’s changing over time inside your business.
Just a benchmark that tells you how you stack up against someone else.
🙅🏻♀️ You’d fire them twice 🙅🏻♀️
If you’ve got a sustainability provider telling you that they offer more value than “just” emissions reporting because they offer you benchmarks about how you’re performing against others, or that they can help you demonstrate your sustainability creds – they’re completely missing the point.
It would be like that same accountant telling you how you’re performing without actually reconciling your books 🤭🙃
Consistent, comparable emissions data is as foundational to business continuity planning as your financial accounts.
Without either, you cannot forecast, mitigate, adapt, diversify, invest, reorganise or thrive.
No-one in their right mind would try to run a business without understanding trends in their revenue, costs, liabilities and cashflow, and emissions data feeds the insights around that information.
👉 It exposes where your supply chain is fragile 👉 It reveals where cost, carbon and risk concentrate 👉 It tells you where to put time, energy and money 👉 and just as importantly, WHERE YOU DO NOT NEED TO.
Comparing your performance – emissions or financial – to another business doesn’t help you understand what you’re already doing well, and it doesn’t gives you a baseline to forecast what you need to do differently as the operating environment shifts.
And the operating environment ✨is✨ shifting.
Geoeconomic shocks, geopolitical instability, regulatory change and resource constraints are already shaping margins, operations and impacting business continuity.
And it’s showing up in your accounts already – it’s just misattributed to rising costs, when the root cause of rising costs is ecological debt.
Benchmarks don’t help you plan for and solve the problems coming down the track in your near-term business future, without solid emissions reporting underneath them.
If you can get your head around that and learn how emissions data feeds business continuity, then your CFO and clients will thank you for it when they realise you’re bringing them decision-grade information instead of another sustainability narrative.
If what you want is to say you’re “doing good”, we’re probably not the product for you.
But if you’re an events business that wants to understand how to ensure continuity through sustained volatility, TRACE by isla helps with that.
Comments Off on How transparent carbon data builds trust and why it matters for every event
Event organisers and suppliers are being asked to compile and share more data than ever before, from emissions reports and supplier disclosures to sustainability credentials in client pitches.
When it comes to reporting event carbon data though, the difference between credibility and greenwashing comes down to one thing: transparency.
To be transparent, you must be providing clarity, showing what’s been measured, how it’s been measured, and what the results actually mean. When your data is transparent, others can trust it. And when they trust it, they act on it.
Transparency is the foundation of credible carbon insights
Credibility is built through data that’s clear, consistent, and traceable. TRACE defines credible carbon insights through four essential principles: accuracy, completeness, consistency, and comparability.
Accuracy: Ground emissions in real activity data, rather than broad financial estimates: litres of fuel, kilowatt hours, kilograms of waste.
Completeness: Capture the full picture. Leaving out indirect emissions hides key parts of your carbon footprint.
Consistency: Apply the same standards and methods each time so your results are reliable and repeatable.
Comparability: Measure progress fairly against your own history or industry benchmarks, using the same rules.
When event data reflects these pillars, it’s no longer just a compliance exercise, but a foundation for insight and progress. Stakeholders can trace the source of each figure, understand the context, and trust that reductions are genuine and not just accounting adjustments.
Why transparent carbon data is now non-negotiable
Measurement is an environmental commitment and now a business requirement.
Regulations such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Green Claims Directive are reshaping how organisations disclose and validate their sustainability information. Companies must now provide verifiable evidence for their emissions data and environmental claims.
This regulatory shift affects the entire event supply chain, with larger businesses increasingly asking their event partners for measurable emissions data to complete their own reports. For agencies, venues and organisers, transparency is fast becoming a baseline expectation.
38% of leading businesses are already measuring emissions, despite only 17% being legally obligated to report.
Scope 3 reporting is expected to become the norm across Europe by 2030.
Greenwashing crackdowns now carry penalties of up to 10% of annual turnover for unsupported environmental claims.
Without clear, traceable data, organisations risk non-compliance, reputational damage, and exclusion from client frameworks. With transparency, they can demonstrate accountability, anticipate change, and prove leadership through evidence rather than aspiration.
Turning transparency into competitive advantage
Transparent measurement should not be thought of as a burden, rather a strategic advantage.
Event professionals who can explain how their numbers came about build stronger relationships and make better-informed decisions. Transparent data helps you:
Demonstrate credibility: Verifiable, traceable data makes your reductions tangible.
Future-proof compliance: Activity-based measurement aligns with recognised standards, ready for audit.
Strengthen partnerships: Clients and suppliers collaborate more effectively when everyone can see what’s working.
Direct investment: Clarity on emission hotspots means resources go where they make the biggest difference.
Take catering as an example. Recording meal types and quantities with accuracy, instead of relying on cost-based estimates, can reveal actionable insights, such as plant based menus generating up to 90% fewer emissions than red meat (data from TRACE by isla). That kind of visibility turns data into informed choices that reduce both carbon and cost.
Using transparent event carbon data to make better decisions
True transparency depends on systems that make credible measurement achievable and repeatable. Clear, activity-based data delivers far more than a number on a spreadsheet, it highlights practical places to take action. Examples drawn from industry research include:
Catering The dataset in our Temperature Check Report Europe 2025 shows plant based meals produce up to 95% fewer emissions than red meat, and a full plant based swap in the recorded events would have saved 714 tCO₂e. That level of insight is only possible when meal types and quantities are accurately recorded.
Production materials Data shows that production materials can account for up to half of an event’s emissions, especially for exhibitions and conferences. Without material weights, composition, or reuse data, these hotspots remain invisible.
Transport and logistics The same data shows that production transport represents over 30% of emissions for some event types. Accurate distance and weight data highlight where consolidating deliveries or switching suppliers can cut emissions meaningfully.
Energy use Venues that measure actual energy consumption, rather than using standard estimates, support organisers to report event emissions more reliably.
These insights make decision-making clearer, more strategic and more grounded in real operational context.
Building trust through clarity
Transparent data meets compliance standards AND builds lasting credibility and confidence.
When clients and stakeholders can see the story behind your numbers, they know your progress is real. That trust strengthens relationships, encourages collaboration, and positions your organisation as a leader in responsible event delivery.
Transparency is how we bridge the gap between measurement and action, as well as intention and impact.
To strengthen your own reporting and communicate progress with confidence, download your Event Carbon Measurement Starter Pack,a practical guide to making your data credible, complete, and actionable. Or, if you’re not already measuring and you’re ready to get credible carbon insights you can act on with confidence, get your free demo of TRACE.
Comments Off on 2026 Event Sustainability Checklist
For busy event professionals ready to take sustainability seriously.
Sustainability now appears in most event RFPs. Current industry insight suggests that around 62% of RFPs include sustainability requirements, yet those requirements are often vague.
Questions like:
Do you have a sustainability policy?
Are you accredited?
Do you meet our sustainability standards?
are increasingly common. But they don’t always translate into what event teams actually need in order to deliver an event, measure its impact, or meet client and stakeholder expectations.
Whilst an event supplier may be strong on sustainability at a company level, that doesn’t automatically mean
You’ll have actionable emissions data for your event
Measurement will align with reporting needs
Information will be consistent and comparable across events or suppliers
You’ll generate insights that support real design and procurement decisions
For event professionals, this creates a practical problem. Asking about sustainability capability is not the same as requesting the specific data and support your event requires.
This checklist is designed for teams who need to move from sustainability intent to consistent delivery and credible data, without adding unnecessary complexity to already busy workflows.
Comments Off on Breaking down carbon emissions benchmarks by event type and size
The 2025 Temperature Check Europe report provides a data-led overview of carbon emissions across the European events sector, using one of the largest aggregated datasets available for business events. By analysing high-quality TRACE data from approximately 1000 events across multiple countries, it establishes a clearer picture of how emissions are distributed across event activities and formats.
The report highlights the sector’s main carbon hotspots, ongoing improvements in measurement practice, and the need for reliable baselines to guide effective reduction strategies. These baselines set the groundwork for going deeper – breaking emissions down by event type and event size – so organisations can understand how their events compare with the wider landscape and make informed, confident decisions.
How different event types influence carbon emissions
Event formats vary widely in their carbon profiles. High-production environments such as exhibitions or experiential builds tend to sit at the upper end of the carbon scale. Meetings, activations and dinners typically fall much lower. Understanding this variation helps planners benchmark their event’s carbon footprint accurately and identify where changes will have the greatest impact.
These visuals give teams practical benchmarking context by showing:
Typical emission ranges for common event types
How materials, production, and travel influence different formats
Where an event sits relative to industry norms
Which levers are most likely to deliver reductions
For those who need deeper detail, including quartiles and the amount of variability, the full event-type benchmarks are available to download here.
Why event size changes the picture
Event size is another major factor shaping event carbon emissions. Larger events do generate more total emissions, but the relationship with emissions intensity is different. When measured as kgCO₂e per attendee, many larger events show greater efficiency compared to smaller ones. This reflects the value of consolidated logistics, more efficient venue energy use, and economies of scale in production.
Event size influences:
Travel demand and distance
Catering volume and menu choices
Venue energy usage
Material and build requirements
Even within the same type of event, emissions profiles shift significantly as the audience grows. This is why size-based benchmarks matter: they help teams understand both the absolute footprint of an event and its per-attendee emissions intensity.
Actions that consistently support lower emissions at any scale include:
Designing production to reduce material use and increase reuse
Optimising energy loads and collaborating with venues
Managing food waste and selecting lower-impact menus
Encouraging lower-carbon travel behaviour
Embedding measurement early at the planning stage to inform decisions, supporting improved data quality and comparability post event
The full size-based benchmark tables are also available to download here.
Why event carbon benchmarking matters
Good benchmarking gives teams a credible frame of reference to assess their performance and identify where meaningful reductions can be achieved.
By combining baselines from the 2025 Temperature Check Europe report dataset with deeper breakdowns by type and size, organisations gain a much clearer view of:
What ‘typical’ looks like for their kind of event
Where their own footprint sits in relation to the wider industry
Which categories and behaviours drive emissions
Where to prioritise effort to make progress
When measurement is consistent and grounded in activity-based data, the result is simple: more confident decisions and more effective climate action.
A note on using these benchmarks responsibly
These benchmarks are a helpful guide, but they’re only as strong as the data behind them. While the dataset is one of the most comprehensive available, measurement across the sector is still uneven, with gaps in boundaries, activity data and reporting consistency. This means benchmarks should be seen as a reference point, not a replacement for your own measurement.
The most meaningful comparison will always come from tracking your events over time. Building your own dataset is what enables true progress, giving you clarity on where emissions are coming from and where reductions will have the greatest impact for your events. The sooner measurement becomes part of your regular workflow, the sooner your benchmarks become more accurate and actionable and the sooner you can be celebrating your progress.
If you need help getting credible event carbon insights you can act on with confidence, try out a free Demo of TRACE by isla.
Comments Off on Event badges: how to reduce single-use waste.
According to our own research 2.14kg of waste is pridcued per attendee per event, this is just under the amount generated by the average UK household per day. The source of this waste likely comes from a variety of sources, including catering, production and often small print items. Even when there is separate recycling on-site, the onward life of these items is in the hands of delegates and thus even though there is recycling on-site it’s up to the delegate’s own conscience if they use it and some items may inadvertently be taken home and end up in general waste.
Therefore coming up with alternative solutions to the waste generated from items where you have less oversight or control of onward life is an important step in the reduction of waste from single-use items such as name badges, maps, leaflets and programmes.
Looking specifically at name badges, there are a variety of approaches to lessen the impact of waste here.
BEST:
Utilise an in-event app to share important information with delegates This has the benefit of being editable for any last-minute programme changes and can also be used for networking. Or for a more traditional lanyard-style name badge, consider using a solution such as Blendology for paperless networking.
In May 2023 at isla’s flagship event transform at Kew Gardens we saved 1.86kg* of paper by using Blendology OneTap badges instead of printed name badges for 124 delegates.
“It was great to see the way the Blendology badges encouraged networking and interaction. I loved ‘bumping badges’ with current and new connections and the fact that contact information was transferred automatically, no need for the clunkiness of pen and paper or exchanging not-so-planet friendly paper business cards. A follow-up email from Blendology also made it really easy to access your contacts list post-event. Innovations like Blendology are a sign of the really exciting things to come in the events industry of tomorrow,” Miriam Habtesellasie, MarComms Lead, isla
BETTER:
Consider the material that the name badges are made from and replace the single-use plastic pouch with a durable, recyclable paper option that will still last for multi-day events. This is particularly important considering the upcoming introduction of the single-use plastics ban in England this October. Are there also other ways or creative solutions to the single-use nature of name badges? Perhaps chalkboard badges or wipe clean ensuring that they are reused across different events.
Also, consider the material of the lanyard. Can you source bamboo or recycled PET for example in order to move away from non-biodegradable materials, such as nylon, with higher environmental impact?
BASIC:
If you’re unable to make physical changes to your name badges, can you consider how to make sure that their onward life is what you intended? Badge recycling points at all of the exits to events can help give you this control and be a prompt to delegates to drop them off before leaving and you to ensure that they are properly separated and recycled, perhaps investing in staff to ensure that delegates hand over their badges before leaving. You may also want to consider designing lanyards or plastic pouches without sponsorship details or event dates so that they can be reused time and again, or at least until an event rebrands.
How will your delegates network at your next event?
Moving away from the traditional wine bottle to a more sustainable alternative.
“Wine should come in a glass bottle, right? Actually, wrong if wine drinkers want to do their bit for the planet’s resources and environment.” Jancis Robertson (OBE, ComMA, MW)
Drinking and serving wine is a practice steeped in tradition, from treading the grapes barefoot to popping the cork. As such, the quality of the wine and the drinking experience is heavily rooted in the perception of the bottle. The labels having an art movement of their own, in both the natural wine world filled with artists and designers. Or wine from more traditional winemakers where so much history and culture are held in the bottle and it’s the label.
It’s natural that when the wine comes without any of those aspects of ceremony and art, a stigma is attached to it. The idea that it’s an inferior product. We can see this clearly in the perception of wine with a screw-top. Where we jump to the conclusion that the liquid inside isn’t as high quality or made with the same environmental and sustainability considerations.
The wine bottle is the biggest environmental impact area of the wine industry. Generating large amounts of glass to be recycled and adding shipping weight to the transportation of the wine. Moving away from the glass bottle then has the potential to contribute to both financial savings and reductions to the carbon footprint of a glass of wine.
“Current estimates put the transportation of glass packaging at anywhere between 80% and 90% of the emissions costs of the wine industry”
What are the alternatives?
There are many alternatives to the glass bottle, including cans, bag in box or keg. And a growing body of importers who are innovating alongside winemakers to bring these to market. Who are utilising and exploring more sustainable methods of serving and celebrating their wine. Meaning that the bag-in-box wine, or maybe you know it as goon wine, is no longer reserved for house parties and festivals. It can be utilised to reduce waste and emissions associated with the drinks industry.
I spoke to Roman at Modal Wines who are importers of wine from independent winemakers with a genuine passion for their craft, regardless of location or style. Modal Wine showcase wine that is always made with the highest respect for nature; from the vineyards to the cellars. They were recently at the Vessel wine fair in London, where wine in alternative packaging was in the spotlight. We caught up about some of the benefits of, and response to, diversifying their portfolio into alternative packaging.
Why are you moving away from the traditional wine bottle?
We have felt for a long time that wine that is consumed in the year or so following its release does not need to come in glass packaging. Current estimates put the transportation of glass packaging at anywhere between 80% and 90% of the emissions costs of the wine industry. So it’s very clear that this is the area where we as an industry have the most room for improvement in terms of our environmental impact. We are finally reaching a point where consumers are shifting their views on packaging, and putting a higher value on environmental concerns, so the timing feels right to make a change.
Is there a price difference between the wines?
The actual liquid costs the same whether it goes in glass, box, can, or keg – it’s the same wine after all. Packaging costs vary, with some alternatives being less expensive and some working out around the same once all is said and done, but the main reason a consumer sees a price difference is because of lower shipping costs. Since more wine can fit in less space and add less weight to a shipping load in alternative packaging, you can get a higher quality wine at a lower price. It’s one of the few instances where lowering environmental costs actually lowers the price you pay!
How popular are your bag in box/alternatives?
We started with Bag in Box wines from our producer Valdibella a couple of years ago, and were frankly overwhelmed with the response. This made it clear to us that people were ready for higher quality wines in alternative formats, and set us on the road to grow the range and seek out other packaging alternatives. We have recently launched Pet Nat in cans (which actually finish their fermentation in can!) from Celler Entre Vinyes, and they have been off to a great start as well. We are just starting to receive our first wines in keykeg. As these are tried-and-true favourites from our range we are excited to see how they fare in their new format.
Ultimately, we are lucky to work with growers that produce delicious wines and customers who are open-minded to trying alternative formats, so we are optimistic that this is just the beginning of the journey.
Comments Off on isla launches industry-defining temperature check report
isla has recently released its first industry report, combining insights from TRACE, and the wider membership community.
The report – a temperature check 2022-2023: an exploration of sustainable progress in the UK event industry – is the first of its kind globally, and reflects isla’s mission to support the events industry transition to Net Zero.
This report helps the industry make sense of where event emissions come from and highlights how the industry can harness rich data to support businesses. This is essential knowledge to thrive in a changing climate and an evolving regulatory landscape.
Intent on providing action-focused insights and guidance to align the industry on tackling event decarbonisation, this temperature check considers where we are now and where we need to be.
Key areas in the report include:
Trends in event carbon emissions from TRACE
Practical actions the events industry can take today, to ensure a brighter tomorrow
Why the concepts of climate literacy and carbon instinct are key to business transformation against the backdrop of the climate crisis
How organisations can reframe key challenges on the path to event decarbonisation as opportunities and the rewards these can present to businesses
How the events industry can work together to harness the power of collaborative advantage
The report also exemplifies the best of TRACE in action with case studies from across the sector, including leading event agencies Amplify, Momentum and The Creative Engagement Group.
isla CEO & Founder Anna Abdelnoor said: “The climate crisis is happening now, and action to address it must continue at pace. The industry has been crying out for the insight and guidance it needs to take meaningful action to address climate change. Achieving Net Zero faces a myriad of challenges ranging from a lack of coherent policy to perceived barriers to moving from ‘business as usual’ to businesses fit for the future. This report will act as a beacon for the industry.”
Comments Off on A Case Study: Green Space: Dark Skies Shining the Spotlight on Outdoor Event Sustainability
Leading outdoor arts organisations Walk the Plank, were at the helm of Green Space, Dark Skies, one of ten projects commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK a ground-breaking UK-wide celebration of creativity in 2022, designed to celebrate science, technology, engineering, the arts and maths.
Walk the Plank had four core sustainability targets for the event – which saw thousands of people, from all paths in life, to experience beautiful landscapes across the UK at dusk, between April and September 2022 – which were as follows:
100% renewable energy usage
Zero-waste policy on resource usage
Limit disposable and single-use plastics
Follow the waste hierarchy
In the informative video below, Rebecca Whitman, a freelance consultant and the event’s Sustainability Manager tells TRACE Customer Success Manager Kate Kieran, how the organisation utilised TRACE to help meet the above and also put them on the path to win the Best Sustainability award at the National Outdoor Events Association in the same year.
Download the full Green Space: Dark Skies Sustainability Impact report here.
This video has been extracted from the TRACE monthly lunch & learn series. This is a free, monthly virtual event exclusively for TRACE users, which brings stakeholders from the events ecosystem together to answer common platform questions, update them on new data-driven platform features and gives them the opportunity to share successes and stumbling blocks on the path to event decarbonisation.
Comments Off on This or That: The Decision Dilemma
Biodiesel (BD) or Diesel
Is Biodiesel a viable alternative to diesel for the events industry?
In the first of a new series, this or that, TRACE Customer Success Officer Emily Shephard explores the pros and cons of the decisions and switches we can make in the planning process of events. This month we look at biodiesel vs diesel.
Energy is one of the biggest and unavoidable impact areas for event emissions that organisers have little to no control over due to the responsibility often sitting with the venue. However, for events where generators are being used, we are presented with the unique opportunity to make a choice regarding the source of the fuel used. Giving the chance to take responsibility and choose a more sustainable option.
Biodiesel (BD) can be a viable alternative here to make significant reductions in our carbon footprint as well as having the potential to reduce the negative impact of diesel across other environmental areas, such as waste water and air and noise pollution.
What is it?
Biodiesel is a greenhouse gas-reducing, advanced biofuel that is an excellent alternative for diesel users, from driving a car to powering ride-on lawnmowers. It’s manufactured domestically from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant grease. Biodiesel is accessible across the UK from national suppliers and as pure biodiesel is able to be used in the majority of generators, no major technical upgrades are required to ensure compatibility. Just a change in your procurement procedures.
Emissions
The events industry uses 380 million litres of diesel a year, (UK Events and Diesel Use: Responding to a public health emergency) releasing 1.3million tonnes CO2e. if all of this was switched to a biodiesel alternative then there is a potential reduction of approximately 3000 tCO2e per day. This is the equivalent of keeping a 652 cars on the road for a year, for each day for the events industries diesel usage. You can test out different scenarios in TRACE to see the difference in your footprint if you were to make the switch for your next event.
Cost
Cost is always a driving factor when budgets are tight. Traditionally biodiesel has been the more expensive option but that gap is closing quickly as people search for alternatives to fossil fuels, a market which has become increasingly volatile, and the technology for alternatives advances. Wholesale prices for biodiesel have dropped from 187.99 pence per litre (ppl) in August 2022 to 75.97ppl in April 2023 with traditional diesel at 54.69ppl (RAC Foundation). A significant increase in affordability means that BD is now more economically viable, and should, theoretically, be easier to pitch to clients as part of the spend on a sustainable event.
Environment
Given that biodiesel is made from organic materials, the resulting fuel is, as the name would suggest, biodegradable. The biodegradability, how much something breaks down, of biodiesel is 98% after 28 days compared to 50% for diesel. Significantly reducing the long-term environmental impact of oil spills and leaks.
Beyond just looking at emissions as a measure of impact, biodiesel use can also lead to reduced particulate matter in the atmosphere, therefore helping to reduce levels of air pollution. This is due to the higher oxygen content of biodiesel. Higher levels of particulate matter are dangerous for health, with the two most important categories measured being PM10, where particles are less than 10 micrometres in diameter and PM2.5 where particles are less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter (National Statistics). Approximately half of the particulate matter in the atmosphere comes from human sources and so identifying ways to reduce the concentration, such as switching to biodiesel is an important piece of the puzzle in improving air quality.
Biodiesel production also leads to reduced wastewater with comparisons showing a five times reduction for the lifecycle analysis of biodiesel compared to diesel, the percentage of this wastewater also contains significantly lower hazardous material (U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Energy, 1998).
Noise
A strong correlation exists between the characteristics of particular fuels and the amount of engine noise and vibrations they emit (Tüccar, 2018). Biodiesel performs well in these areas, with lower scores compared with traditional diesel scores, leading to a quieter engine. A particularly useful consideration for quieter outdoor events and a chance to demonstrate that you’re thinking not only of the impact of the energy use but the clients’ experience too. Keeping noise levels in check, whether indoors or outdoors, is also key to maintaining positive relationships with the communities surrounding your event.
Should you make the switch?
The case for the switch to biodiesel is compelling, with environmental risk and emission reductions significant. Though widespread adoption will still take time, with not all venues being set up to make the changes to the suppliers that they use. And the wider issue of lacking the infrastructure to process the amount of organic material required to meet energy requirements. So whilst there are many benefits, the key to reducing your event’s energy emissions is to consider ways in which you can reduce the amount of energy you need, from updating equipment to improve efficiency to training the team to be vigilant in energy-saving measures. Reducing the amount of energy alongside considering the source of the energy will also make it much easier to make switches to more sustainable.
