Journeys, Roadmaps, and Commitments - Sustainable Event Guide: Kate Holliday

The launch of Event Industry News - Sustainable Event Buyers Guide 2024 

I’ve spent a large part of my career in the events industry, and another big chunk in financial services, covering roles both as event planner and, more recently, a sustainability professional. I joined GES at the end of last year, combing my passion and my experience to become Head of ESG.

I don’t think it’s unfair to say that the financial services industry is some way ahead of our own world of events. Its more straight forward though, they have bigger pockets, more conformity of infrastructure, and their ‘product’ is, by its very nature, not environmentally damaging.

It’s very different for events. What we do has an impact. We are a physical industry that involves the movement of people and materials; we make stuff. My job, and that of any other sustainability professional in events, is to look at the company as a whole, as well as the specific service we offer, and balance out the positive impacts of what we offer and how we work. Reducing environmental impacts, while creating positive legacies. It helps to have spent time in a different market, taking some of my experience from there, and applying it in a meaningful way in the world of events. 

GES is a really proactive business. As one of the leading brands in the industry, we see it as our responsibility to innovate, invest, and create research and information that benefits everyone. Sustainability has been an area the business has been investing in for decades. I was bought in to look at where all this innovation is leading, where it is impacting, and what our own roadmap now looks like. We’re surrounded by announcements of commitments and journeys, so what is ours?

I’ve been asked to speak at a lot of events since my arrival last year. This has been really flattering, and everyone wants to know what GES thinks, and what it is doing. Essentially, we’re not dissimilar to many other organisations of our size. There is a huge amount of work being done already. Our innovation in carpeting materials to reduce carbon have been incredible, we’ve made major changes to our distribution network by moving offices closer to our key clients at the NEC and ExCeL London. In the meantime, we continue to find new ways to reduce, reuse and, if we must, offset responsibly. 

For me though, the next frontier’s focus on two core areas; measurement and legacy. 

The first is crucial, both for us and our colleagues in the industry. Everything we do at GES is measured, against objective, and the data coming from our work is excellent. The next level is to set targets and an action plan that is both achieve and impactful and understanding how each activity impacts the next to create a holistic approach across our business. More importantly, how is this effecting our own value chain, how are they measuring to give us a complete 360 view. 

After that, it is all about legacy; a growing topic in the events industry and one we should all be cognisant of. This is about what we leave behind as a community, but also how we act as a business. How do we treat people, how do our events embrace diversity, accessibility, and equity. How can we, as a business add positively to society. 

GES is an ambitious business, we set ourselves high standards, which means we’ll never be finished on this journey. The way we do it is important though. We’ll continue to pioneer, we’ll continue to innovate and invest, and we’ll continue to share what we’ve learnt with our industry. 

These are exciting times ahead.