The Sustainable Events Company on creating standout eco-friendly events

Jay Tyson is the Director at The Sustainable Events Company, which creates, manages and delivers sustainable, net zero corporate and private events which are high-impact for their clients and low-impact on the planet. Jay shares his approach to designing net zero events without compromising on visual effect, offers his advice to businesses looking to run their events more sustainably, and discusses the importance of event visitors and stakeholders in driving change.

ESGmark®: Can you tell us a bit about The Sustainable Events Company and what inspired you to found the business?

Jay Tyson (JT): The Sustainable Events Company is a boutique agency which exists to create, manage and deliver events that look and feel just like every top event you’ve ever been to, but that create as little CO2e as is practical.

We work with global brands and we work with SMEs and start-ups. As well as the ‘usual’ conferences, corporate events, awards dinners, exhibitions, we also design and build eco-friendly exhibition stands. And we’ve been very lucky to be able to combine our love of fitness, wellbeing and events, by working with a leading professional basketball team and, most recently, the TCS London Marathon.

Our inspiration was to continue to deliver amazing events but sustainably, and our niche is creating those events with as little CO2e as practical, not as little as possible. We can reduce an event’s emissions by, eg 50% by making subtle changes that have little or no impact on the look, the feel, the enjoyment and the ROI. We could reduce emissions even further but that would require actions that have a visible impact, and I don’t think business or people in general are ready for that, so it would be counter-productive. The choice isn’t between all or nothing – there’s a middle ground which appeals to both our clients and their audience.

ESGmark®: What are some of the ways that you manage your own environmental impact as a business?

JT: Even before we started to make the switch to being a net zero event management company in 2019, our business model was working remotely so we’ve never had commuting or office emissions, and we went paperless years ago.

Our team all have 100% renewable energy suppliers at home, we mandate travel by public transport unless it’s really unpractical and, when we’re away at an event, we use AirBnB rather than staying in hotels, which saves a ton (literally!) of emissions.

Obviously finding suppliers with a commitment to sustainability is something we spend a lot of time doing and, for those occasions where the options are limited or non-existent, we encourage them to make improvements by reducing transport, packaging or whatever we can. You can’t always achieve what you’d like to in an ideal world, but you can always mitigate the damage.

ESGmark®: What has been your favourite event to work on so far, and why?

JT: At the time of writing this, we’re a week out from the TCS London Marathon, who we’ve been working with to create a conference focussed on the sustainability of mass participation events. It’s been an amazing experience, working with a hugely talented team, at a fantastic venue, and a subject which is at the core of what we stand for as a company. We’ve created an ‘I was there’ event, which we’re incredibly proud of.

ESGmark®: What are some key considerations for organising events with strong ESG credentials?

JT: The key considerations are focussing on the biggest causes of CO2e which, in the case of an event, are always transport and, depending on the type of event, catering. Encouraging and/or incentivising guests to travel by public transport, or car pool can have a big impact, as can removing all beef and lamb from the menu or the catering outlets.

Other considerations would be avoiding single-use items, like printed signage, all plastic bottles, any giveaways that won’t have a life after the event and anything that doesn’t add value to the aims of the event.

ESGmark®: Are there any key tips that you would give to organisations looking to reduce the environmental impact of their events and conferences?

JT: You can’t retrofit sustainability, it has to be part of the planning and creativity processes from day 1.

Don’t be scared. Don’t think it’s too hard. Don’t focus on the things you can’t do, but of the opportunities that managing an event sustainably present. And, of course, speak to a professional sustainable event management company!

ESGmark®: What has been your biggest learning so far since founding The Sustainable Events Company? 

JT: That people’s perception of a sustainable event is that they’re a compromise. That they’re a ‘nice thing to do’ but you have to make sacrifices and everything will be a little bit substandard.

The truth is that, if it’s planned properly, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. We often have to do things that fit people’s perception of sustainability (water refill stations, bamboo pencils etc!) to make people feel better!!

ESGmark®: Are there any new or growing trends that you're seeing in the industry, and do you feel optimistic about the future of sustainability in events?

JT: There is a growing trend to remove carpet from exhibitions, which is a great thing for the environment. However, that’s being driven by the visitors who are more accepting of walking down concrete aisles because they know that it’s for environmental reasons. It hasn’t come from the organisers developing an eco-conscience – if they could have got away without spending tens of thousands of pounds on carpet in the past, they would have done so!

Changes will be driven by visitors, by clients, by sponsors. So, as long as those key stakeholders keep pushing for change, I’m optimistic for the future. The events industry will respond to their demands, but I don’t think it will ever lead.

ESGmark®: What are you reading / listening to at the moment?

JT: I’m a member of a Book Swap Club, where we circulate books we’ve finished. I picked up ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’ last time, so I’m halfway through that.

During the day I’ll listen to 6Music, Radio X or Radio 4 and, in the gym or the evenings, it’ll be whatever Spotify’s algorithm throws my way. Manchester is a great city for live music, so I try to get to a gig at least once a month.

For more on The Sustainable Events Company, head over to their website.

Speaking to our founders is central to keeping the ESGmark® community connected - read our other interviews with In Good Company on championing purpose-driven business, EKÓ Botanicals on sustainable skincare inspired by nature, and Living Memorial on compassion, innovation and keeping SDGs at the heart of business strategy.