IUCN is dedicated to leading by example in sustainable events management. Building on the success of previous initiatives, including the ISO 20121 certification awarded to the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2016 in Hawaii and IUCN Congress 2021 in Marseille, IUCN is working to further enhance its sustainable event management practices.
Working collaboratively with the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement), a pioneering international agency dedicated to driving positive socio-economic and environmental transformation, and Green Evénements, an expert in developing responsible event strategies, IUCN is working towards achieving ISO 20121 certification once again.
ISO 20121 is a globally recognised standard for sustainable event management that provides a structured framework for embedding sustainability into all aspects of event planning and execution. By striving for this certification, IUCN aims to ensure that its events are not only environmentally responsible but also socially and economically beneficial, leaving a lasting, positive legacy.
This commitment is in line with the IUCN’s event sustainability principles, of responsible event planning that balances social, economic, and environmental considerations, and adding further enhancements beyond the standard’s requirements.
Specific actions include:
- minimising the environmental impact of its events by reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- minimising resource demand, and
- promoting good sustainability practices to participants, suppliers, and local communities.
IUCN is now in the first stage of its 20-month roadmap towards ISO 20121 certification. This process follows a structured approach based on the Plan, Implement, Check-Act, and Improve methodology. IUCN will continue to provide updates on its progress, sharing insights as it moves closer to achieving its sustainability ambitions.
With this initiative, IUCN strengthens its commitment to sustainable event management, ensuring its activities contribute to a better future for both the organisation and the global communities it serves.
Offsetting carbon emissions
For the Congress, IUCN invites participants to contribute to nature conservation by offsetting the carbon emissions associated with their participation in the event, whether they attend online or onsite. For the latter, the calculation will include the emissions generated by travel as well as those generated onsite by the event itself.
Through the online registration process, participants will be prompted to contribute, from a curated list, to one of the selected projects offering certified carbon offset credits. The selection of projects will be done through a dedicated Call for Proposals restricted to IUCN Members, in alignment with the IUCN Carbon Offsetting Policy. Additional projects may be offered and will be selected following the principals outlined in the latter policy.
The list of projects may vary throughout the registration period as IUCN will purchase credits ahead of the event, based upon the Congress carbon emissions estimation, and will make these credits available through the registration system. Once a project is sold out, it may not be replaced.
