UBM Celebrates ISO20121 Certification for Sustainable Event Management for Ecobuild and Resource

London (ots/PRNewswire) -

UBM Live Built Environment, organiser of Ecobuild
(http://www.ecobuild.co.uk) and Resource
(http://www.resource-event.com) has been awarded the coveted ISO20121
certification for Sustainable Event Management for its co-located
events this March.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140313/674634-a )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140313/674634-b )

Commended for its commitment to carbon footprint reduction, better
management of resources and sourcing more sustainable options, the
organiser achieved a remarkable 10 percent decrease in waste
generated on site.

Upcycling materials into resources for local schools and reusing
wall panels from other events to build its feature areas are amongst
many new initiatives that organiser UBM Live Built Environment has
implemented.

Forming part of UBM's strategy for continual improvement of its
sustainable performance, the Ecobuild and Resource teams looked at
the environment, community and economic sides of sustainability in
the context of its 2014 events which took place from 4th to 6th March
2014 at London's ExCeL.

UBM's strategy to reduce the amount of waste that generated on
site was to adopt the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle.

Applying these principles to its feature areas, Ecobuild created
open plan designs to minimise material usage, maximised use of hired
and reusable components, and ensured waste is recycled or managed
responsibly.

On top of that, the organiser has reduced the carbon footprint of
its event guide by an impressive 28 percent by swapping to 100
percent recycled paper for the first time.

Leading the way towards a more circular economy, the Resource team
applied circular economy principles to its theatre area, ensuring
every component could be reused, recovered or recycled. Working with
contractor Helistrat, closed loop walling was implemented; utilising
used coffee grounds from retailer Marks & Spencer and coat hangers
from retailer Ann Summers to produce boards and panels. The team also
worked with Interface to lay recycled carpet produced from old
fishing nets.

In a bid to reduce the volume of waste to landfill generated by
the event and put materials back to use in the community, UBM
upcycled all its PVC event banners into aprons for local schools'
PMLD departments and donated materials such as MDF, cloth, wood, and
perspex used to build its features and seminar theatres to a local
school's Design and Technology department.

In partnership with Ecobuild's official show partner The UK Green
Building Council, Ecobuild encouraged exhibitors to think about the
sustainability of their stands and proudly shout about their green
credentials through its Sustainable Stand Awards.

Organisers also worked with ExCeL this year to utilise the new LED
fully addressable lighting system, ensuring electricity use was as
efficient as possible. Lights were turned off in unused areas, and
turned down in over-lit areas.

Alison Jackson, Group Director of Sustainability & Construction,
Ecobuild and Resource comments on this important accolade: "We are so
proud to receive ISO20121 certification, which is testament to the
hard work of our specialist organising teams, partners, exhibitors
and visitors who enabled us to 'walk the walk' this year towards a
more sustainable event and beginning of a more circular economy.
Thank you to all involved and here's to setting the bar even higher
for Ecobuild and Resource 2015!"

Further highlights of Ecobuild's journey towards ISO20121
certification:

- Ecobuild has made a long term commitment to a partnership with CRASH, the
construction and property industry's charity for homeless people in the UK
- Through Forest Carbon, the UK leaders in woodland creation certified under the
Woodland Carbon Code, Ecobuild is making a long term contribution to the UK's
environment in recognition of our net footprint.
- Worked with catering suppliers Leith's to improve the sustainability of the
catering provided

Alison Jackson speaks out to other events organisers: "In years
gone by, the events industry has been one of the worst offenders for
waste sent to landfill every year. As a market leader in live events,
UBM puts sustainability principles at the core of all our activities
to ensure we leave a positive legacy behind."

Ecobuild and Resource 2015 will take place at London's ExCeL
between 3rd and 5th March 2015. Please visit the web site
http://www.ecobuild.co.uk and http://www.resource-event.com to stay
up-to-date with the latest news and information.

Notes to editor:

So what is ISO 20121?

ISO 20121 is a management system standard that has been designed
to help organisations in the events industry improve the
sustainability of their event related activities, products and
services.

ISO 20121 is based on the earlier British Standard called 'BS 8901
Specification for a Sustainability Management System for Events'
which was first developed in 2007. Due to the high level interest in
BS 8901, it was decided to create an international version of the
standard to coincide with the London 2012 Olympics.

In simple terms, ISO 20121 describes the building blocks of a
management system that will help any event related organisation to:

- Continue to be financially successful
- Become more socially responsible
- Reduce its environmental footprint

ISO 20121 applies to all types and sizes of organisation involved
in the events industry - from caterers, lighting and sound engineers,
security companies, stage builders and venues to independent event
organisers and corporate and public sector event teams.

Organisations that successfully implement the standard will be
able to seek independent recognition of their achievement through a
process called 'Certification'.

Contact:

Louise Boulden, +44(0)20-7560-4465 / +44(0)7825-113285 /
louise.boulden@ubm.com

Photo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140313/674634-a

http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140313/674634-b

ots Originaltext: UBM Live Built Environment
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