Transport and events
ISO 20121:2024
Event sustainability management systems
ISO 20121 sets out requirements for an event sustainability management system.
A certified organisation plans and delivers events, or products and services for events, in a way that reduces negative environmental, social and economic impacts and increases positive ones, across the whole event cycle from planning and procurement to delivery, legacy and review.
Who it suits
Event organisers and owners, venues, festival, conference and sports organisers, exhibition and hospitality businesses, and suppliers to the events industry such as caterers, staging, production and transport companies. Certification may cover a single event or an organisation's continuing event activities.
What certification involves
ISAO, or a certification body accredited for ISO 20121, audits the system in two stages: first the scope, the sustainability issues identified with stakeholders and readiness; then how plans, supplier requirements and controls work in practice, usually by auditing during event planning and at events. The certificate states the events, activities and sites covered. Certificates are normally valid for three years, with surveillance audits at least once a year and a recertification audit before expiry. ISAO carries out this certification itself, and also accredits certification bodies to do it. Every certificate ISAO issues, and every certificate issued under ISAO accreditation, is recorded on the public register.
Key themes
- Identifying the environmental, social and economic issues an event creates, together with stakeholders
- Governing principles of inclusion, integrity, stewardship and transparency
- Sustainable sourcing and management of the supply chain
- Managing resources, waste, travel and emissions
- Accessibility, community and health and safety impacts
- Legacy, post-event review and open reporting
Edition
- Current edition
- ISO 20121:2024
ISO 20121:2024, the second edition, was published in April 2024 and replaced ISO 20121:2012. It follows ISO's common structure for management system standards, strengthens environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements, and is written to be easier to use. A certificate that still names ISO 20121:2012 refers to a withdrawn edition: ask the issuing body about it.
Check a certificate for ISO 20121:2024
- Enter the certificate number or verification code at Verify a certificate, or scan the QR code on the certificate. The record shows the certificate's status today, for example valid, suspended, withdrawn or expired.
- Compare the organisation name, scope and sites on the record with the copy you were given. Check which events, activities and venues the scope covers, and compare the certificate dates with the event you are looking at.
- Check who issued the certificate, as named on the record. Where a certification body accredited by ISAO issued it, the record shows the status of that accreditation and its accreditation number, and says so if the accreditation did not cover ISO 20121:2024 when the certificate was issued.
- If the certificate is not on the register, ISAO cannot confirm it: it may have been issued under another accreditation, or a detail may be wrong. Ask the issuing body, and report a concern if something does not look right.
Related standards
This is ISAO’s own summary, not the text of the standard. Copies of ISO 20121:2024 can be bought from ISO or from national standards bodies.