london 2012: a guide to iso 20121 sustainable event management

London 2012: A guide to iSo 20121

SuStAinAbLe event MAnAgeMentFor the CoCA-CoLA CoMpAny

uSing CoCA-CoLA’S ACtivAtion oF the London 2012 gAMeS AS A CASe Study

ContentSintroduction Page 03

the coca-cola company and iso 20121 Page 04

how to use the workbook Page 06

plan Page 08

do 8

check Page 36

act Page 46

Final thoughts Page 50

your nAMe:

your event:

verSion:

dAte:

A GUIDE TO ISO 20121

Sustainability is widely recognised as an essential component of 21st century business strategy. Over the last decade there has been great progress in the way that businesses have integrated sustainability into their approach and the majority of large corporations now accept that, whether they call it responsibility or sustainability or community investment, an approach which factors in environmental and social concerns has far reaching benefits and makes good business sense.

Extending this concept of corporate sustainability into corporate, sponsored or other types of events, with their unique, temporary nature, however, presents a range of new challenges and is still relatively unexplored territory.

For this reason, the events industry, inspired by London 2012, has developed a new international standard to support and guide organisations seeking to ensure that their event planning and activation operates to the same high sustainability standards as their core business. This is the new event management standard ISO 20121.

ISO stands for International Organisation for Standardisation. ISO is the world’s largest developer of voluntary international standards and specifications for products, services and good practice. This standard has been given the number 20121 because the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were instrumental in bringing it to life.

ISO 20121 builds on the previous British event management standard, BS8901, and is an international management system standard designed to help organisations improve the sustainability of their event-related activities, products and services. It is hoped that the new standard will stimulate a step-change in the way the events industry operates with regard to its sustainability performance. For organisations without

a sustainability strategy, the standard may also act as a catalyst, with the sustainable event operating as a pilot for initiating a wider sustainability program.

Whereas previous standards have focused on environmental issues alone, ISO 20121 aims to drive sustainability performance in a holistic and strategic manner, encompassing all three pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental.

The standard provides the framework needed to measure, minimise and eliminate the negative environmental, social and economic impacts of an event; optimise planning and processes; and maximise the benefits of events. It aims to ensure that all events leave behind a positive and lasting legacy.

WhAt iS iSo 20121?

introduCtion

3

WWW.cOca-cOLa.cO.uk/LOndOn2012SuSTaInaBILITy

http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/london2012sustainability

To show compliance with the standard, organisations can apply for first, second or third party certification. at The coca-cola company, we are very proud to be one of the first organisations in the world, and the first Olympic sponsor, to achieve ISO 20121 third party certification.

We wanted our London 2012 activities to set a new global benchmark for major event sustainability and therefore when the London Organising committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOcOG) approached us about ISO 20121 we recognised instantly that it was not only the right

thing to do but that it would be useful for our business. We worked closely with LOcOG to meet their ambition of making London 2012 the most sustainable Games of modern times and with Sustainable Events Ltd who supported and guided us through the Standard.

The Standard can be applied to a broad range of events, both large and small. We applied it to our sponsorship of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, but it could equally be applied to an organisation’s approach to all events. E.g. to its top five biggest events in the coming year.

adopting a systematic method to tackle event sustainability creates an integrated, thorough and consistent approach. The establishment of a management system and guidance provides a proven pathway to identifying and successfully managing sustainable development issues and importantly, to iteratively share the lessons learned from sequential events with a wider stakeholder group.

The benefits of implementing a management system around events for sustainability means important steps are not missed in identifying issues, impacts, risks and opportunities. It will improve the chances of success in establishing and meeting sustainable development goals and provide the opportunity for the event to be certified to an international standard.

This report is aimed primarily as a guide for The coca-cola company’s future host city teams, but it will also be useful for anyone staging or sponsoring one-off or multiple events including future host cities of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

the CoCA-CoLA CoMpAny And iSo 20121

Why iS it iMportAnt?

4

IntroductIon A GuIdE to ISo 20121

For us, the framework and structure the Standard provided and the added weight it gave to our requests to the business was instrumental in achieving our objectives. The ISO name opened doors internally and allowed us to effectively embed sustainability into the relevant work streams.

From an external perspective, third party certification to a recognised and respected international standard added credibility to all of our sustainability claims and communications.

hoW We benFitted FroM uSing iSo 20121

5


http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/olympic-games/sustainable-games/olympic-games-sustainability-legacy.html


This workbook is intended as a guide, to be read alongside the Standard as a record of how we applied each step of the process in practice for our Games-time activation. It is not intended as a replacement for the Standard and it is essential that you supplement this guide with your own copy of the Standard, available from the ISO Website.

although the Standard is not designed as a checklist, it is presented as a sequential process, following the familiar denning cycle of PLan, dO, cHEck, acT, with a series of activities within each stage of the cycle.

hoW to uSe thiS WorKbooK

page 09 1. documenting Purpose & Values

page 11 2. determining & documenting the Scope

page 13 3. Identify key Issues & Stakeholders

page 17 4. Setting Leadership & Policy

page 19 5. Evaluating Issues & Setting Objectives

pLAn

page 29 6. defining Roles & Responsibilities

page 31 7. Providing Resources & Training

page 32 8. Engaging the Supply chain

page 33 9. Maintaining communications

page 35 10. document control & Modifications

do

page 37 11. Performance against Governing Principles

page 39 12. Monitoring, Measurement, analysis & Evaluation

page 43 13. auditing & certification

page 44 14. Management Review CheCK

ACt page 47 15. non-conformities &

corrective action

6

IntroductIon A GuIdE to ISo 20121

http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm%3Fcsnumber%3D54552

This guide has been structured accordingly as four chapters, each with a series of sections, corresponding to the steps to be taken. Within each section there is a standardised format of

1) a reference to the relevant text from the Standard

2) an explanation of what this means in reality

3) a presentation of how the Sustainability Team of coca-cola’s London Olympic and Paralympic Team (LOPT) followed these guidelines

4) an example of the data recorded by the LOPT team

5) a link to relevant documents (where applicable)

at the end of each section there is, where applicable, a pre-formatted template, within which you can record the relevant information for the preceding step for your own event. Whilst the format of these templates won’t work for all events, we hope they will work for coca-cola

future host city teams and give ideas of how other organisations might want to develop and shape their own Management System documents and processes.

We suggest that as a first step you read this report all the way through. There are several elements of the process that may be completed concurrently and there are many small iterative processes. LOPT found that after the initial planning we adopted a regular cycle of quarterly Implementation Meetings at which we used the Function-based objective tables to identify non-conformities and agree corrective action. While this initially felt daunting, once the planning was complete the ongoing implementation was a simple and useful process that kept our plans on track.

We hope that this workbook will help guide you through the ISO process for your event in a way that works for you. as you enter the data for each step you will build up a comprehensive record of action taken, which will be invaluable both as an internal record and for certification.

7



InfographIc

pLAnFor London 2012 we found that taking a structured approach to the planning phase was a hugely valuable part of the process and was instrumental in us delivering our most sustainable Games yet. For an in-depth review of our London 2012 activity please see our Sustainability Legacy Report.

Spending time, well in advance of the start of the event, ensuring that the correct issues were identified, realistic objectives were set and all stakeholders were engaged was the foundation upon which we built a successful sustainable activation.

It is also worth noting that crucial to our success was securing the support, commitment and funding of senior management to embark on ISO 20121 right from the outset.

http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/downloads/london-2012-legacy-brochure.pdf


ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall define its governing principles of sustainable development in the form of a statement of purpose and values.” (iSo 4.5)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

you need to be clear from the outset about what is important. Establish an explicit set of sustainable development principles which will help guide and shape the development of your management system.

WhaT WE DID:

For LOPT, there was already an established set of values for The coca-cola company in our Vision, Mission and Values and these are central to the way that we conduct ourselves and our business. although not a direct match, The coca-cola company’s values clearly map against the sustainability principles of ISO 20121 and we agreed that these provided a sufficiently robust set of sustainability values for our London 2012 event operations.

ISo SUSTaInaBILITY prIncIpLES :

• Integrity

• Inclusivity

• Stewardship

• Transparency

coca-coLa VaLUES :

• Leadership: raising the bar on sustainability

• Passion: committed to delivering an exceptional execution

• Integrity: to be transparent in all that we do

• Accountability: to deliver all our operations responsibly

• Collaboration: to work in partnership with our stakeholders

• Quality: ensure excellence at every step & focus on improving business processes, integrations & outputs, and seek to leave a legacy

A. deFine governing prinCipLeS

1. doCuMenting purpoSe & vALueS

9


http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values.html


b. LegAL And other requireMentS

WhaT WE DID:

We engaged with coca-cola’s legal department from the start, maintaining a regular briefing on activity and asking them any relevant questions.

at a system level it is our global legal team and the implementation of our various Ethics and compliance Policies and Workplace Rights Policies that drives legal compliance; this is cascaded down to a Business unit level and on a more specific level via supplier and agency responsibilities and contracts. For the Games, our LOPT legal lead signed up to a legal update subscription service, “PLc Enviroment register”.

ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall establish, implement, maintain and revise periodically a procedure to identify, and have access to, current and emerging legal and other requirements, to which the organization subscribes.” (iSo 6.1.3)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Part of our role is to change operational procedures, but this must always occur within legal boundaries. Establish and maintain procedures to ensure you have access to legal guidance on sustainability issues.

10

Plan a GUIDE TO ISO 20121

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/governance_ethics.html

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/governance_ethics.html

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/workplace_rights_policy.html

http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/workplace_rights_policy.html

http://environment.practicallaw.com/

2. deterMining & doCuMenting the SCope

WhaT WE DID:

Our approach from the outset was to embed sustainability across all operations that fell within LOPT’s control. The scope therefore included every aspect of our Games management operations. LOPT had established five work streams or Functions to cover every aspect of our involvement in the Games and the scope of ISO 20121 was mapped directly onto these Functions: VenueOperations, the Olympic Park ShowcasingCentre, our HospitalityProgramme, the coca-cola Olympic Games MerchandisingProgrammeand our role as presenting partner of the London 2012 OlympicTorchRelay(OTR). The Sustainability Team met individually with each of the Function leads to add further details and document the scope of the management system.

ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall determine the boundaries and applicability of the event sustainability management system to establish its scope.” (iSo 4.3)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Work out which event activities and operations are included in your management system.

ExampLE of DaTa rEcorDED for VEnUE opEraTIonS fUncTIon - SEE form 1

11



ForM 1 – deterMining the SCope

FunCtion/ WorK StreAM ContACt Size nAture purpoSe

12


3. identiFying Key iSSueS And StAKehoLderS A. StAKehoLder engAgeMent

WhaT WE DID:

For LOPT, “stakeholders” meant anyone who came into contact with coca-cola at the Games and internal stakeholders both in the uk and overseas. We used this process of stakeholder identification and engagement to build a healthier and more robust sustainability management system. Our stakeholders

• Providedadifferentperspectiveandhelpedusidentify significant and emerging issues

• Offeredfeedbackandinputontheissueswehad evaluated as being most significant

• Supportedtheactivitiesweundertookwhichcontributed to spreading our sustainability messages more widely

Without their engagement and support, we would have formulated and delivered our sustainability plan in a vacuum and its effectiveness would have been severely diminished.

ISo STaTES:“The organization shall determine the interested parties that are relevant to the event sustainability management system and the requirements of these parties.” (iSo 4.2)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Identifyyourstakeholders. These are any groups of people who are influenced or affected by your event and might include the event organizer, the event owner, other sponsors, senior management, workforce, supply chain, participants, attendees, regulatory bodies, nGOs and community.

ExampLE of DaTa rEcorDED for STakEhoLDEr IDEnTIfIcaTIon – SEE form 2

13



ForM 2 - internAL And eXternAL StAKehoLder identiFiCAtion

StAKehoLder group reSponSibLe perSon ContACt detAiLSoptiMAL CoMMuniCAtion Method

14


b. iSSue identiFiCAtion

WhaT WE DID:

The issue identification process ran in parallel to, and was informed by, the stakeholder engagement plan. at its inception, LOPT conducted a risk assessment to understand which internal and external issues, environmental, social and economic, were likely to have a material impact on the project. as part of this process we made ‘common sense’ assessments based on years of experience of managing events for coca-cola. We also used established sustainability indicators as a guide, for example ISO 26000 (International Standard for Social Responsibility) and The Global Reporting Initiative.

The output from this process was the first stage of three covering Issue Identification, Issue Prioritisation and Issue evaluation.

ISo STaTES:“The organization shall determine external and internal issues that are relevant to its purpose and that affect its ability to achieve the intended outcome(s) of its event sustainability management system.” (iSo 4.1)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Focus on the potential social, environmental and economic impacts and risks associated with the event.

DocUmEnTaTIon & LInkS

a. Global Reporting Initiative’s Event Organizers Sector Supplement (EOSS)

b. ISO 26000

ISSUE IDEnTIfIcaTIon

ISSUE prIorITISaTIon

ISSUE EVaLUaTIon

15


https://www.globalreporting.org/reporting/sector-guidance/event-organizers/Pages/default.aspx

https://www.globalreporting.org/reporting/sector-guidance/event-organizers/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.iso.org/iso/home/standards/iso26000.htm


ForM 3 – iSSue identiFiCAtion

CAtegory (environMentAL, SoCiAL, eConoMiC) potentiAL iSSue noteS

16


4. Setting LeAderShip & poLiCy

WhaT WE DID:

We cross referenced LOcOG’s and The coca-cola company’s wider sustainability priorities to determine three core areas of focus: carbonreduction;wastereduction; and the promotionofhealthandwellness. We drafted a London 2012 Sustainability Policy to cover these focus areas and our overall approach to managing a sustainable event. This policy was submitted to senior management and the legal team for approval.

as an adjunct to the Sustainability Policy, we recognised that suppliers were a key component in our ability to deliver sustainable events. alongside the Policy we developed a ‘Sustainability Guide for Suppliers’ to explain to all our suppliers exactly what we expected from them in terms of sustainability, and to provide them with further support to help them meet our sustainability objectives. This is covered in more detail in ‘Engaging the Supply chain’.

ISo STaTES:

“Top management shall demonstrate leadership and commitment with respect to the event sustainability management system.” (iSo 5.1)

“Top management shall establish a sustainable development policy.” (iSo 5.2.1)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Beyond the Statement of Purpose outlining the company’s sustainability values, the business must have an explicit Sustainability Policy to which the business’ leaders are committed and of which they are publically supportive.

DocUmEnTaTIon

a. Sustainable Events Policy

17


http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/downloads/TCCS-2012-sustainability-policy.pdf


ForM 4 – SuStAinAbiLity poLiCy

our event SuStAinAbiLity poLiCy

18


5. evALuAting iSSueS & Setting obJeCtiveS

WhaT WE DID:

We reviewed the risks and potential issues identified in the original scoping process and ranked them according to their likelihood of occurring, and the scale of the impact they would have if they did. Some of the issues were clearly more pertinent that others, but there were also differences in the extent to which we were able to influence some of the risks – some we had control over whilst others we didn’t. Similarly, whilst some issues were important to us, they were addressed by the company as standard business practice and so were not deemed a sustainability priority area for LOPT.

To capture this we ranked all the issues with scores out of 5 for ‘control’ (i.e. those that we could influence) and importance (i.e. the most important). It was scaled as follows:

• 1=notimportant/nocontrol • 5=veryimportant/lotsofcontrol

These scores were then multiplied together to get a total score, which was a measure of the most important issues that we can influence through our operations.

The issues with the top scores were deemed the most important to address during the first year of ISO 20121 and we resolved to score, prioritise and where appropriate add any new issues identified on a quarterly basis.

The output from this process was the second stage of Issue Identification, Issue Prioritisation and Issue Evaluation.

ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall …identify its sustainable development issues and… evaluate their significance.” (iSo 6.1.2)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

not all issues have impacts of equal scale and scope, and you must prioritise them in order to be most effective.



ISSUE EVaLUaTIon

A. evALuAting iSSueS

19



ExampLE of DaTa rEcorDED for prIorITISIng ISSUES - SEE form 5

ExampLE of DaTa rEcorDED for EVaLUaTIng ISSUES - SEE form 6

The Issue Prioritisation process provided us for the first time with a comprehensive issue list clarifying the key areas upon which the Sustainability Team would be required to focus attention. The third step in the issue process was to evaluate the prioritised list, investigating the challenges and opportunities

for each issue and ensure our focus was on the right topics.

To facilitate this process we banded the issues together into three focus areas: Waste, Carbon and HealthandWellbeing

Prior to establishing objectives and targets for each function, the entire Leadership Team of the LOPT was made aware of the possible risks associated with the project and their specific role in mitigating those risks.



ISSUE EVaLUaTIon

20


ForM 5 – iSSue prioritiSAtion

iSSueiMportAnCe 1–5(1=Noimportance)

inFLuenCe 1–5(1=Noinfluence) totAL SCore noteS

21



ForM 6 – iSSue evALuAtion

prioritiSed iSSue riSK / ChALLenge opportunity For iMproveMent ACtion required

22


b. eStAbLiShing obJeCtiveS

ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall establish event sustainability objectives at relevant functions and levels. The organization shall ensure that supporting targets are established.” (iSo 6.2)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Set clear objectives for each priority area and function and ensure that these are cascaded down as targets to relevant operational levels.

WhaT WE DID:

The extensive work conducted around Issue Identification, Prioritisation and Evaluation furnished LOPT with a clearly articulated list of the key issues we were likely to face during the Games, together with initial suggestions of the remedial or preventative action required. This list provided the basis of our Games-time objectives.

To develop the objectives we assessed every issue independently, thinking about the desired outcome, how to achieve it and how our objective could translate into a measurable performance indicator.

We then used this summary of objectives to develop two crucial management resources.

First, we grouped similar issues together to identify three categories or focus areas: Waste,Carbonand HealthandWellbeing.

Second, we allocated responsibility for each objective to the most appropriate Function to produce a series of data sheets outlining, for each Function lead, their sustainability objectives, kPI’s, next steps, budget etc.

These two resources formed the central working documents for our regular Implementation Meetings, allowing us to track progress, identify problems and discuss remedial action.

as the objectives were allocated to the relevant work streams, they were agreed and signed off by Function directors to ensure responsibility and accountability across all Functions and departments. Business Function leads (in HR, Procurement & Legal) were also included in Implementation Meetings to ensure cross Function alignment.

In doing so we considered -

• Anybudgetandresourcesrequiredtoachievethe objective;

• Theappropriatetimeframeforimplementation;

• Whotherelevantresponsiblepersonforeachobjective was;

• Whatactionsandprocesseswereneededinorder to achieve the objective or kPI;

• Howwecouldmonitorandmeasure our progress;

• Whetheranychangeshadoccurredtoourplanswhich might affect the objectives;

• Whereinformationonprocesses(includingfeedback from the relevant persons) is captured and stored.

The aim of this last point was to make us as transparent and easy to audit as possible.

The objectives were developed in close collaboration with the Function directors, ensuring they were relevant to our broader business strategy and were communicated internally to the appropriate parties.

ExampLE of DaTa rEcorDED To SUmmarISE oBjEcTIVES - SEE form 7

23



ExampLE of DaTa rEcorDED for a SpEcIfIc oBjEcTIVE, orDErED BY focUS arEa / caTEgorY - SEE form 8a

ExampLE of DaTa rEcorDED for a SpEcIfIc oBjEcTIVE, orDErED BY fUncTIon - SEE form 8B

material and waste management: objective 4

Showcasing objective

24


ForM 7 – SuMMAry oF obJeCtiveS

FoCuS AreA iSSue obJeCtve

25



ForM 8A – obJeCtive MAtriX

FoCuS AreA

obJeCtive

tArget/ Kpi/ pLAn

neXt StepS

reSourCe

tiMeFrAMe

reSponSibLe perSon

CAptured

Monitoring And MeASuring

ChAngeS to ServiCeS & produCtS

26


ForM 8b– obJeCtive MAtriX

FunCtion

obJeCtive

tArget/ Kpi/ pLAn

neXt StepS

reSourCe

tiMeFrAMe

reSponSibLe perSon

CAptured

Monitoring And MeASuring

ChAngeS to ServiCeS & produCtS

27



doWhile the planningstage laid the foundations, it was the activity which delivered the results. Building sustainability into the decision making process of the Function leads, the day to day activity of their teams and everyday business processes was instrumental in achieving our goals.

6. deFining roLeS & reSponSibLitieS

ISo STaTES:

“Top management shall ensure that the responsibilities and authorities for relevant roles are assigned and communicated within the organisation.” (iSo 5.3)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

you must appoint individuals to be responsible for delivering sustainability objectives in each of the function areas covered by the event.

WhaT WE DID:

With an event the size of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Sustainability Team knew that it was essential to identify a sustainability contact in each different work stream – i.e. someone in Venue Operations; someone in Hospitality and so on.

In this we were supported by the fact that we already had a mandate from senior management and a commitment that all Functions would support and help deliver on the sustainability objectives. This simplified the process of engaging with Function leads, as well as across related business processes such as Procurement and HR.

We made the Function leads responsible for delivery but also suggested that each Function lead nominated an official contact from within their team to liaise with us on sustainability. This official contact was essential in establishing the everyday implementation of sustainability in the Functions rather than just consulting the Function leads who had many other responsibilities.

29



ForM 9 – reSponSibLe peopLe And ContACtS

FunCtion AreA LeAd everydAy ContACt

30

DO A GUIDE TO ISO 20121

A. reSourCeS

7. reSourCeS And trAining

ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall determine and provide the resources needed for the establishment, implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of the event sustainability management system.” (iSo 7.1)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

To achieve your objectives you must allocate adequate resources, including staff, training, infrastructure, technology and finance.

WhaT WE DID:

By allocating responsibility for delivery of a sustainable Games to the Function leads, and ensuring that the Sustainable Games aims and targets were incorporated into their personal performance objectives, the responsibility for achieving their part of the overall sustainability plan was devolved to the Function leads, their teams and their budgets. This was a key step towards delivering on our overarching aim of embedding sustainability within the organisation, rather than seeing it as a separate and independent function.

In addition to this, a specific role was created for the Head of Sustainable Games, together with a Sustainability Projects coordinator and this team was allocated an independent budget for guiding the entire project and delivering activities which fell outside the scope of any specific Function, including, for example, allocation of budget for the audit of ISO compliance.

as with many of the steps, resource allocation is a dynamic process. changes were alerted to the team at the quarterly Implementation Meetings and documented in the management system files.

b. trAining ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall determine the necessary competence of person(s) doing work under its control that affects its event sustainability performance... (and) where applicable, take actions to acquire the necessary competence.” (iSo 7.2)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Make sure that all relevant staff members are appropriately trained to enable them to implement a sustainable event. as roles and circumstances change, it is our duty to continually review and update training programmes and to make sure all staff are kept up to date.

WhaT WE DID:

as the Sustainability objectives were cascaded to the Function leads it was their responsibility to assess the competency of their team to deliver against these objectives. In some cases where specialist knowledge and skills were required, external expert consultants were employed. E.g. to get better understanding of options available for a low carbon OTR fleet.

The Sustainability Team delivered Sustainability Inductions for the core LOPT to increase awareness of the ISO process, coca-cola’s sustainability priorities and to provide a more general foundation in sustainability.

additionally 100% of all coca-cola Games-time staff received sustainability and anti-bribery/anti-corruption training as part of their induction and were required to sign a form saying that they received and understood the training. This was Function-specific to ensure the training was relevant to their everyday role and included sustainability material within all training manuals in addition to a sustainability training presentation.

31



8. engAging the SuppLy ChAin ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall establish the relevance of each of the objectives, targets and plan(s) to individual suppliers, and shall include sufficient and relevant information in tender or other documentation to enable its suppliers to demonstrate their capabilities to support the objectives.” (iSo 8.3)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

We don’t operate in a bubble and we need to be aware that we have a significant impact through our procurement decisions and the actions of our suppliers. Make sure that suppliers know what your sustainability objectives are so that they can tender accordingly.

WhaT WE DID:

We were aware that our impact would not be solely down to the direct action we took as a business, but would be largely dependent on the suppliers we selected and the subsequent decisions these suppliers made. We therefore supplemented the Sustainability Policy with a new Sustainability Guide for Suppliers, explicitly outlining what we expected from our suppliers. Starting from the tendering process we then integrated this policy into the standard procurement process, developing a scoring system, and inserting wording into supplier contracts to ensure suppliers were selected according to their sustainability credentials as well as other factors such as cost, quality and timing and to make their sustainability commitments legally binding.

although this was time consuming and required engagement with procurement teams and legal, it was extremely effective in extending our sustainability objectives up and down the supply chain. This is one area where, because of the scale of potential “wins”, we would recommend starting as early as possible to incorporate this.

DocUmEnTaTIon:

a. Sustainability Guide for Suppliers

32



9. MAintAining CoMMuniCAtionS

WhaT WE DID:

communications is central to what we do as a business and we wanted to develop an effective and comprehensive communications plan that supported ongoing dialogue on sustainability with all of our stakeholders, both internal and external. Our starting point was the stakeholders identified in the early planning stage and we then documented the most appropriate and informative way of reaching them. For each stakeholder, we also identified the individual at coca-cola with primary responsibility for communicating with them, building on an ethos of celebrating success and publically recognising the positive efforts of team members and suppliers.

For some, sustainability can be seen as a worthy but complex and dry subject. Through the development of succinct, relevant and upbeat communications we were able to positively engage the team and show the interesting and exciting side of sustainability.

ExampLE of commUnIcaTIon acTIon pLan - SEE form 10

ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall determine the need for internal and external communications relevant to the event sustainability management system.” (iSo 7.4)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Getting the message out effectively and developing a sustainability dialogue with all your stakeholders, both in the organisation and outside it, is essential.

33



StAKehoLder group

reSponSibLe perSon ContACt detAiLS

optiMAL CoMMuniCAtion Method

dAte poLiCy MAde AvAiLAbLe

ForM 10 – CoMMuniCAtion ACtion pLAn

34


10. doCuMent ControL And ModiFiCAtionS

ISo STaTES:

“Where new or modified activities, products or services, or changing operational circumstances are encountered, issues, objectives, targets and plan(s) shall be reviewed and amended where relevant to ensure that the best overall solution is delivered adhering to the organization’s statement of purpose and values and sustainable development policy.” (iSo 8.2)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

any changes to activities, products or services, either internally or those which belong to suppliers, must trigger a review and if necessary adjustment of objectives and targets.

WhaT WE DID:

The LOPT recognised that there were many details which were subject to change and we built a review of any changes that had occurred into our Implementation Meetings as a standing agenda item. Whenever a change was identified we systematically assessed its potential impact on each objective and where necessary took action to procure the most effective solution.

ISo STaTES:

“The organization’s event sustainability management system shall include documented information required by this standard, documented information determined by the organization as being necessary for the effectiveness of the event sustainability management system and documents determined by the organization to be necessary to ensure the effective planning, operation and control of the processes that relate to its significant sustainable development issues.” (iSo 7.5.1)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Maintain clear and effective records to ensure transparency and support certification.

WhaT WE DID:

For LOPT, the Sustainability Projects coordinator was responsible for keeping all management system documents up to date and filed appropriately. a summary slide was completed after each Implementation Meeting and circulated to everyone involved to ensure actions and points of note were accurately documented. The Management System document was updated on a quarterly basis as a minimum.

35



To ensure that our activities were delivering against our sustainability objectives and targets we regularly checked and reviewed the system. Through a series of monitoring and measuring procedures, audits and regular management meetings we were able to track, analyse and evaluate our performance and progress.

CheCK

11. perForMAnCe AgAinSt governing prinCipLeS

ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall establish its approach to evaluating current and target performance against its statement of purpose and values and the governing principles of sustainable development relating to event management.” (iSo 9.1)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

The key to sustainable development is recognizing that it is a holistic concept that encompasses social, economic and environmental factors. Having established our core values, mission and vision (see documenting Purpose & Values), the next step is to maintain an overall picture of these factors and establish how our current event management systems are performing in relation to our governing principles.

WhaT WE DID:

We adopted a ‘Maturity Matrix’ approach to evaluate our performance against our principles of sustainable development. Within the matrix we presented coca-cola’s core values and how each could be translated into our event management operations. We showed the minimum required to fulfil each value as well as what we could do for each to improve our system.

The Maturity Matrix was revisited quarterly to check where we were at with regard to each value and to encourage continual improvement.

ExampLE of ThE maTUrITY maTrIx – SEE form 11

37



ForM 11 – MAturity MAtriX

prinCipLe prACtiCe MiniMuM iMprovedFuLL engAgeMent

Further engAgeMent

38

check A GUIDe TO ISO 20121

12. Monitoring, MeASureMent, AnALySiS & evALuAtion ISo STaTES:

“The organization shall determine what needs to be monitored and measured and the methods for monitoring, measurement, analysis and evaluation, as applicable, to ensure valid results.” (iSo 9.2)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

It is important to put arrangements in place to regularly monitor and measure the key areas that affect delivery of your policy, objectives and targets. Tracking progress against targets at regular intervals can help flag potential challenges early on and will give you invaluable feedback as to what works and what doesn’t so that you can implement future projects more effectively.

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Our overall sustainability objectives were broken down during the planning stage into Function-specific (see Evaluating Issues & Setting Objectives) sustainability objectives and targets. These objectives and targets defined what each Function was to be monitored against.

In the second year of implementation these were also incorporated into Function directors’ annual personal performance objectives to ensure that sustainability really was a cross-Function responsibility. To be of maximum benefit it is strongly recommended that this is something that is incorporated into plans from the outset.

Every quarter we held one-to-one Implementation Meetings with Function leads and their designated sustainability champion. It was during these meetings that we measured their progress against their specific objectives and targets, assigning each a RaG (red, amber, green) status.

Following the Implementation Meetings the Sustainability Team held an internal review meeting to analyse the progress made by each Function and evaluate how this impacted on our overall progress against our objectives. We then decided where we now lay on the ‘Maturity Matrix’ for each value.

In addition to these meetings an annual audit of all aspects of the system was conducted by an independent third party, Sustainable Events Ltd.

Further analysis and evaluation of the management system, including our progress against our overall

ExampLE of ImpLEmEnTaTIon mEETIng rEVIEW of oBjEcTIVES - SEE form 12

39



objectives and targets, took place in our annual management review meetings. during these meetings we were also able to evaluate the audit summary and resulting recommendations.

Once the Games were over, each Function filled out a final ‘monitoring and measuring’ table. This table outlined the objectives and targets set, the action

plan to achieve the target, what was to be measured to monitor progress, how the results were to be evaluated and the final status of each objective. The tables were sent out before the Games so that each Function knew what information they would need to collect in advance.

Our final evaluation will take place in the post-Games wrap up meeting held with members of the Sustainability Team.

ExampLE of fInaL ‘monITorIng anD mEaSUrIng’ TaBLE from ThE oLYmpIc Torch rELaY fUncTIon

40


FunCtion

iSSue AreA rAgobJeCtiveS And neXt StepS

ForM 12 - iMpLeMentAtion Meeting obJeCtiveS updAte

41



iSSue AreA rAgobJeCtiveS And neXt StepS

42


13. Auditing & CertiFiCAtion

ISo STaTES: WhaT WE DID:

It was always our intention to get external certification of our conformity with ISO 20121 so as to prove our compliance to external stakeholders. There are three main certifying bodies in the uk, BSI, LQRa and SGS. To ensure we enlisted the right body we contacted all three and asked them the following questions:

1. Why should we use you to certify us?

2. What is involved in your certification process?

3. Have you certified other event industry practitioners of our kind?

4. Who else have you certified?

5. Please provide your proposal for certifying us to ISO 20121.

We selected SGS to carry out the ISO 20121 assessment as it seemed to have a good understanding of, and pragmatic approach to, the new Standard. The ISO 20121 assessment can either take place during the event itself or it can be an assessment of the planning stage documentation. We chose to be assessed on the planning stage as obtaining security clearance and access for SGS for the variety of Olympic sites so that they could conduct the assessment during the Games would have been too prohibitive.

We wanted to be certain that we were ready for the SGS assessment and therefore had Sustainable Events Ltd carry out an annual audit in 2011 and 2012. The audit assessed all aspects of the management system.

2012 aUDIT TImELInE:

q3 2012

• Reviewofallmonitoringandmeasurementprocesses in place across Functions

• Reviewofalltrainingprocesses,documentation and compliance

• Reviewofprocurementandsuppliercompliance

q4 2012

• Reviewoftargetsandobjectivesandalldatacollected

• Reviewofwholesystemwithrecommendationsfor a) future host cities b) ccGB to adopt standard

• ReviewofMSDwithcreationoftemplateforeasyadoption of Standard elsewhere in business

“The organization shall conduct internal audits at planned intervals to provide information on whether the event sustainability management system conforms to the organization’s own requirements for its event sustainability management system and the requirements of this standard, is effectively implemented and maintained and is being effective in achieving the sustainable development policy, objectives and targets.” (iSo 9.2)

“(An organization can) demonstrate voluntary conformity with the International Standard by first party (self-determination and self-declaration), second party (confirmation of conformance by parties having an interest in the organization, such as clients...), or an independent third party (e.g. a certification body).” (iSo 1)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

There is great value in having an internal audit conducted annually, and if the system is found to be compliant following this audit then it can be self-certified. The audit also helps to prepare for external certification if this is the route that is chosen.

43



14. MAnAgeMent revieW ISo STaTES:

“Top management shall review the organization’s event sustainability management system, at planned intervals, to ensure its continuing suitability, adequacy and effectiveness.” (iSo 9.4)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

Event management is a dynamic process involving a large number of people. For this reason the management system needs to be reviewed and reassessed regularly. any changes in situation or scope must be documented and accounted for.

WhaT WE DID:

To ensure we kept on top of the ISO 20121 process we held a series of regular meetings. These comprised Implementation Meetings, Internal Review Meetings, and Management System Review Meetings.

ImpLEmEnTaTIon mEETIngS:

Who: • Function-specificImplementationMeetings

were held with the Function lead, the Function sustainability champion and the Sustainability Team

When: • ImplementationMeetingswereheldona

quarterly basis

What&Why: • Tocommunicateoursustainabilityvisionto

Function leads, in particular our objectives and targets, and to keep them engaged

• ToreceiveanupdatefromeachFunctionontheirprogress against their set targets (as above, see Example of Implementation Meeting Review of Objectives table)

• Tohighlightandaddressnon-conformitiesandany changes to operations

• TohelptheSustainabilityTeamdevelopcloserrelationships with each of the different Functions

InTErnaL rEVIEW mEETIngS:

Who: • TheSustainabilityTeam

When: • InternalReviewMeetingswereheldon

a quarterly basis following each wave of Implementation Meetings

What&Why: • ToreviewfeedbackfromFunctionleads

• Todiscussanynon-conformities

• Toupdatethe‘nextsteps’foreachFunctionlead, thereby setting the agenda for the next round of Implementation Meetings

• ToupdatetheManagementSystemDocument

• Toreviewouroverallperformanceagainstourtargets by updating the ‘Maturity Matrix’

44


caLEnDar of mEETIngS:

managEmEnT SYSTEm rEVIEW mEETIngS:

Who: • ManagementSystemReviewMeetingswereheld

with the Head of Sustainable Games, the Sustainability Team and the deputy General Manager

When: • ManagementSystemReviewMeetingswereheld

on an annual basis. The meetings took place after the scheduled Sustainable Events Ltd audits

What&Why: • Toactasanextensionoftheinternalreview

meetings with similar overarching aims

• Toensurethemanagementsystemiseffectiveand assess opportunities for improvement in the presence of senior management

• Toobtainofficialsignoffoftheworkalreadycompleted

• Toformthebasisofinformationtofeedintoourformal knowledge transfer documents and after action Review to ensure a legacy is left

45



ACtImplementing ISO 20121 is a continuous and iterative process that is designed to flag and identify undesirable impacts and risks. When a problem or non-conformity is identified (during the check stage) appropriate corrective action is taken and any learning or changes to the overall plan are then fed back into the system. Recording this process provides valuable content for any after event review as well as important lessons for future events teams.

15. non-ConForMity & CorreCtive ACtion ISo STaTES:

“When non-conformity occurs, the organization shall identify the non-conformity, react to the non-conformity..., evaluate the need for action to eliminate the causes of the non-conformity..., implement any action needed, review the effectiveness of any corrective action taken, make changes to the event sustainability management system, if necessary, and recommend preventative action.” (iSo 10.1)

oUr InTErprETaTIon:

a non-conformity is a case where the management system fails or when a planned action did not achieve its desired outcome. When non-conformities occur they must be highlighted and assessed and then the best course of action must be implemented. This entire process must be documented for each non-conformity.

WhaT WE DID:

non-conformities can happen at any stage, from the first day of planning to the final day of the event. To make the process of addressing non-conformities as straightforward and effective as possible we developed a two pronged system.

a. DesignatedFunctioncontacts: Within each Function there was a nominated contact whose responsibility it was to alert the Sustainability Team when a non-conformity arose that required their immediate support or consultation.

b. ImplementationMeetingsandnon-conformitytables:any non-conformities were identified and recorded as part of our quarterly Implementation Meetings. This was a key part of the meeting agenda and the principle way that non-conformities were documented.

ExampLE of DaTa rEcorDED for non-conformITIES – SEE form 13


47



ForM 13 – non-ConForMitieS tAbLe

non ConForMity highLighted

Why did the inCident oCCur?

iMpACtS CAuSed by non ConForMity

CorreCtive ACtion tAKen

reSuLtS oF CorreCtive ACtion

preventAtive ACtion

reSponSibLe perSon

Any pAtternS

48

ACT A GUIDE TO ISO 20121

49



reCoMMendAtionS

FinAL thoughtS The ISO 20121 Standard proved to be extremely useful in providing a framework for effectively assessing sustainability issues and in delivering coca-cola’s most sustainable sponsorship of any Olympic and Paralympic Games to date.

We would urge anyone planning an event to consider using the Standard as a guide and tool to embed sustainability into every aspect of their event operations.

LOPT learnt an enormous amount from implementing the Standard and hope that this guide will support other teams in their application of its principles and processes. The following five points summarise our recommendations to future events organisers.

• Recruit a sustainability project manager who is both passionate and knowledgeable about sustainability and has full senior management backing

• Invest time and resource in the system early on, taking advantage of its flexibility to make it work for you. Putting systems and process in place early ensures you achieve maximum benefits

• Engage both the business and the supply chain. Ensure everyone working on the event understands that sustainability is a team effort and that they are all responsible and accountable for its success. Engage with the various teams involved in your event, such as Legal and Procurement, as early as possible and make sure you have top level support from the start. Ensure suppliers are also aware of your sustainability priorities as it can take time for them to come back with innovative solutions

• Compromise. Be understanding about operational and financial constraints and selective about how much of the ISO management system you share with people. Involving them unnecessarily in parts of the process could scare them off

• Celebrate successes internally and externally. Make people feel proud of their achievements and publicly thank them for their ongoing support

a. ISO 20121

b. Sustainable Events Ltd

c. London 2012 Sustainability Guidelines (First Edition)

d. London 2012 Sustainability Guidelines (Third Edition)

e. Sustainable Sport and Event Toolkit

AdditionAL reSourCeS:

50

ACT A GUIDE TO ISO 20121

http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm%3Fcsnumber%3D54552

http://www.sustainableeventsltd.com/

http://www.sel.org.uk/uploads/London-2012-Sustainable-Events-Guideline-Feb-09.pdf

http://www.london2012.com/documents/locog-publications/london-2012-sustainability-events-guidelines.pdf%20%20

http://www.eventscotland.org/files/ES3024_SSET_DIGITAL_2.pdf


Permission to reproduce extracts from BS ISO 20121:2012 is granted by BSI British Standards Limited. no other use of this material is permitted. The complete standard can be purchased from the BSI online shop: http://shop.bsigroup.com/en/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030214151

%20www.coca-cola.co.uk/london2012sustainability

http://shop.bsigroup.com/en/ProductDetail/%3Fpid%3D000000000030214151

london 2012: a guide to iso 20121 sustainable event management

Documents