How FESPA Sets the Gold Standard for Event Sustainability

Unlike industry events that offer mere lip service, FESPA demonstrates true leadership by providing members with practical carbon footprinting tools and actionable guidance. By securing ISO 20121 certification for sustainable event management and actively reducing year-on-year emissions, FESPA sets a publicly accountable, resource-backed gold standard that others must follow to survive.

Sustainability is vital for printing and publishing companies who want to make a difference and thrive. Improving environmental sustainability will also shape economic and societal sustainability. This much we know, but few organisations in our sector are taking an active sustainability lead, especially in the event space. Apart from FESPA, events and exhibition organisers are mostly rubbish at leading the way towards improved sustainability for their communities. Tangible commitments and actions are very thin on the ground.

At drupa 2024 there were some sessions talking about recycled paper and the importance of reduced waste. But it was really just lip service for a theme that might attract exhibitors and tick some boxes. For drupa 2028 nothing has yet been announced, but maybe they’ll try to do better. The London Book Fair follows a similar playbook. The organisers run a few vaguely interesting panels talking about sustainability, but do not take a leadership position. They offer no real sustainability actions that can make a difference to book publishers, sellers, authors or readers.

Creating online educational resources that help companies manage their sustainability, funding research, supporting youth engagement programmes and community projects all take money. But they also yield a considerable return, not least in customer and colleague loyalty, and sector reputation. Leadership builds support within the industries and the communities organisations serve.

Compare the wimpy efforts of drupa and the London Book Fair to FESPA’s active and very visible commitment to sustainability. These efforts create unity, which makes a massive difference to progress. FESPA develops sustainability tools that are actually useful for its members so that they can take real steps to improve their sustainability. FESPA provides members with shared carbon footprinting tools for example and sustainability guidance that can be implemented day to day. Significantly the organisation has achieved certification to ISO 20121 for sustainable event management for two years in a row. Going for ISO 20121 and achieving it makes FESPA publicly accountable and there is considerable risk involved. The same applies for measuring year-on-year CO₂e emissions which have come down between FESPA’s 2024 and 2025 events. With a growing business, CO₂e emissions could well have risen.

Commitment to sustainability is ultimately about money, about investing resources and putting up the cash for sustainable development initiatives. In the case of FESPA’s ISO 20121 certification this involves considerable time and effort from FESPA management and its staff. Achieving certification involves considerable expense in organisational management and in outside consultants to oversee and guide preparation for audits. But it gives FESPA a unique advantage: participants in FESPA events know that everything about the event is environmentally accountable.

Regulations and consumer expectations for what it means for a business to be sustainable are getting more sophisticated and ambitious. Players in the printing and publishing industries must reduce their negative environmental impacts to survive and compete. At the very least the exhibition companies serving the sectors should be working towards ISO 20121. It’s a challenging ask, but it is one that provides exhibition businesses with a valuable competitive edge. Drupa et al take note. Sustainability should be a key part of your future strategies, because it matters at the very least for the survival of the communities you serve.

Source Information: This article was produced by the Verdigris Project, an industry initiative intended to raise awareness of print’s positive environmental impact. This weekly commentary helps printing companies keep up to date with environmental standards, and how environmentally friendly business management can help improve their bottom lines. Verdigris is supported by the following companies: Agfa Graphics, EFI, Fespa, Fujifilm, HP, Kodak, Miraclon, Ricoh, Unity Publishing and Xeikon.