FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
World Athletics receives ISO 20121 certification
for its Sustainable Event Management System
World Athletics is proud to announce that the Sustainable Event Management
System (SEMS) it has developed to embed sustainability into events across
the sport has achieved a globally-recognised standard developed by the
International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO).
The SEMS has received certification for the ISO 20121 standard, which sets
out a comprehensive framework for tackling priority sustainability risks
and opportunities. Developed in the run-in to the London 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games, the standard addresses reducing costs, limiting carbon
emissions and waste, managing the biodiversity of venues, respecting human
rights and achieving a diverse and inclusive workforce.
To achieve certification, an organisation needs to demonstrate that its
management system has considered all key financial, economic, social and
environmental issues relevant to its operations to reduce its impact on the
environment and contribute towards a stronger and more just society.
The certification was awarded by BSI, a global leader in ISO standard
compliance, after a rigorous two-phase audit process that assessed how the
sustainability management system at World Athletics integrated
sustainability into key aspects of an event's planning and delivery. The
system must also illustrate that it can track progress to ensure full
compliance with the standard's requirements moving forward.
"Having this robust independent review of the processes and systems we're
putting in place lends a lot of credibility to our efforts in making our
events more sustainable," said World Athletics President Sebastian Coe. "It
shows that the path we're creating for all our events is the right one."
System unveiled in 2021
The Sustainable Event Management System (SEMS), which provides detailed
guidance in 15 key areas of event planning and delivery, was introduced to
World Athletics licensed one-day meetings, tour events, label road race
organisers and organising committees of upcoming World Athletics Series
events in November 2021, alongside the Athletics for a Better World (ABW)
Standard, an evaluation that measures and scores an event's achievement in
sustainable delivery in alignment with the World Athletics Sustainability
Strategy.
The Athletics for a Better World Standard, which is currently in its second
pilot year, will be tiered, with platinum, gold, silver, bronze and
recognised event achievement levels that will eventually have to be met as
part of the evaluation process of all World Athletics-licensed events from
2024. Cities bidding to host upcoming World Athletics Series events, for
which bids launched in the latter half of 2022, will be required to commit
to a gold level achievement, making sustainability a core feature of all
future World Athletics championships events.
Organisers of more than 300 one-day competition series events and label
road races have been introduced to the system and the Athletics for a
Better World Standard since it was unveiled. Several dozen piloted the
system and standard in 2022 and more than 50 are expected to pilot it in
2023.
The system is also being incorporated into the delivery of all World
Athletics Championships and increasingly into all World Athletics Series
events. Organisers of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23, who
announced their sustainability programme last week, are the first LOC to
fully embrace the Athletics for a Better World standard. Organisers of the
World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24 have also announced their
strong ambitions in delivering against the standard.
Resources and on-going support
The system's central resource, a detailed SEMS best practice guidance which
can be downloaded from the Information Hub section of the Sustainability
home page, is currently available in 13 languages: Arabic, Bengali,
English, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese,
Russian, Spanish and Swahili. Amharic and Italian versions will also be
available shortly.
Since the system's launch, World Athletics has also hosted a dozen
sustainable event webinars and info sessions for race and event organisers,
developed a steadily growing online resource centre, and is creating an
information hub of case studies and best practice examples on the World
Athletics website.
World Athletics will continue to provide support for organisers via
one-on-one meetings, an ongoing webinar series, a range of e-learning
modules and visits to live events.
###
|
