eventplanner.eco

Get certified with eventplanner.eco

Embrace a greener future and distinguish your business with the eventplanner.eco certification. This isn't just a label; it's a testament to your dedication to sustainability, showcasing your efforts to protect the environment and uplift the community. Join us in setting a new standard for the event industry, where every choice is a step towards a more sustainable and responsible future.

event industry eco lable

Why eventplanner.eco?

Protecting our environment and caring for the communities that depend on it... these things are no longer a matter of choice. And as event organizers impose ever-stricter sustainability standards, the demand for ecologically and socially-responsible suppliers is very much on the rise.

But how, as a prospective client, do you go about finding partners who meet your standards? And how, as a responsible venue or event supplier, can you boost your profile as a sustainable supplier? As the world's fastest growing events platform, we are all about bringing the right people together. Which is why we've developed a solution in the form of a new sustainability label exclusive for the events industry. The eventplanner.eco label is expected go live in 2025. You can however already start preparing now!

event industry eco lable

Simply sustainable

With so many different and often confusing eco and sustainability labels for specific niches like venues, caterers, etc. there is a genuine need for a simpler and more uniform approach that covers the entire event industry. Our goal is to make it easier for prospects to demand the same level of compliance from all their event suppliers. And when you realise that the complex and often costly certification process of existing labels places them beyond the reach of smaller businesses, there is also a need for a more accessible and democratic alternative. At least, that is the feedback we've received from thousands of eventplanner.net users. And our answer? A new, overarching sustainability label for the entire event industry: eventplanner.eco

 

eventplanner.eco criteria

Please note the below criteria are still under review and can still be changed before the official eventplanner.eco launch. Especially the number of points for each criteria is being reviewed by our stakeholders and partners. Your feedback and help on improving the criteria or making them more extensive is warmly welcomed.

Download .eco criteria
Qualification

In order to qualify for the eventplanner.eco label, event venues and suppliers need to:

  • comply with all mandatory criteria (indicated with (!))
  • commit to following a minimum number of sustainability guidelines (indicated with (v))
  • pledge to the eventplanner.eco charter. The charter will be published later.
  • in year one a minimum of 75% of all points (mandatory & other guidelines compared) are required, after year 3 you'll need 80% and after 6 years 85% or more.

Certification is based on a statement on honour, sample audits, publication of the statement and feedback loops by customers to flag in-compliance.

Please note that certification criteria can and will be updated on a regular base making eventplanner.eco more ambitious and extensive over time.

Other requirements
  • Have an eventplanner.net business page (the certificate will be linked to the page), regardless of being a free or premium version. (A certification is needed per business page. For example a business managing multiple venues will need a label per venue. If more than 5 labels are required and requested at the same time, volume discounts apply.)
  • Pay the audit fee and yearly contribution to the eventplanner.eco initiative.
  • Agree with the legal policy.
  • The eventplanner.eco label must be displayed in a prominent place, such as using a plaque at your event venue or, if you are an event supplier, in your offices. Also be sure to place a widget with a link to more information and the full audit report on your website. Finally, don't forget to add a link to the full audit report with every online reference to the label.
  • The certificate will be valid for 3 years after which a re-audit is needed to prolong it. Applicants are themselves responsible for requesting a re-audit when their situation changes and they can no longer meet the committed obligations. Audits and re-audits will always be done with the latest version of the criteria published by eventplanner.net (so it is possible that over time the requirements may become stricter, additional guidelines may be added and/or other guidelines may be made mandatory).
  • All communication and documentation should be in English.
  • Agree the report will be published in all transparancy.
Fees

An audit fee is payable upon application, as well as a small annual contribution to the program. The fees below are indicative and can still be changed.

  • 350 euro audit fee (initial and re-audits)
  • 250 euro yearly contribution to the initiative
 
 

What do you get?

 

FAQ

Isn't the certification too simple?

The certification is low entry, both in procedure as in price. That is 'by design'. Having the perfect sustainable business is of course something to strive for, but at this moment not (yet) realistic for every business. Instead of having a handful of venues and suppliers certified and achieving no impact on the industry as a whole, our mission is to make a dent in the universe by inspiring event businesses, organisers and clients. Our aim, therefore, is to plant seeds in the minds of many people by creating an accessible label and, in this way, initiate a real change in mindset. That doesn't mean we don't take our mission very seriously. On the contrary, we have implemented feedback loops to act promptly on any misuse and communicate about it as transparently as announcing the qualification itself. We'll also commit to raising the bar gradually, but in a consistent way over the next years.

Will there be 'levels'?

We won't offer 'levels', but we'll make it possible to search for suppliers who for example score 90% or higher, this to give additional exposure to the best in class. We're also thinking about adding a functionality later to search on specific topics (for example if ecology or diversity are more important for an organiser than other topics we cover).