CEnv Employer Champion guides BSI to achieve ISO 20121

The British Standard Institution (BSI) has achieved the international standard for event sustainability – ISO 20121 – for the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) General Meeting. How? With the help of one of our CEnv Employer Champions, Crowberry Consulting.

This certification by the Amtivo Group recognizes BSI’s commitment to managing the environmental, social, and economic impact of its operations during the General Meeting.

Crowberry Consulting

To achieve this certification, BSI has been working with the team from Crowberry Consulting® – a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) Employer Champion – since 2022 to conduct the internal sustainability training, and sustainable event system implementation. The collaboration ensures that all functional areas are in scope and meaningful sustainable event objectives and targets are embedded and risks and opportunities are managed. With their support the IEC GM was able to deliver a truly sustainable event across economic, environmental and social considerations.

“It has been a real joy to support the Conference and Events team at BSI to work towards and achieve the ISO 20121. We have supported the internal departments to implement sustainability training, creating the sustainability champions and guided them through the required documentation of the standard to ensure successful certification in 2024. We are delighted that the team has achieved the prestigious ISO 20121 standard, and this will inspire other large international conferences and events to do the same.” said Becky Toal CEnv FIEMA, CEO of Crowberry Consulting – Enabling Sustainable Futures.

The ISO 20121 provided the BSI IEC GM Event Project Team with a framework and guidance that was flexible and rigorous in measurement and monitoring. This enabled the team to track positive and negative impacts over time and take necessary steps to address them.

BSI and ISO 20121

The theme for the 2024 GM was “Towards an ell-electric and connected society”. The venue in Scotland hosted 1,500 industry experts from around the world who attended a series of technical committee and governance meetings where best practice and future planning were be discussed. As the event host, BSI also has a role to play in taking steps to advance its own operational sustainability efforts.

Scott Steedman, Director-General Standards, BSI upon receiving the certificate from Amtivo Group said:

“I am thrilled that BSI has achieved independent certification to ISO 20121, the international standard for sustainable event management, for our hosting of the 2024 International Electrotechnical General Meeting and the associated BSI public conferences in Edinburgh. This certification is a significant milestone in BSI’s sustainability journey, demonstrating our commitment to leading by example—not only through the quality of the debate and discussions but also through the way we manage and deliver the event itself.

“It’s crucial that as the national standards body, we set the benchmark for excellence, showing that impactful, high-level discussions on global issues like the Net Zero transition can and should be conducted sustainably, with the highest standards of efficiency and responsibility.”