Godmother launches a Guide to Best Practices in organizing sustainable events

Godmother, a brand experience agency with over 20 years of experience in the event industry, launched “Play Smart, Act Kindly – How to Organize Sustainable Events” yesterday, a best practice guide for organizing sustainable events (SE) aimed at all those involved in live communication and event industry: companies, agencies, suppliers, and opinion leaders.

The initiative is based on a survey commissioned by the agency in 2024, which revealed that nearly 60% of respondents either do not have a clear understanding of the SE concept or offer vague definitions. Additionally, although 70% of respondents acknowledge the importance of sustainability, only 30% consider it a priority from the planning stage.

With this guide, Godmother becomes a pioneer in the SE field, setting a new industry standard and encouraging other agencies to adopt the same practices.

The guide, which is over 60 pages long, includes detailed information on how to approach sustainability in every phase of the event process:

• It explains the strategy needed to cultivate a sustainability-oriented mindset within the team;
• It offers guidance on planning, execution, and communication of a SE;
• It includes relevant data, useful tips, applicable solutions, concrete examples, and interviews with sustainability experts and marketing practitioners.

The timing of Godmother’s initiative couldn’t be more appropriate. Considering that the global event industry is expected to nearly double by 2035, reaching an estimated value of $819.1 billion, the pressure to implement sustainable practices has never been greater. Common events like concerts, festivals, sports competitions, and exhibitions contribute significantly to environmental impact.

Locally, starting in 2025, companies with over 50 employees are required to submit sustainability reports. The reporting requirement has already been in place since January 1, 2024, for companies with more than 500 employees.

Corporate sustainability reporting (CSRD) is an EU requirement aimed at ensuring companies report on sustainability-related issues, such as environmental rights, social rights, human rights, and governance factors. Godmother can produce a sustainability report for its clients after each event it organizes.

Alice Gavril, Managing Partner at Godmother, stated: “Romania is at a turning point in terms of legislation. On one hand, we’re starting to see initiatives and organizers, especially companies, wanting to do things better. On the other hand, sustainability is still seen as a luxury or as a trend to tick off. It’s still a topic that scares people here, but in mature markets, sustainability has become an essential component of event organization, not a secondary element.

These markets have moved past ‘greenwashing’ and have started implementing concrete, data-based actions. We’ve done the same, and the launch of this guide is an example of this commitment. Our research on the topic confirmed that true sustainability begins with transparency and with the actual measurement of an event’s impact.”

The ultimate goal of Godmother’s initiative is for the event industry to have a positive impact on local communities and economies while minimizing the carbon footprint of events, which, according to some estimates, account for more than 10% of global annual CO2 emissions—the equivalent of the total emissions of the United States in one year.

In Romania, the event industry is valued at approximately 300 million euros (corporate events, public-funded events and ceremonies, and private events). According to information from Godmother, over 200 festivals are organized annually across the country, along with probably hundreds of local events or those supported by various brands.

The survey commissioned by Godmother, conducted in August 2024, was the first step in documenting the best practices guide released on March 18. It was followed by research on practices in other markets and interviews with sustainability experts and marketing practitioners. The respondents to Godmother’s survey were selected from a database used by Brainactive.ai, a tech startup specializing in market research using the latest technologies.

The guide can be downloaded for free by following this link.

About Godmother

Godmother provides a comprehensive approach to the event industry, with its brand experience agency at the core of its ecosystem. It is supported by complementary entities such as Cognition (digital agency), Tappy (digital promoter), Cyberevent (digital installation hub), and Brigada Creativă (event organization for public institutions).

Godmother’s portfolio includes top players in their respective categories who prioritize quality interaction with their audience and the memorable brand experience offered to consumers. The agency has organized over 1,000 successful events and boasts a team of senior professionals for whom flawless execution, innovation, and continuous improvement are the standard.

Since April 2022, Godmother has been a member of 27Names – a network of top independent event agencies across Europe. Access to international resources and know-how adds value not only to the agency’s product but also to the local industry.

Godmother’s clients come from industries such as FMCG, retail, finance, pharma, technology, agrobusiness, and electronics.