Overview

Requirements for an event sustainability management system, applicable to any type of event or event-related activity and to organizations of any size involved in designing and delivering events.

ISO 20121:2024 specifies requirements for an event sustainability management system for any type of event or event-related activity, and gives guidance on conforming to those requirements. It applies to all types and sizes of organization involved in the design and delivery of events — event owners, organizers, venues, and the supply chain of caterers, production companies, logistics providers and other contractors that make events happen.

The 2024 edition is the second edition, replacing ISO 20121:2012, which was originally developed in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The revision strengthens the standard's treatment of social legacy, inclusivity, human rights and children's rights, and broadens the recognized ways of demonstrating conformity. It also aligns the standard with the current ISO harmonized structure used across management system standards.

Structure. Like other ISO management system standards, ISO 20121 is built on the harmonized high-level structure: context of the organization and interested parties; leadership and the sustainable development policy; planning, including identification of issues and setting of objectives; support (resources, competence, awareness, communication, documented information); operation, where the event lifecycle is actually managed; performance evaluation through monitoring, internal audit and management review; and improvement. Because events are temporary and project-shaped, the standard is designed to be applied across the event lifecycle — concept, planning, delivery and post-event review — rather than to a permanent production process.

Demonstrating conformity. One of the practical characteristics of ISO 20121 is that it explicitly recognizes several routes to demonstrating conformity: self-declaration, validation by a customer or other second party, and third-party certification by a certification body. This flexibility was retained and emphasized in the 2024 edition specifically so that smaller organizations and suppliers can participate without necessarily bearing the cost of full certification. Third-party certification is available and widely used by major venues, festivals and event agencies.

Integration with other standards. ISO 20121 shares its structure with ISO 14001 (environmental management), ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 45001 (occupational health and safety), so organizations that already run one of those systems can normally extend the existing management system rather than build a parallel one. ISO 26000 provides complementary guidance on social responsibility, and organizations often use ISO 20121 alongside their broader sustainability reporting.

Transition from the 2012 edition. Organizations certified to ISO 20121:2012 need to move to the 2024 edition within the transition period set by the accreditation and certification bodies. The main work in transition is usually reviewing how the management system addresses social issues, inclusivity and legacy, and confirming that interested-party identification and issue evaluation reflect the broader scope of the new edition.

Purpose

To provide requirements for a management system that enables organizations to improve the sustainability of the events they design and deliver, covering environmental, social and economic issues across the full event lifecycle.

Key Benefits

• Systematic management of sustainability issues across the event lifecycle
• Structured approach to social legacy, inclusivity and human rights in events
• Recognized framework increasingly requested in event tenders and host-city contracts
• Flexible conformity routes, including self-declaration for smaller organizations
• Integrates with existing ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 systems
• Improved supply chain engagement and supplier expectations for events
• Clearer basis for communicating event sustainability performance to stakeholders

Key Requirements

• Determine the organization's context, interested parties and scope of the event management system
• Establish a sustainable development policy and statement of purpose and values
• Identify and evaluate sustainability issues across the event lifecycle
• Set sustainability objectives and plan how to achieve them
• Define roles, responsibilities and authorities for the event organization
• Ensure competence, awareness and internal and external communication
• Control operational planning and delivery, including supply chain and stakeholder engagement
• Monitor, measure and evaluate sustainability performance
• Conduct internal audits and management review
• Act on nonconformities and continually improve the system

Who Needs This Standard?

Event organizers and promoters, conference and exhibition organizers, sports federations and major sporting events, festivals, venues and arenas, destination management organizations, and the caterers, production, staging and logistics suppliers that serve the events industry.

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