The organization shall determine and provide the resources needed for the establishment, implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of the event sustainability management system.

REQUIREMENTS:

This clause requires that resources be allocated. Assess whether adequate resources have been available - does everything look rushed? Do the team know what they are doing? Are there solutions available?

EDUCATION:

The resources must be provided to actually establish the management system in the first place. It will take time and knowledge, and probably IT technology, to appropriately set up the management system. This may require budgetary commitment by Top Management, to allow staff the time to do it, to bring in external support, or to invest in off-the-shelf or bespoke IT solutions for documentation, performance measurement logging and dissemination of information.

In order for sustainability goals to be fully implemented into the organization and event planning cycle, top management must ensure the time, budget, resources and skills are provided to enable this. Success can be inhibited if enough time is not allocated to do the required planning, research and sourcing, and if the team doesn’t have the knowledge they 'won't know what they don't know'.

If additional budget is required to procure or contact the most sustainable option this may need to be allocated.  If logistical, material or other operational requirements are needed to see the initiatives to fruition, these must be supported and supplied.

• Staffing: Are there enough people to do it?
• Training: staff training and onsite inductions?
• Infrastructure: is equipment needed available?
• Technology: is there adequate technology provided to enable issues to be managed and objectives to be achieved, such as: apps, video conferencing, intranet resource portal, stakeholder management framework
• Finance: budget allocated?

RELEVANT SEMS QUESTION:

COMMITMENT AND RESOURCING/Resources Provided: Top management demonstrates its commitment to sustainability through allocating adequate time, money, human resources and materials.                                                                                                                                   

EXAMPLE OF EVIDENCE TEXT:

XYZ Organization provides adequate resources and competencies:

Infrastructure and finance: XYZ were engaged as sustainability partners to fund the engagement of sustainability consultants XYZ. Adequate funding is allocated to allow sustainability initiatives to be put in place.

Technology: An intranet website has been created to allow access to sustainability processes, policy and general information for all relevant stakeholders.

Staffing: A sustainability manager role has been created. A Greening Committee has also been appointed.

Competency and Training: Production, marketing and sponsorship staff have been trained in event sustainability. See list of staff trained attached.

Sustainability is included in all operational planning, and will soon move into sponsorship, procurement and marketing.

AUDITOR INSTRUCTIONS:

• Assess whether adequate resources have been available - does everything look rushed? Do the team know what they are doing? Are there solutions available?
• Staffing: Are there enough people to do it?
• Competency: Do they know what they are doing?
• Training: staff training and onsite inductions?
• Infrastructure: is equipment needed available?
• Technology: for example apps, video conferencing, intranet
• Finance: budget allocated?

AUDIT OUTCOMES:

• The organization's top management provide the necessary resources to effectively implement a sustainable event management system.

• Competency
• Training
• Infrastructure
• Technology
• Finance
• Staffing

• Sufficient resources are available to ensure the successful implementation of an event sustainability management system and performance outcomes.