Sustainability Process and Certification in the Swedish Event Tourism Industry

In society today there is a heated debate about sustainable development. It is argued that event organisations must take responsibility for sustainability, although they may lack appropriate development tools. The purpose of this article is to study how event companies and organisations can develop a sustainability process in a societal system context and the need for certification in their events. The analysis was based on the study of relevant literature, an investigation in Sweden and a systems analysis. A triangulation technique was used to combine the different methods. It is argued that there is a sustainability event system in a societal context, within which event organisations have a central role. A model of sustainability and certification process for an event organisation and its events is developed, which consists of criteria, activities, certification, effects and obstacles. This recognised certificate could be a motivator and guideline for sustainable event development. The certification's focus has to be on the event organiser's management. However, event organisers need to certify their own organisations, either including all future events or only some specific events. This would give the organisations and the event industry a positive image and recognised role in a sustainable world