Our mission has always been about nurturing and appreciating our beautiful surroundings in a sustainable way. From the moment we set ISO up, our core beliefs, values, mission and vision were all based around our commitment to sustainability and protecting our planet. This is way more than a business approach, this is lived and breathed in our hearts and souls. In fact, everything we do focuses on the following:
- Celebrating, developing and protecting seasonality
- Enjoying and embracing events off the beaten path
- Creating curiosity and respect around local culture and traditions
We are committed to ensuring our activities, agenda and business strategy are based on specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We are as definitive as possible when we set our goals and we are determined to be evidence-driven and ambitious with our outcomes. Check out some of our initiatives below and how they align to specific UN Sustainable Development Goals.
ISO and the Positive Impact Events community
Since 2018, we have been proud to be part of the incredible and invaluable Positive Impact Events community. Positive Impact Events are a remarkable non-profit company that provide extensive resources and education to support and educate the events industry around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and climate change.
As part of our commitment to climate change and our work with Positive Impact Events. We are delighted to share that we have now signed the commitment and we are part of this 1000 company (with our Founder Laura being part of the Hub resources and events).
“When I became an Ambassador for Positive Impact Events, I learned that there is so much to learn about sustainability and the SDG goals and how each of us can make a difference. Being an Ambassador, I share knowledge and invite others to join the community. This makes it feel like things are possible. So, the sentence “It is not up to us to make the change” does not work for us, because we believe that little drops make a mighty ocean!”
Laura Notarbartolo, CEO & Founder, Italian Special Occasions / Co-Founder, Creative Italy
As a member of the SME Hub together we will commit to the following:
- Specific and measurable goals: We are committed to constantly reviewing and improving our data by halving our greenhouse gas emissions before 2030 e.g. by cutting down on extensive travel and waste. And by achieving net-zero before 2050 e.g. by focusing on sustainable events and activities.
- Contributing to the conversation: We actively challenge others around their responsibilities and ambitions to support, promote and host sustainable events. We set an example by actively disclosing our progress publicly e.g. by sharing our learnings, by guiding our clients and by promoting the purpose. We also actively take part in events; for example, Laura our Founder was part of the recent and invaluable Earth Day roundtable.
- Learning and personal development: Laura and the ISO team are committed to learning as much as they can about sustainable events and continue to research and read on the topics that impact their business and the event industry in its entirety. The PI team regularly share resources about the 17 UN SDG Goals and Climate Change (working with the UNFCCC Secretariat) and regularly organise different actions to ensure these SDGs advance.
A spotlight: SME Climate hub
It’s important to remember that to ‘go net zero’ is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and/or to ensure that any ongoing emissions are balanced by removals. As a key part of this community, we will learn together about emissions, pollutions, products, waste (and more!) so that we can effectively implement a realistic and robust plan to achieve our collective climate change goals (and educate others). The initiative of commitment to a net-zero carbon target is supported by the SME Climate Hub which is also a member of the UN race zero campaign.
We encourage all our clients, partners and network to find out more and sign the commitment too. Laura is doing many things to ensure she is part of this commitment. For example, sharing the resources with her clients and guiding them to create sustainable events whilst in Italy and beyond.
How did this all come about?
- How did this all begin? In 2015 UN, (United Nations Organization) came together to make a plan and identified 17 goals (now called the SDGs – Sustainable Development Goals), to be achieved, which were called global goals for sustainable development.
- What is the 2030 Agenda? It is an agreement between the countries of the world to improve the life of our planet and all its inhabitants.
- What does sustainable development mean? Development is the progress (economic and social) that allows us to improve the living conditions for people. It is defined as sustainable when it is able to meet the needs of the present generation while also considering those of future generations.
What are we doing to get involved?
Respectful and charming sustainable tourism: Beyond Italy.
We are passionate about educating and inspiring the industry about sustainable tourism through our extraordinary initiative Beyond Italy. As part of our commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, we believe it is our responsibility to guide international business leaders and to wave the flag for sustainable Italian experiences in a professional context. Through this initiative and others, we work towards a better way to #buildbackbetter – in the events industry we have a lot of influence and power and it’s our job to do what we can.
Beyond Italy is a series of itineraries and events built around Italy’s cultural heritage, alongside authentic and unique sustainable experiences.
Why take part?
- Join us in protecting and preserving our gorgeous heritage for future generations. For example our itineraries involve visits and stays to historical buildings such as Borgo Pantano, Feudo S. Pietro, Castello di Potentino. We also support places active in preserving the environment and protecting their surroundings.
- Enjoy accessible experiences that are unique and help protect small businesses and communities. We support local communities throughout the year to avoid mass tourism.
- Be even more eco-friendly by opting for non-travel options! We are currently hosting virtual events that celebrate enriching experiences and stir your imagination.
- We are committed to ensuring our activities, agenda and business strategy are based on specific United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We are as definitive as possible when we set our goals and we are determined to be evidence-driven and ambitious with our outcomes. Check out some of our initiatives below and how they align to specific UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Keen to explore from your home?
Responsible consumption and sustainable tourism: Creative Italy.
Our sister company Creative Italy is a platform created to give back to the Italian creative community. To further support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals we are promoting both sustainable tourism AND responsible consumption. Specifically, here we are focusing on SDG 4, 8 and 12. Our priority is responsible consumption and sustainable tourism whilst pioneering education alongside this.
We invite people from across the world to learn how to use their hands and create from raw materials a quality product made with sustainable and recycled resources. Creative Italy goes above and beyond tourism and teaches new jobs and creates sustainable careers. These jobs are meaningful in so many ways and contribute to creating quality and unique long-life products (that avoid disposable purchasing and convenient consumption).
Why take part?
- Help preserve Italian traditions: Embrace the essence of the real Made In Italy. Learn craftsmanship techniques, meet talented experts and support the local Italian community. We will teach you how quality products are built.
- Discover a world centered around Ecotourism: Visit remote areas and faraway places without destroying or ruining the environment. Uncover places ‘off the beaten track’ and embrace an authentic Italian experience.
- Enrich your soul whilst doing something good for the planet: Be inspired by a more sustainable way of travelling. Through this, we are all protecting Italy’s historical heritage and natural landscapes.
Enjoy unique and tailored experiences and itineraries.
Less plastic, more education!
As event professionals you know how much waste there often is at large scale events. Plastic water bottles are one of the biggest problems in this industry. This is a problem that we can be proactive about though and there are solutions. Through this initiative, we are actively addressing the SDG 4 goal which prioritises quality education. Every child should have the opportunity to have a quality education
To attempt to combat this avoidable waste we commit to supplying each event attendee with a reusable water bottle. The profits will go to the Victoria Sports Association in Kenya which is a community-based project for disadvantaged children. VSA was established in 2006. Since then, VSA has constantly identified and developed talents among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, helping them not only with their skills on the football field but also to keep them at school and busy with healthy activities in their free time.
What you can do to support?
- Sign the Positive Impact Events commitment here
- Became a Positive Impact Events Ambassador
- Work with companies like us that are pioneering sustainability and are championing this commitment. Why not get in touch to learn more about our sustainable activities and itineraries?
Looking forward to 2022
We hope you’ve had a fulfilling 2021 and we can’t wait to plan another year of extraordinary events with you. Thank you to all my colleagues and partners for all the outstanding work we have achieved. We are all on a continuous learning adventure together and we look forward to championing change together in the new year.
We understand with the current climate that plans can be unpredictable – we are with you every step of the way. We prioritise your safety and we’re committed to providing you with world-class sustainable and safe events. Check out our Covid-19 protocol for more info.
