About Us
As of February 2025, Positive Impact has a community of almost 2,000 global event professionals, over 40 corporate Head of Events, over 40 Corporate Head of Sustainability, over 160 SMEs with a Race to Zero commitment, over 5 memorandums of understanding with United Nations bodies.
For almost 20 years not for profit Positive Impact have been providing engagement, collaboration and education to create a sustainable event industry. You could describe Positive Impact as the ‘critical friend’ of the global event sector.
In 2023 we began to focus on bringing needed innovation to life by supporting two projects:
Technology to make it easier for your event to have a positive Impact
Positive Impact is the only event sector body to be a Race to Zero Accelerator, UN SDG Action mobiliser and to have education certified by the world’s largest and leading CPD accreditation working across all sectors, so our education is accessed by heads of marketing, HR and sustainability.
Our funding comes from everywhere and nowhere, and every penny, cent or yen is used to advance the event sector so every time an event happens the UN Sustainable Development Goals are advanced and events are recognised as ensuring 'participation and inclusion in decision making’ (UN SDG16).
This is a timeline of Positive Impact's journey and the creation of a sustainable event industry. It reflects initiatives from:
The United Nations
Positive Impact
CEO Fiona Pelham
Key developments in the creation of a sustainable event industry.
Supporting the global event sector to participate in the revision of ISO 20121
During 2023, ISO 20121 was revised and Positive Impact provided toolkits so event professionals, national standard bodies, industry associations and other liaison bodies could give their input to the revision. This innovative approach delivered successful results and ISO 20121: 2024 revision was completed to be used at Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Providing free sustainable event management education for the UN Global Week Unite to #ACT4SDGS
A free 48 hour online event during the week of 18th - 24th September to access aspects of our education, which is accredited by CPD (the world's leading and largest independent Continuing Professional Development accreditation body).
Discussing how sustainability is shaping the future of events
Fiona Pelham, Chair of ISO 20121 and CEO of Positive Impact, led this 1 hour event in Copenhagen on 16th May to learn how climate change, EU sustainability reporting regulations and international standards including ISO 20121 are shaping how events are delivered.
Exploring the event sustainability standard ISO 20121 on the future of events and gender equality
On 8th March 2023, to celebrate International Women’s Day, Positive Impact hosted a webinar with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the UN Global Compact Network UK.
Creating resources with Unicef UK for the consideration of Human and Child Rights and Safeguarding
In 2019, Positive Impact Events began a collaboration with Unicef UK to produce resources to support an event to be planned with the consideration of Human Rights and Child Rights. This guidance is a consultation draft that will be able to be used as part of an event organiser’s implementation of ISO 20121.