Case Study: Finland Event Industry Association
Advancing Sustainability with ISO 20121:2024
In partnership with Finland’s Event Industry Association, Positive Impact designed and delivered a fully funded, one-year ISO 20121:2024 training programme.
The initiative invited 9 leading organisations in Finland to participate and implement event sustainability management practices across their operations.
This programme not only provided practical tools and knowledge but also showcased Finland’s leadership in sustainable events on a global stage.
“By funding this initiative, we are positioning Finland as a frontrunner in sustainable events and supporting our industry partners and suppliers with the tools to make real change. We wanted to work with Positive Impact because of their credibility and their passion to provide education that can be implemented by any organisation, no matter the size.’’
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Who took part?
These organisations were invited to take part:
AEN
Live Nation
Sunborn Live
Provinssi
Liwlig
Palloliitto
Basket
Kulttuurikamari
Messukeskus
Objectives of the initiative
Equip participating organisation with the materials and resources to implement ISO 20121:2024
Build a community of practice across different sectors of the event industry
Position Finland as demonstrating leadership in sustainable events.
Resources Participants Received
Each participating organisation was provided with access to:
One-year fully funded ISO 20121:2024 course with structured learning modules.
“Having access to a fully funded, structured course made it possible for our members to engage deeply with ISO 20121:2024. The step-by-step instructions gave us clarity and confidence to align our operations with international sustainability standards. By having a script that is written in normal language and not standard language really helped our members to understand what they needed to do.’’
— , Finnish Event Industry Association
Dedicated and branded online portal
“The dedicated online portal brought everything together — resources, recordings, and schedules. It allowed our entire venue team to stay aligned’’
— Sustainability Manager, Messukeskus
Access to a dedicated Resource Library including templates, toolkits, and case examples.
“The Resource Library was a fantastic support tool. The templates and real-world examples made the ISO 20121:2024 standard feel much more accessible — we could immediately see how to apply it to our own events.”
— Event Planner, Live Nation
Monthly leadership calls with peer group
“The monthly leadership calls created a real sense of community. Hearing from other professionals tackling the same challenges was inspiring — it turned the learning journey into a shared experience rather than something we had to figure out alone.”
— Event Planner, AEN
Ongoing support from Positive Impact experts to guide implementation
“The support from Positive Impact’s experts made a huge difference. They understood the realities of events and helped us translate sustainability goals into practical actions we could apply immediately.”
— Sustainability Lead, Liwlig
30 minutes a week Action Plan
“As a small business, time is always limited. The 30-minute weekly Action Plan was exactly what we needed — achievable, focused, and it kept us moving forward without disrupting daily operations.”
— Owner, Sunborn Live
“As the association, which is the central organisation of the Finnish event industry and the most influential advocate for events in Finland, it makes sense that The Finnish Event Industry Association would take the first step in capacity building for a sustainable event sector.
During 2025 leading bodies from the Finnish event sector had access to credible resources (developed with over 20 years expertise and certified by the world’s leading Continuing Professional Development Body) and network opportunities to support their development and transformation to future fit business models.
This year long programme provided what was needed for the Finnish event sector to set their foundation and align their event approach with strategic EU sustainability initiatives including the European Commission’s Competitiveness Compass, a 5 year strategic plan focused on innovation, decarbonisation and security.
Of course 12 months is a short time frame to introduce a new approach, use global best practice resources, gain internal buy in and show evidence of impact. It was long enough to gain valuable insights which we hope to share across the Nordics and beyond to further the potential for the event sector to lead in delivering innovation, decarbonisation and a future fit, secure business model for events”
Impact and Outcomes
9 organisations were provided with the resources to begin their SO 20121:2024 journey
Cross-sector collaboration between participants
Finland demonstrated global leadership by funding and championing sustainable event practices.
Positive Impact created a model that other destinations and organisations can replicate
Return on Investment
Each participant received over £30,000 worth of capacity building resources and innovation opportunities.
Why This Matters
This programme demonstrates how event associations and industry leaders can support initiative which
Invest in capacity-building for sustainability in the event supply chain.
Showcase leadership being taken by their community on the international stage.
Provides a replicable model that can be tailored and adapted.
