Event Management and Sustainability - Case Study Example

TOURISM College November 3, Introduction Each year across the world, many events of different magnitudes ranging from business, social, religious, and sporting events take place. Most of these events involve the public and use public resources. Sporting is amongst the major events. Sporting events are widely known forms of tourism (Nelson, 2013, p. 64). They are meant to bring entertainment and make everyone have wonderful moments. Andrews argues that “sport mega-events and their extensive media coverage are considered to provide benefits and opportunities to the hosting country, especially with regard to its economy and tourism industry” (2011, p. 5). However, in the process, because of emissions and increased waste production, the lives of residents become uncomfortable to some extent and sometimes the long term effects can be devastating. Other problems that are often associated with world events like football are racism, discrimination and violence (Wyludda, 2009, p. 5). The idea of creating a temporary but enormous event requires a lot of power consumption, consumption of unnecessary resources, and production of large wastes. This can just be termed as “inherently unsustainable” (Jones, 2011, p. iii). Many events undergo long planning before implementation. Currently, events are held in socially, economically and environmentally changing and turbulent environments. This calls for planning as a critical role for which in the recent planning, sustainability has taken the center stage. The concept of environmental engagement has not been left behind as well (Raj, 2009, p. 140). Event managers ought to be flexible in their planning since events vary and each needs a well formulated framework to assist achieve key principles that can be applied to all. It is the responsibility of those who organize such events to maintain social and environmental sustainability. If event organizers ensure sustainability in their planning, then the eventual results would be impressive (Jones, 2011, p. v). The world football governing body has an event known as the FIFA world cup. It is the biggest sporting competition in the world. For this reason, its impact to the society and environment is enormous. Hosting such an event demands critical consideration of all features to ensure that there is unprejudiced approach and sustainability. The FIFA World Cup “provides a platform to advertise the issue of sustainability in events” (Debra, Peter and Geoff, 2010, p. 189). With such an understanding, FIFA and the organizing committee took the responsibility of ensuring sustainability in Brazil’s world cup. Spanne observed that the 2014 world cup in Brazil fell short of scoring lofty environmental goals, though it has served as a basis of addressing social and environmental injustice in the global sporting event (2014). The campaign for green and sustainable environment in sporting events was sparked in the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000. Since then, many hosting nations have marketed themselves as environmentally sustainable, a hype they have never lived to be (Spanne, 2014). In the process of going green, other factors come in and overtake as priorities; the result is shunted sustainability promises. This was exactly the case in Brazil; the economy sputtered leading to furious reactions from the Brazilians. It was marred with allegations on corruption, poor health conditions and the rise in poverty level. Environmental impacts were never spared as the situation was devastating. This does not mean that major events can’t have a positive impact. For example, in the 2006 world cup in Germany, the planners did all they could to educate people on carbon emissions, while some of the stadiums had solar systems, and rain water was collected for use. The results were remarkable as wastes and energy consumption were managed. This provided an inspiration to be continued in the world cup in South Africa (Cocoran and Osano, 2009, p. 193). The same case happened in the 2012 London Olympics whereby it laid a benchmark on sustainability with focus on strategies. The most challenging thing in Brazil 2014 was that sustainability had moved from being an environmental issue to other sectors of the economy and to the other extents. The forms of development that occurred in Brazil are not what could be termed sustainable in physical terms. The impacts arising from world cup do not originate from a single individual, but from a set of interconnected features. The direct effects can be seen in terms of economic, social and cultural developments. The event realized investments in the country. The preparation phase anticipated at making financial contribution and projects such as construction of infrastructure and attraction of tourists. Such plans represented a source of demand for goods and services; these promised a positive effect to the economy. Furthermore, these benefits resulted in increase in production, employment opportunities and increase in income and taxes. Even though this was anticipated, results show that there was deterioration of Brazil’s economy during the world cup preparation period (Rapoza, 2014). Socio-economic impacts go hand in hand with environmental issues in such events as the world cup. In order that sustainability is enhanced in such an event, there has to be a reduction in social and environmental costs. Any form of inefficiencies and waste production has to be minimized if not completely mitigated. As events come in, green events have entered the industry to reduce negative environmental impacts of events such as carbon reduction (Bowdin et al., 2012, p. 156). Sustainable Transport A sustainable transport system is the one that allows basic access and developmental needs of the society (Golinska and Hajdul, 2012, p. 4). In aid of these, there are policies that are developed. They are aimed at reducing travel demands through transport planning and greening logistics (Black and Nijkamp, 2002, p. 10). Through sustainable development, sustainable transport needs to meet the current generation’s needs without compromising the future needs (Schiller, Bruun and Kenworthy, 2010, p. 2). Many Brazilian fans were focusing on football but critics had their attention on other aspects such as development and sustainability. Brazil spent huge sums of money on infrastructure and this led many to question if it was going to bring much benefits to the people. Although some of these critics are justified, there are more appealing situations when one observes the developed infrastructure. As suggested by Petzhold and Colin, “world cup related investments helped finance sustainable transport systems that will benefit Brazilians long after the final whistle blows” (2014). The Brazilian multiyear plan to improve the national infrastructure comprised of the world cup investment package. Some of this money was allocated to support urban mobility. One of such transport systems was the bus rapid transit system; it moved fast linking stadiums Rio and Mineirao. The bus rapid transport would take approximately 20 minutes whereas using a car, it would take approximately 1 hr and 30 minutes. Bus rapid transport was financed by world cup related investments. Such infrastructure was expected to improve the lives of people beyond the world cup. Furthermore, it was expected that it would inspire more sustainable transport systems throughout the country. Road transport corridors developed in Rio were ready and two more were expected to be developed by 2016 Olympic Games. The corridor was expected to enable movement of 1.6 million people. According to Petzhold and Colin, the BRT that connects Barra da Tijuca and Santa Cruz districts was already benefiting more that 135,000 people reducing their travel distance (2014). These improvements even impressed the Brazilian president; he spoke of how the BRT would benefit the Rio residents; he referred to it as an extremely precious life and that it was time to live such a life. Similar development was evident in Belo Horizonte. People had never experienced such a fast moving system. In the town, a full to capacity BRT would carry more than 700,000 passengers per day. Apart from improving the transport system, such development would also improve the lives of people in the surrounding areas. Petzhold and Colin say that “the high-quality system is also improving surrounding areas of its corridors and helping to reshape the downgraded downtown area into a more people-oriented environment” (2014) Brazil’s National Mobility Law Sustainability development in Brazil is not only confined to cities and stadiums, but also moving the country into developing policies to promote mobility. An example is the national policy on urban mobility. The policy urged tourism and trade industries to create a mobility plan so that they could secure national funding. The policy targeted 3,000 cities. This move was going to expand Brazil with reasonable and reliable transport network. FIFA’s emission offset plan and desire for achieving green designs were justifiable accomplishments. FIFA and the organizing committee had restricted the green plan to the stadiums that held the games. According to Spanne, there was air travel emissions and reliance on gas fuelled taxis to coordinate airport transport system (2014). There was no basic development of public infrastructure; this led to the public protest. This does not mean that the issue of environment and sustainability was of FIFA. On their part, they were handling energy efficiencies, carbon offsets and waste recycling systems. Furthermore, there was creation of social programs in the communities where the matches were held. The 2012 London Olympics was once on this route, full of promises of sustainable development which had not only promised carbon offset and green technology, but also plans to address the London housing needs, social diversity and involvement of the community (Spanne, 2014). Even though carbon campaigns were rigorous, the games failed to achieve the social goals. Doubts linger questioning the ability of this event to rise to the occasion of sustainability. It shows that the issue of sustainability is still a word of the organizers, the great vision that doesn’t solve the people’s longstanding social challenges. In Brazil’s case, FIFA launched solar panels, water conservation and waste reduction strategies with millions of money being invested on the projects, while residents were evicted from slums setting up squatter camps near the football arenas. “The number of resulting forced evictions is staggering, not only in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, but in municipalities such as Belo Horizonte and Porte Alegre” (Cisse et al., 2013, p. 282). Horne and Whannel comments that various struggles were expected to develop as a result of planned developments around the sports regions (Horne and Whannel, 2012, p. 194). As cited by Spanne (2014), Hershkowitz noted that the social injustices in Brazil could not provide assurance of environmental claims; he urged that one has to look at totality of the impacts not just being confined to material and structural objects. Though billions could be spent on such structures, issues of quality and social justice are paramount as part of a sustainable objective. Carbon Neutrality The 2014 FIFA world cup has received all praises as one of the greatest ever events with many shocking results, ranging from field matches, entertainment and solar energy application, with the latter being the most unique. It is singled out as the first ever application. It offset carbon emission promoting environmental sustainability and as Afgan and Morte suggest specific fuel consumption and carbon emission are indicators of sustainability (2004, p. 319). This effect though was not the first project to be seen in the world as Aviva had already led the way through its carbon footprints. It did so by reducing carbon emissions by monitoring resources and use of renewable electricity (Hopwood, Unerman and Fries, 2010, p. 199). There were several target regions to offset carbon emission, hence solar systems were installed. Other carbon free programs were developed in hospital and travel programs, as well as in accommodation. This is where Rio organizers scored a point. Carbon reduction has become a world trend to avert global warming (Matsunoto et al., 2012, p.999). Apart from the field solar projects, Yingu Solar had a plan to support local communities who were making positive impacts to the environment. One way was to invest carbon emission certificates from ceramic factories. This move enabled the switching of the energy system from timber to renewable biomass. Although high costs were incurred, such projects are very crucial to the development of the region as it helps to develop biodiversity and reforestation (“Edotorial Team”, 2014). When the stadiums were not in use, the solar energy could be supplied to the neighbouring communities. The solar company demonstrated that solar power is instrumental in defining the world’s future energy trend. The legacy was left in Brazil and in future, the company will be highly motivated to invest in local communities and carry out awareness through global platforms, as it was in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. After the world cup in Germany, FIFA has been improving gradually with the green goal policy aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. It focuses on water, waste, energy and transport. Under such principles and indicators, it is required that impacts on implementation costs of the policies are determined. When there are organizational costs used to undertake the social environmental responsibility, then there will be social and environmental benefits as well as good reputation for companies. FIFA as an organization is taking social responsibility seriously just as any other business activity which embraces the concept of corporate social responsibility (Habisch, 2005, p. 317). In the process, it bows to the social obligation required of an organization, whereby it is obliged to meet the legal, social, and economic responsibilities (Fox, 2006, p. 19). In Brazil’s world cup event, there was a criterion to adopt development of carbon offsets. It was to be integrated with projects and that go beyond tree plantation. From this perspective, FIFA is striving for an economical dimension of environmentalist, which according to Murray, Poole and Jones, is a social responsibility which is explored for organizational sustainability (Murray, Poole and Jones, 2006, p. 212). Failed Opportunity Despite the commitments of FIFA and the organizers of the 2014 event, it failed to perform in the following aspects of sustainability: Environment Although several features were implemented such as the green energy through solar panels, reduction of wastes and energy efficiency measures, they were only concentrated in regions that served with a handful of matches, the stadiums that would not host any major events in any foreseeable future for example the refurbishment of Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The delays caused by incomplete infrastructure transformation especially regarding the transport system forced congestion and use of air transport which added the overall carbon footprint (Gwendoline, 2014). Social sustainability The impact of globalization in urban and rural systems amongst other factors is now jeopardizing the quality of living (Polese and Stren, 2000. p. vii). Therefore, there is a need to offset the practice of subjecting cities to the needs of business and economy. A better balance between the locals and intended activities should be achieved. According to Dillard, Dujon and King, “the necessity of community involvement in environmental efforts reflects the dawning realization that social responsibility is the only bedrock on which meaningful environmental sustainability can be grounded” (2008, p. 1); therefore, the concept of social sustainability is key to sustainable development. Manzi has a different view that there are many overlaps in the interactions between the elements of sustainability (2010, p. 2). FIFA organized other social events aside the much anticipated football event. These included initiatives such as the football for hope, the program integrated football and other social developments. However, in the process of organization, many people were evicted and others displaced for example 78 families in the neighbourhood of Sao Francisco. There were also a lot of violent cases that were reported leading to deaths of locals. This event justifies what Hawkins observes as the effects of globalization that it plants the seeds of future conflicts (Hawkins, 2006, p. 5). Financial sustainability Sustainability comes in many forms and as Goldblatt S. and Goldblatt J. say, a responsible event organizer will always ensure that he pursues financial sustainability (2011, p. 4). In some sense, sustainability and financial system are closely tied (Sun, Louche and Perez, 2011, p. 7). Most of the stadiums and infrastructure cost a lot of billions; even though the government had promised that the financing of the project would be from private sectors, at the end, public finance was used. Sources say that the amount used was more than the initial budget; this preparation was in fact labelled the most expensive event that had been handled. Most people feel that the finances could have been used to improve the lives of people. In fact, the amount would have financed education, health care and transportation. Although world cup events hold much power and have the attention of the whole world, they would serve better if long term projects are put in the process. Furthermore, a good practice of sustainability is achieved if careful consideration is put in place. How Sustainable was 2014 World Cup? Although the primary aim of the 2014 sustainability slogan was reduction in emissions, it’s much more significant to have lasting benefits to majority of the people, while at the same time, minimizing any negative environmental and social impacts. The Business & human Resource Centre points out that national and international media, human rights watch, activists and NGO’s spotted some abuses as a result of massive infrastructure projects (n.d.). This happened despite the government’s assurance that any developmental activity that would involve resettlement of people was going to be conducted with people’s participation to improve transparency. The government claimed that the projects would benefit marginalized groups but in reality, several reports published suggested that human rights were abused through forced displacement, forced labour, child labour, evictions and a violent repression of protesters (“Business & Human Resource Centre”, n.d.). Carrion reports that some of the fans were not even willing to support their national team, “we are not interested in waving Brazilian flags or volunteering for world cup” one resident said, “we need jobs, we need education, we need land tittles, we need health care” (2013). The complaints were endless; they even wanted to know where the infrastructures like roads were heading to. FIFA and the organizing Committee had a plan to create awareness against discrimination. This involved application of fair play during the matches (“World Cup Books”, n.d., p. 13). Yeoman et al. say that sustainability is not only being green, but it’s also about social justice (2014, p. 118). Davies agrees with the protests due to high inequality and high levels of poverty (Davies, 2014). The protests took place even a few hours before the beginning of the world cup; police had to fire tear gas and disperse the protesters (Winter and Texeira, 2014). Some of the protests were stage-managed for political gain which is obvious. As Hanold observes, “exclusion and inclusion regarding worldwide sporting events carry major political overtones” (2012, p. 33). To this extent, some critics had already labelled the event as unsustainable (Beare, 2014). In addition, the country had been criticized for failing to make environmental policy changes that it had promised (Werntz, 2014). Questions Relating to a recent mega world event, describe the role of organizing committee towards environmental conservation? Describe and analyse the prevailing issues affecting the locals of an event hosting nation. Current events aim at promoting green development, but not all is green. Using relevant examples, discuss this claim. Bibliography Afgan, Naim H. and Della Morte. Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems. Florida: CRC Press, 2004. Andrews, Katrin. FIFA World Cup TM 2010 in South Africa: Short- and Long-term Impacts on Tourism. Hamburg: Diplomarbeiten Agentur, 2011. Beare, Dan. “How Sustainable is the World Cup?” Alternatives Journal. Canada’s Environmental Voice. 4 July 2014. http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/current-events/how-sustainable-world-cup. Black, William and Peter Nijkamp. Social Change and Sustainable Transport. Bloomington: Indiana University, 2002. Bowdin, Glenn et al. Events Management. Oxon, OX: Routledge, 2012. “Business & Human Resource Centre.” n.d. http://business-humanrights.org/en/major-sporting-events/human-rights-abuses-related-to-the-2014-fifa-world-cup-and-2016-olympic-games-in-brazil. Carrion, Maria. “Brazil’s Poor Pay World Cup Penalty.” The Progressive. 25 July 2013. http://business-humanrights.org/en/brazils-poor-pay-world-cup-penalty. Cisse, Hassane et al. The World Bank Legal Review, Volume 5: Fostering Development through Opportunity, Inclusion, and Equity. Washington: World Bank Publications, 2013. Corcoran, Peter and Philip Osano. Young People, Education, and Sustainable Development. Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Pub, 2009. Davies, Wyre. “Analysis of Brazilian Anti-World Cup Protests Hit Sao Paulo and Rio. Sao Paulo.” BBC News. 16 May 2014. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-27423404. Dillard, Jesse, Veronica Dujon, and Mary King. Understanding the Social Dimension of Sustainability. Oxon: Routledge, 2008. Fox, William. Managing Organisational Behaviour. Cape Town: Juta and Company, 2006. Goldblatt, Samuel and Joe Goldblatt. The Complete Guide to Greener Meetings and Events. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Golinska, Paulina and Marcin Hajdul. Sustainable Transport: New Trends and Business Practices. New York: Springer, 2012. Gwendoline, Ganay. “2014 World Cup: A Failed Opportunity for Sustainability in Brazil.” Sustainable Brasil. July 1, 2014. http://sustainablebrasil.com/2014-world-cup-a-failed-opportunity-for-sustainability-in-brazil/. Habisch, Andre. Corporate Social Responsibility across Europe. Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media, 2005. Hanold, Maylon. World Sports: A Reference Handbook. California: ABC-CLIO, 2012. Hawkins, David E. Corporate Social Responsibility: Balancing Tomorrow’s Sustainability and Today’s Profitability. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006. Jones, Meegan. Sustainable Event Management: A Practical Guide. Oxon: Routledge, 2011 Hopwood, Anthony, Jeffrey Unerman and Jessica Fries. Accounting for Sustainability: Practical Insights. London: Earthscan, 2010. Horne, John and Garry Whannel. Understanding the Olympics. Oxon: Routledge, 2012. Manzi, Tony. Social Sustainability in Urban Areas. London: Earthscan, 2010. Matsunoto, Mitsutaka et al. Design for Innovative Value Towards a Sustainable Society. London: Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. Murray, Peter, David Poole and Grant Jones. Contemporary Issues in Management and Organizational Behaviour. Melbourne: Cengage Learning Australia, 2006. Nelson, Velvet. An Introduction to the Geography of Tourism. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield publishers, 2013. Petzhold, Guillermo and Benoit Colin. “To Maracana and Beyond: World Cup Brings Sustainable Transport Benefits to Brazil.” World Resource Institute. July 3, 2014. http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/07/maracan%C3%A3-and-beyond-world-cup-brings-sustainable-transport-benefits-brazil. Polese, Mario and Richard Stren. The Social Sustainability of Cities. London: University of Toronto Press, 2000. Raj, Razag and James Musgrave. Event Management and Sustainability. Oxfordshire: CABI, 2009. Rapoza, Kenneth. “Post- FIFA World Cup, Focus Turns to Brazil’s Weakening Economy, Elections.” Forbes. 17 July 2014. http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2014/07/17/post-fifa-world-cup-focus-turns-to-brazils-weakening-economy-elections/. Schiller, Preston, Eric Bruun and Jeffery Kenworthy. An Introduction to Sustainable Transportation. Washington: Earthscan, 2010. Spanne, Autumn. “Greening the World Cup.” The Daily Climate. June 19, 2014. http://www.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/2014/06/green-world-cup-brazil. Sun, William, Celine Louche and Roland Perez. Finance and Sustainability: Towards a New Paradigm? Post-Crisis Agenda. Bingley: Emerald Group Publishing, 2011. Wale, Debra, Peter Robinson and Geoff Dickson. Events Management. Cambridge, MA: CABI, 2010. Werntz, Kathryn. “World Cup Nascot Fuleco Fails to Promote Ecology and Conservation. The Profitability.” The Guardian. July 1, 2014. http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/world-cup-2014-fuleco-fifa-brazil-mascot-environment-goal. Winter, Brian and Marcelo Texeira. “Brazil Police, Protesters Clash as World Cup begins.” Reuters. Sao Paulo. June 12, 2014. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/06/12/us-brazil-worldcup-protests-idUSKBN0EN1DD20140612. World Cup Books. Booksilata. n.d. Wyludda, Anja. Impact of a Mega Sports Event for a Nation. Norderstedt: Grin Verlag, 2009. Yeoman, Ian et al. The Future of Events and Festivals. Oxon: Routledge, 2014. Read More