Communication of Sustainability Performance of Large Events

Abstract

Businesses who acknowledge that their activities have potential impacts on the environment and society as well as the economy, are increasingly choosing to commu- nicate their performance in sustainability reports. Large events are not exempt from having significant impacts and event organizers are accountable to their stakeholders on equal terms as other businesses.Employing a literature study and stakeholder analysis as the primary methods, the aim of this study was to give an overview of and evaluate reporting mechanisms for sustainability reporting for large events and to apply the findings to the case event Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games 2016.Reporting schemes were judged on three significant characteristics: Applicabil- ity for event organizers, adaptability to the available resources, and credibility. The Global Reporting Initiative?s Reporting Guidelines and Event Organizer Sector Sup- plement (EOSS) stood out as the prevailing scheme, and Lillehammer 2016?s orga- nizing committee was recommended to use this as starting point for their reporting. Because the majority of impacts will result from the operational phase, issuing a sustainability report will be most worthwhile after the games have taken place. Ten indicators were chosen from the EOSS for use in reports.The findings of this study support a close relation between stakeholder manage- ment and sustainability communication. Sustainability reports should mainly be aimed at stakeholder groups with a high interest in enhancing the event?s sustain- ability performance.