At Primary, sustainability stands alongside every other aspect of our service, integral to our ‘Experience more’ ethos. It’s never an optional box-ticking exercise or about meeting minimum standards, but a responsibility to go further. A commitment to deliver measurable impact for our clients, drive progress across our industry, and create a lasting positive legacy through every project we deliver.
We’re proud to share that Primary is now accredited with ISO 20121: Event Sustainability Management. An international standard that helps organisations make sustainability measurable, meaningful, and embedded into every stage of event delivery.
But what does that mean in practical terms?
A Standard that goes Beyond Standard
Our existing certifications in ISO 9001 (Quality Management Systems) and ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems) provide frameworks that help us uphold the highest standards of quality and environmental responsibility.
ISO 20121 takes this even further.
It integrates sustainability across the full event lifecycle, from planning and sourcing to delivery and evaluation. Bringing sustainability to the forefront of every discussion and decision, ensuring it becomes a driving force rather than an afterthought.
And that’s where it delivers real value for our clients.
1. Sustainability Built into the Brief
Every project now begins with sustainability on an equal footing with creativity, logistics, and budget. This means sustainability objectives are embedded from day one, rather than added later in the process.
We use a bespoke Event Impact Assessment, designed in-house, to measure the environmental and social impact of each event against the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This helps identify opportunities to reduce carbon footprint, strengthen local supply chains, and create meaningful community benefit, combining purpose with performance.
2. A Transparent, Measurable Approach
Through ISO 20121, we’ve formalised how we track, report, and share sustainability data, from energy usage to supplier selection and waste management.
For clients, this means access to defined, reportable metrics to evidence ESG performance and sustainability progress, without the complexity of building frameworks from scratch.
It’s also part of our wider roadmap as a signatory of the Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge, aligning with UK and global targets to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve Net Zero before 2050.
3. Stronger Supply Chain Collaboration
Our new Sustainable Supplier Questionnaire allows us to understand and benchmark the environmental and social performance of our supply chain partners.
This framework encourages accountability, promotes shared learning, and cultivates long-term improvement across our partnerships.
Rather than setting hard cut-off points for any suppliers who are still developing their sustainability practices, our focus is on collaboration. That’s why we work closely with our partners to progress standards collectively across every project we deliver.
4. Empowering Teams to Think Sustainably
ISO certification provides a base for ongoing learning.
Our team has undertaken extensive training, attended industry seminars, and implemented new processes to make sustainability a natural part of every project role.
For clients, this means working with a team that is informed by the latest standards, proactive in approach, and focused on embedding best practice across every stage of project delivery.
5. A Future-focused Framework
ISO 20121 is one milestone as part of a longer journey.
Our roadmap also includes progress towards B Corp certification, broadening our focus beyond environmental responsibility to encompass wider social and governance impact.
Together, these commitments ensure that every project we deliver not only meets exceptional creative and operational standards but also reflects our shared values of responsibility, transparency, and continuous improvement.
In practice, this means for our clients:
- Earlier integration of sustainability into event design and planning.
- Data-driven impact reporting for ESG and stakeholder communications.
- Confidence that every event aligns with recognised international standards.
- A collective approach that supports business goals and carbon objectives.
With ISO 20121, sustainability becomes a working practice; measurable, managed, and meaningful. Creating impact means thinking beyond the event day, in helping our clients build events and businesses that leave a lasting, positive legacy.
