BNQ Standard 9700-253

The Réseau des femmes en environnement, which launched the Conseil québécois des événements écoresponsables (CQEER) in 2008, mandated the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ) to develop a standard for responsible event management. The Réseau and the Conseil are certified by the BNQ 9700-253 for their responsible management practices.

Published in 2010, the BNQ standard for Responsible Event Management (9700-253) serves as a reference framework for a voluntary certification program. It gives event planners, service suppliers, participants and users an opportunity to collaborate on creating events with a limited environmental footprint and increased economic and social benefits for communities.

Based on a points-system leading to 5 levels of classification, it includes 56 special requirements covering five different fields:

1. supplier selection;
2. equipment, power and water management;
3. waste management;
4. food selection;
5. transportation choices

Here are the five classification labels, strictly reserved for those who comply with the standard:

Many reasons prompted the CQEER and it’s partners to initiate a responsible event management standard:

• It establishes a consensus and offers leads on sustainable development for new generations of events, everywhere in Québec.
• It establishes a frame of references specifying requirements to be met when planning an event with good sustainable management pratices.
• It is based on the consensus of stakeholder opinions from the events community, such as event organizers, their clients, their suppliers, their sponsors, etc.
• It gives credibility to the term “sustainable” event.
• It can be used as a guide for event organizers, by establishing priorities in order to carry out sustainable actions.
• It comes from a certification program offered by the BNQ. The third party inspection carried out by an independent organization, such as the BNQ, is the most trusted form of conformance verification. The certification confirms that the organization complies with the standard. The BNQ logo can only be used by the organizations which comply with the standard.
• It therefore recognises the efforts undertaken by the managers of ecoresponsible events.

For more information on this standard, visit the BNQ‘s website. If you wish to certify your next event in compliance with this standard or learn more about it, please contact us.