ESSA announced two significant initiatives at this year’s AGM – the launch of two carbon calculators and its first ever mentoring programme.
As part of its continued provision of industry-leading services, ESSA now offers members access to two new carbon calculators to support their journey towards becoming ESSA Accredited in Sustainability. The first calculator enables members to determine the carbon footprint of their entire business, whilst the second focuses on calculating the carbon footprint of individual projects.
In the race to net zero, this is significant for members as 2025 marks the year that the events industry must begin measuring and calculating their carbon footprint to align with global targets.
ESSA Director Andrew Harrison said: “Our mission at ESSA has always been to provide our members with all the resources necessary to achieve accreditation and continuously measure their daily activities to ensure alignment with their sustainability goals. ESSA prides itself on delivering a comprehensive support system for members to attain an industry recognised quality standard, which reflects the dedication and hard work each member company commits to achieving sustainable events.”
ESSA is also proud to announce the launch of a mentoring scheme across all aspects of the association. Aimed at creating trusted mentors within the membership, this new service is dedicated to one-to-one knowledge sharing, with the sole ambition being to foster a stronger ESSA community by supporting growth and professional development amongst members.
A significant part of ESSA’s recent work has been helping companies identify, access and understand the information they need to successfully work abroad to restore trust and confidence. In addition to the in-depth online working abroad resource available to its 300+ members, ESSA will launch an email and telephone helpline on 1 August, offering members visa guidance specifically for the exhibitions industry.
Finally, ESSA unveiled two new logos for its Health & Safety and Sustainability Accreditations. Providing a clear distinction between standard membership and accredited status, these modern designs have been crafted to clearly communicate the attainment of a universally recognised standard.
Concluding the AGM was the appointment of new ESSA board members which saw Dan Edwards, Managing Director of Whitespace Group and Jason Stead, President, GES EMEA Exhibitions re-elected for a further term. In addition, two newly elected board members were Noel Reeves, CEO of Rocket Exhibition Services and Katie Whatley, CMO of FFAIR Ltd.
ESSA 2024/25 Board:
MARIJA ERZEN - CHAIR
Co- Owner & Director, Solutions2
ROB BRACKSTONE – VICE CHAIR
Managing Director, ESM Ltd
ALEXANDRA BAILEY
Managing Director, Creative8 Ltd
MARTIN CAIRNS
Managing Director, Beechwood Events
DAN EDWARDS
Managing Director, Whitespace Group
ANDREW HICKINBOTHAM
Sales Director, Tecna UK Ltd
NOEL REEVES
CEO, Rocket Exhibition Services
JOHN ROBSON
Managing Director, Aztec Event Services
OLIVER SMART
Managing Director, Jonas Event Technology
JASON STEAD
President, GES EMEA Exhibitions
KANE THOMAS
Commercial Director, Full Circle Events & Exhibitions Ltd
KATIE WHATLEY
CMO, FFAIR Ltd
