Posidonia Exhibitions SA, the leading trade fair organiser in Greece, and Bureau Veritas , a world leader in testing, inspection, and certification, have collaborated for Posidonia 2022, the International Shipping Exhibition, to be certified as Greece’s first sustainable event. With Bureau Veritas’ support, Posidonia 2022 has become the first maritime exhibition to receive the ISO 20121 certification, attesting the industry’s commitment to organising sustainable events.

ISO 20121 is an international standard that provides guidance and best practice to help manage an event and control its social, economic, and environmental impact. Bureau Veritas successfully assessed Posidonia’s event management system according to the ISO 20121 main focus: the balanced approach and performance to economic activity, environmental responsibility and social progress.

Lessons derived from the pandemic crisis, as well as the introduction of new sustainability policies and legal requirements, were the main drivers behind Posidonia’s commitment to incorporate sustainability aspects during the planning and implementation stages of Posidonia 2022.

Theodore Vokos, Managing Director, Posidonia Exhibitions S.A, the organisers of Posidonia Exhibition and Posidonia Sea Tourism Forum, said: “We are delighted to have received this certification as it’s a testimony to the sustainability credentials of our signature event. The thorough auditing process we underwent under the guidance of Bureau Veritas made us delve deeper into crucial areas of our operations, helped boost our people’s interest in sustainability, sharpened the team’s focus and attention to detail and armed us with renewed drive and desire to continue our efforts to produce the high quality, internationally acclaimed events Posidonia has become synonymous to.”

Paillette Palaiologou, Vice President Marine & Offshore Division South East Europe, Black Sea & Adriatic Zone, said: “Congratulations to Posidonia team for taking the initiative and achieving this great result. The ISO 20121 certification is a recognition of their efforts to make this event even more sustainable. The collaboration throughout the process was very effective and we were pleased to be by the side of the Posidonia team to guide them through.”

The ISO 20121 international standard specifies the requirements that need to be implemented for a company’s sustainability management system to improve the sustainability of events. It is applicable to organisations involved in the design and delivery of events and accommodates diverse geographical, cultural, and social conditions. It requires organisations to recognise their relationship with – and their impact on – society, and society’s expectations of events. It intends to improve sustainability throughout the entire event management cycle. The standard is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of well-being, equality, clean water, clean energy, economic growth, sustainable cities, responsible consumption, climate, sustainable industrialisation, reducing inequalities, and inclusive societies.

Bureau Veritas certification services, aligned with its credible portfolio of services for the Maritime sector since 1828, ensure credibility and added value of audits in a wide range of services in all economic and social sectors. Sustainability assessment and certification services are expected to take the lead in the forthcoming years, getting placed among quality, safety, environmental, risk management and other well established and implemented priorities of organisations globally.