1st Edition

The Routledge Handbook of Events and Sustainability

Edited By Julie Whitfield, Mary Beth Gouthro, Miguel Moital Copyright 2025
    370 Pages 20 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    This book provides a comprehensive overview and systematic guide to the current state of knowledge on events and sustainability. Offering multidisciplinary insights from leading scholars, the book explores contemporary issues, challenges and trends.

    The book starts with an introduction by the editors, defining key concepts and issues, as well as a discussion of the sustainable event debates. Specifically commissioned and carefully selected individual contributions are divided into eight main sections which critically explore the key areas of events and sustainability, providing expert-led insights into timely and relevant topics such as social and cultural responsibility, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, sustainable events and education, inclusivity, supply side and technology and sustainability. The book concludes with a discussion by the editors of the debates in event sustainability, with a view to identify emerging issues and future research agendas.

    This handbook will be of pivotal interest to scholars, students and policy-makers working in events, tourism, and hospitality management.

    1. Introduction

    Julie Whitfield, Mary Beth Gouthro and Miguel Moital

     

     

    Part 1. Bridging the Gaps in Event Sustainability

     

    2. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and events – A Missed Opportunity? 

    Judith Mair

     

    3. Bridging the Gap: Navigating the Transition to Sustainable Events 

    Fiona Pelhem

     

    4. Leadership in Sustainability: The Ocean Race

    Meegan Jones

     

    Part 2. Social and Cultural Responsibility

     

    5. Reporting Sustainable Impacts for Tourism Events and Festivals

    Brendon Knott, Talent Moyo and Janice Hemmonsbey

     

    6. Sustainable Mega-event Legacies

    Rutendo Musikavanhu

     

    7. Well-being and Events: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3, Target 3.4

    Brianna B. Ryder-Maki, Julie Whitfield and Mary Beth Gouthro

     

    8. A Netnographic Study into Cultural Diversity and Inclusion at the Platinum Jubilee Pageant

    Lisa Male and Julie Whitfield

     

    9. Safeguarding Living Heritage: An Experiencescape Approach to Explore the Traditional Cultural Festival Sustainability

    Chi Wo Kwan (Kate) and Zhaoyu Chen (Vicky)

     

    Part 3. Economic Sustainability

     

    10. Making Events More Sustainable: Events Management and the Circular Economy 

    Daniel Baxter and Caroline Gallagher

     

    11. Uncovering Links between Poverty and Festival Provision 

    Mary Beth Gouthro, Karen Davies, Nic Matthews and Vicky Richards

     

    12. Organisational Improvision and Economic Sustainability in the Corporate Events Sector as a Response to COVID-19 Restrictions 

    Nicole Long and Miguel Moital

    Part 4. Environmental Sustainability

     

    13. Going Green: A Longitudinal Study on the China Import and Export (Canton) Fair 

    Qiuju Luo, Xiangru Qin and Dixi Zhong

     

    14. Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Normative Message Framing on Changing Recycling Attitudes at Outdoor Music Festivals

    Jasmine White and Miguel Moital

     

    15. Environmental Leverage through Sport Event Portfolios

    Tami Lanzendorf and Lusine Mararyan

     

    16. The Influence of Personal Values on Environmental Sustainability in Business Events in Asia

    Stephanie M. F. Lee and Paul K. H. Leung

     

    Part 5. Sustainable Events and Education

     

    17. Events as an Educational Platform for Sustainability 

    Chiara Orefice

     

    18. The Attitude-behaviour Gap when Buying Sustainably Produced at Food Festivals: The Cost Barrier

    Zoe Bridgeman, Julie Whitfield and Miguel Moital

     

    19. Transformative Sustainability Learning (TSL) through Sport Event Volunteering in Local Communities: Applications from the PlayGreen Project

    Niki Koutrou and Geoffery Z. Kohe

     

    Part 6. Inclusivity and Sustainability

     

    20. Gender Imbalance in Events: Addressing the Speaker Gender Gap in Business Events

    Siân Pudney and Paola Vizcaino

     

    21. Queer Inclusivity at Sport Events: The Role of Sports Supporter Groups

    Sage Kuo and Katherine King

     

    Part 7. Supply Side

     

    22. Greenwashing the Field: Corporate Exploitation, Sport Events and Environmental Deceit

    Toby Miller

     

    23. Sustainability Sponsorship: Fundamentals, Forms, and Factors to Success

    Guido Grunwald and Jurgen Schwill

     

    24. Human Rights Considerations for Sustainable Procurement and the Events Sector

    Colleen Theron

     

    25. Framework for Sustainable Health and Safety Practices in the Events Industry in Africa

    Magdalena P. (Nellie) Swart, Leonie B. Louw and Eliza Esterhuyzen

     

    26. Perceptions and Practices of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Implementation in Conference Centres

    Charlie Orsman, Julie Whitfield and Miguel Moital

     

    Part 8. Technology and Sustainability

     

    27. Business Events and Innovative Greening Technologies

    Dirk Hagen

     

    28. Considering the Potential for Increasing Sustainability at UK Music Festivals by Monetising ICT Enhanced Content to Fund Reductions in Overall On-site Capacity

    Adrian C. C. Bossey

     

    29. Virtual Events as Sustainability Driver? Creative Destruction, Motorsport, and the Case of Extreme E

    Hans Erik Næss and Jeongbeom Hahm

     

     

    30. Conclusion

    Julie Whitfield, Mary Beth Gouthro and Miguel Moital

    Biography

    Julie Whitfield joined Bournemouth University in September 2005, where she is the Postgraduate Programme Leader for the M.Sc. Events Management programmes in the Sport & Events Management Department in BU Business School. She is a Senior Lecturer in Conference and Events Management, specialising within UK conference events sector. Her Ph.D. was sponsored by the London Chambers of Commerce and Industry Commercial Educational Trust (LCCICET), the title being ‘An analysis and critique of an evolving conference industry within the U.K. from post war to the present day’. Julie lectures on the Masters Event Management programme at Bournemouth University and is the Co-founder of the Making Waves conference.

    Mary Beth Gouthro is a Senior Academic in the Sports & Events Management Department in the Bournemouth University Business School.  Her research interests in events span the event/festival experience; event sustainability and aspects of customer satisfaction in events. Mary Beth is currently an executive member of Association for Event Management Educators (AEME) and leads AEME’s Event Sustainability SIG (Special Interest Group).  Mary Beth is also a member of Bournemouth University’s SAN (Sustainability Academic Network) and is a Climate Fresk trained facilitator.

    Miguel Moital is a Principal Academic in Events Management in the Department of Sport & Events Management, Bournemouth University Business School. Miguel's research interests include broad issues around the marketing of events, tourism and hospitality, with an emphasis on consumer psychology. He currently lectures on the Foundation Year and on the BA (Hons) Events Management. He also regularly supervises a number of UG and PG dissertations. In line with his passion of supervising students, in 2020 Miguel launched the Dissertation Academy YouTube Channel where he shares unique tips & tools to help students from across the world to write better dissertations & theses.