How do sustainability and certifications influence the organisation of event agencies?

In today’s business environment, sustainability is no longer a trend — it’s a key differentiator for organisations. While there is increasing legal pressure to adopt more responsible and transparent practices, companies are also facing growing demands to demonstrate that these practices are genuine and well-established. In this context, certifications such as B Corp, ISO standards and other quality seals are not only transforming how companies operate and communicate their value proposition, but are also having a significant impact on specific industries — events included.

Redefining a company’s DNA
Choosing to pursue these certifications involves much more than documentation. Committing to these standards requires meeting rigorous social, environmental, transparency and accountability criteria. As a result, companies are often compelled to undergo a deep internal transformation. And it’s no easy task — it involves rethinking the entire business model from the ground up: from supplier selection and waste management to employee wellbeing and the impact that each production has on the local community.

Nevertheless, the effort is worth it. Achieving certifications such as B Corp or ISO not only enhances credibility and positions the company as a leader in sustainability, but also meets growing market demand: clients, brands and institutions seeking to work with strategic partners aligned with their values. In this context, working with a certified agency is not just a responsible choice — it’s the most coherent decision aligned with a sustainable future.

How SOMOS Experiences has evolved through B Corp certification
Although we had already identified the importance of integrating sustainability as a core element of our value proposition, it’s in recent years that this commitment has taken on a deeper and more transversal dimension across our organisation.

As a result, we’ve seen our processes evolve: applying stricter criteria when designing each project, selecting like-minded partners who are certified and locally based — to reduce our impact — and developing ideas rooted in resource reuse, giving a second life to materials that cannot be reused by partnering with associations that transform them into new products.

But this transformation hasn’t only been operational. Internally, we have redefined our strategic pillars, fostered a more conscious organisational culture, and trained our teams so that sustainability becomes a shared and genuinely applied value. We have also developed policies that promote equality, wellbeing and transparency, reinforcing trust both within and outside the company.

Going a step further: towards regenerative events
While all of this marks an important step for an industry based on the ephemeral, simply doing “no harm” is no longer enough. Agencies and event producers must go one step further — innovating and exploring new ground to achieve a new concept: regenerative events. This concept goes beyond reducing negative impact; it seeks to generate a lasting and positive effect on the natural environment, local communities and the economy of the area where the experience takes place.

In this new paradigm, certifications such as B Corp or compliance with environmental and social regulations are not the end goal, but the starting point. They are the foundation for building proposals that leave a positive legacy, drive meaningful change, and contribute to a fairer and more sustainable future.

 

Written by María Cáceres, ESG & Certifications Specialist at SOMOS Experiences.