New version BS8901 gets praise ... but at a price

A new version  of the British Standard for sustainable events, BS8901 has been praised for a new simpler format and a continued committment to sustainability principles, but the Managing Director of Seventeen Events, one of the original six companies which trialled the Standard before it was published said that although he welcomes the new version, he feels that it may prove too expensive for some organisations to afford. Andrew Williams told Main Event magazine (www.themaineventmagazine.co.uk) that "I think the amount of money the BSI are charging for the standard is out of synch with current economic conditions" adding "at £138 + VAT many smaller organisations will be put off from buying BS8901, especially when many will have paid for the earlier version that has now been withdrawn.  I think it would be a gesture of goodwill if BSI were to offer some kind of discount, at least to companies who had already purchased BS8901." Andrew added that to show his company's committment to the new version, his company was  offering an hours free consultancy to any organisation, supplier or venue who needs an update on the Standard.In other news, it was nice to see that Firefly Solar has won the Supplier of the Year Award at the 2009 Event Awards with MD Andy Mead saying "we are extremely pleased to have recived recognition for our hard workover the past two years and are glad the events industry is welcoming new companies and embracing evolving technologies like ours.http://www.seventeenevents.co.uk/news/help-with-the-new-version-of-bs8901/www.fireflysolar.co.uk and info@fireflysolar.co.uk