How can sustainability enhance the profitability of events Organization Companies in the UK?
General Background
Event management is defined as the application of the project management strategies and the approach in creating and developing large events on large scale (Chang and Slaubaugh, 2016, p.17). Events are classified into many forms such as ceremonies, concerts, festivals, conference, formal parties, conventions, and conferences (Pernecky, 2015, p.5). During the most recent years, the event industry saw outstanding growth and it now generates billions of dollars every year. Event planning is a process that involves a number of steps depending on the size, the purpose and the budget of the event. However, this process encompasses the planning and coordinating events activities (Pernecky, 2015, p.9). Apart from being one of the fastest growing industries, the event industry is one of the main contributors to the economy. Therefore, companies operating in this industry are expected to be keen on the effect of their influence on the environment and the well-being of the community (Pernecky, 2015, p.13). Due to the growing environmental concerns, the relationship between the event company’s performance and the level of consideration that the company gives to the environment protection is significant (Brown, 2010, p.21). It is in light of the above description that this research seeks to answer the following questions:
Research questions:
? What are the acceptable sustainable practices in the event industry?
? How can the event organization companies in UK implement and enhance sustainability in their activities?
? How can sustainability contribute to the performance and profitability of the event organization companies UK?
? How can event companies align their objectives and business practices with the current volatile environment?
The objectives of the study
This study is aimed to achieve the following objectives.
? Assessing the current trends in the UK event industry
? Analyzing different challenges affecting the current event industry and the event organization companies in UK
? Understanding the role of sustainability to the performance of event organization companies
? Examining the economic implications of sustainability in the event industry
Scope of the study
The main focus of this study is the role of sustainability in the performance of events organization companies. This study is limited to the event industry since it is one of the most developed and well organized compared to other industries. The choice of this research topic and case study was strategic due to time constraint and availability of data.
Methodology of research
The research methodology consists of how the study will be carried out. For example, the methodology of research entails the data collection and data analysis techniques used for the study as well as the sources of data (Degu and Yigzaw, 2006, p.3).
Therefore, due to the time constraint, this study will use the secondary source of data. The secondary source of data consists of data from existing reports, other research results, and press release. The data analysis technique used for this study is qualitative technique since it is the most accurate technique in ensuring better results and to assess statistical data.
Literature review
Sustainability in business practice is important to the success of any business regardless of its industry, size and business purpose (Pelham, 2011, p.17). Different studies pointed out that a company that puts a lot of emphasis on the impact of its operations on the environment is likely to attract many customers than a company that does not consider implementing sustainability (N. Burhan and Rahmanti, 2012, p.29). Since the event industry also has the responsibility to protect the environmental, it is important that event organization companies make sustainability a key competitive force. Sustainability in the event industry is far beyond environmental protection as it also involves corporate social responsibility (Pelham, 2011, p.19). For example, events provide companies and other public institutions with the opportunity to promote different initiative on sustainability. Some of these include sponsoring the events to introduce new policies on sustainability among others.
Different reports pointed out that sustainability in the event industry can be defined as planning and organizing events in a way that does not affect the environment. It should be noted that the events industry has the abilities to bring together people from different backgrounds and countries hence facilitating the transmission of the message and shaping a positive image of the host country (Sanders, 2011, para.5). Sustainability can, therefore, contribute and enhance the performance of the event organization companies in many ways.
First, an event company that promotes sustainability attracts many customers because apart from buying its products or services, they also consider the process and the value that this particular service will offer to them (Sanders, 2011, para.4). Additionally, sustainability is a competitive advantage and therefore an event company may rely on sustainability to compete and to gain a competitive advantage over the industry that is increasingly becoming competitive.
Taking into consideration the UK volatile business environment, the event industry is one of the largest and most promising industries (Sanders, 2011, para.3). Therefore, the increasing pressure and the growing number of activists requiring businesses to enhance sustainability will also force event companies to shift their focus to sustainability. As a result, companies that will demonstrate the best use and implementation of sustainability in all their activities will shape a positive image hence increasing the value of their services (N. Burhan and Rahmanti, 2012, p.33).
Types of sustainability
There are four main types of sustainability namely, economic, social, human and environmental sustainability. Since these types of sustainability are quite different and each type has its own characteristics, the main focus of this study is on the environmental sustainability (Goodlan, 2002, p.2). The reason is that a big number of companies also implemented the corporate social responsibility living behind their responsibilities to protect the environment. Therefore, the study sought to highlight the extent to which environmental sustainability can enhance the profitability and performance of events organization companies.
The relationship between sustainability and profitability
Based on the above description, it can be argued that the relationship between sustainability and good performance is significant. Talking about performance, it is important to mention financial performance or profitability. This is because sustainability has also become one key competitive force in the business amidst the likes of IT, business technologies and human resources (Burhan and Rahmanti, 2012, p.26). It is also argued that companies with good reputations are the most likely to attract qualified employees, potential customers and investors hence contributing to the achievement of the organisational objectives (Burhan and Rahmanti, 2012, p.28). In addition, focusing on sustainability may help the company to reduce costs involved in advertising and waste management, which in turn can increase its net profit. In fact, given the changing nature of the current event industry, it is obvious that the role of sustainability in increasing the profitability and profitability of event organization companies is undeniable.

Bibliography
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