Green ICT practices in event management: case study approach to examine motivation, management and fiscal return on investment

Abstract

Events are a key component to tourism and play an active role in the development and marketing of a destination (Getz 2007). Festivals, in particular, are an exciting way for communities to celebrate culture, sense of place and social change (Picard and Robinson 2006). However, events’ impact on environmental sustainability has been difficult to measure due to their short duration, high visitor volume, diversity of clientele, and the intangible nature of the event experience (Getz 1989). Proenvironmental attitudes are being adopted by governing agencies that support event planning, although debate surrounds the most efficient means to integrate such goals (Mair and Laing 2013). Fredline et al. (2005) argue that sustainability in event management must be promoted through planning and management practices that deter negative outcomes and encourage positive ones. However, the more traditional motivation for green events come from a need to improve the financial bottom-line rather than a commitment to environmental values (Mair and Jago 2010) and technology is seen as an avenue to achieve this. The management and adoption of ‘‘Green ICT’’ in event businesses are just beginning to be broached in academic circles. Information communication technology (ICT) has become a holistic integrated system of networked equipment and software, which enables effective data processing and communication for an organisation’s benefit (Buhalis and Law