Critical Analysis Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Critical Analysis - Coursework Example It is for this reason that the new mantra of sustainable event management has begun to become almost inseparable with the planning of most large scale events that intend to leave a positive legacy. INTRODUCTION The holding of special events whether they are sports events, film festivals, music festivals or conferences have become an activity that is integral to modern western culture. As a result events management has become a recognizable discipline of its own. This discipline attempts to address the various planning processes and activities that revolve around the staging of a successful event. As stated earlier any event that is held is likely to have a substantial impact on the community in which it occurs and its ecosystem. This can include: physical infrastructure, environmental impacts, economic impacts, tourism destination impacts, image enhancement, social impacts, cultural impacts, political impacts and urban renewal (The Higher Education Academy, 2007). The impact can be b oth positive and negative and it is entirely possible that one aspect such as physical infrastructure may be positively impacted while another such as the environmental impact may be negative. ... For the purposes of this paper the primary focus will remain on the various environmental impacts of staging an event. The environmental impact is an aspect of events that has traditionally been ignored by organizers along with other potentially negative impacts (The Higher Education Academy, 2007). ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS The environmental impact of an event is not something that becomes immediately obvious to the event manager. In fact, the nature and extent of environmental impact may not even be measurable. Generally the environmental impacts of an event can be grouped into positive and negative impacts. Positive impacts may include the raising of environmental awareness, development of waste land and the long-term conservation of an area. Negative impacts can include short-term and long-term damage to the location, pollution created by noise or by littering, congestion caused by traffic and the increase in energy usage caused by the event. It can be said that the majority of the e nvironmental impact is not because of the event itself but rather indirect yet natural occurrences that can be associated with the event. However, any event will undeniably have an environmental impact by virtue of the fact that attendance of the event will have an impact on the environment. For example, reaching the event itself causes the burning of fuel which in turn leads to the production of greenhouse gases that are said to cause climate change (Sawford, 2010). The most obvious of environmental impacts are those which can be measured or can be considered somewhat tangible. As mentioned above the burning of fuel and emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide can be considered as