Globally Certified Sustainable Event Production Services
Last updated: September 2026
Audiences remember how an experience made them feel, not the carbon math behind it. Our job is to handle both. Sparks produces live events that match your brief and hold to environmental standards. As one of the brands within The Freeman Company (TFC), we work from a single, published sustainability policy with measurable, time-bound goals and internationally certified practices. The ambition you see on stage is matched by discipline driving it.
What Is Sustainable Event Production?
Sustainable event production involves designing, building, and running live events to account for their impact across materials, energy, transport, waste, and water. At Sparks, this is the operating standard for every show, applied through The Freeman Company‘s sustainability policy and the certifications behind it.
Through The Freeman Company, those standards come with numbers: a 50% cut in scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, and net zero and zero-waste events by 2050. Scope 1 covers emissions from sources TFC owns or controls directly; scope 2 covers emissions from the energy TFC purchases, like electricity.
What that looks like in practice:
- • Design and material choices that cut waste and impact from the first sketch
- • Lower-carbon, energy-efficient power on site
- • Responsible sourcing and logistics across the value chain
- • A resource hierarchy applied to every build: Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle
- • Responsible water and resource management
- • Measurement and transparent reporting against time-bound goals
How Sparks Delivers Sustainable Brand Experiences and Events
Sparks delivers sustainable events through six connected services: sustainability-first strategy, sustainable design and fabrication, measurement and transparent reporting, sustainable sourcing and logistics, waste reduction and circular materials, and energy and power strategy. One integrated team owns all six, so environmental decisions carry from planning through teardown.
The Methodology and Standards Behind the Work
Sparks works to The Freeman Company’s sustainability policy, a single standard that applies across all TFC-controlled operations globally. It uses the UN Sustainable Development Goals as its framework, applies a resource hierarchy to every build, runs defined event-floor operating policies, and holds independent certification to keep the standard honest.
TFC uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as its framework and prioritizes the eight that align most with the business. The set reaches well beyond carbon, which is the point: sustainability here covers people and partnerships, not emissions alone.
- SDG 3 — Good Health and Well-Being
- SDG 5 — Gender Equality
- SDG 7 — Affordable and Clean Energy
- SDG 9 — Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
- SDG 10 — Reduced Inequalities
- SDG 12 — Responsible Consumption and Production
- SDG 13 — Climate Action
- SDG 17 — Partnerships for the Goals
Sparks applies a five-step order to materials on every project: Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle. Waste is designed out first, and what remains is repurposed or recycled rather than sent to landfill.
Three standing policies govern how a show runs. The Power-Down Policy powers down or low-powers all non-essential equipment and lighting each night. The Pack In Pack Out Policy requires every item brought to an event to have a post-event solution. The No Idling Policy requires drivers to shut off engines during loading and unloading and whenever idle beyond five minutes, with narrow exceptions for safety.
Sparks operates under TFC’s environmental management certifications, ISO 14001 (environmental management) and ISO 20121 (sustainable event management), and TFC’s Gold-level certification to the Events Industry Council’s Sustainable Event Standards, independently audited.
TFC reviews its goals at least annually and reports progress publicly through its annual Impact Report and recognized frameworks including CDP and EcoVadis.
How a Sustainable Program Comes Together
A sustainable program moves through five stages: Plan, Design, Source and Build, Operate and Measure, and Recover and Report. Targets are set against TFC’s goals before design begins, held through the build and the show, and closed out with reporting and improvement actions after teardown.
01 Plan and Set Targets
Sparks sets environmental objectives for the program against TFC’s net zero and zero-waste goals before design begins.
02 Design
Sparks applies sustainability-first and Reduce principles to creative and structural decisions.
03 Source & Build
Sparks handles sustainable procurement, modular in-house fabrication, and low-impact logistics.
04 Operate & Measure
Sparks runs the event under TFC’s event-floor policies, including Power-Down, Pack In Pack Out, and No Idling, and tracks impact against the program’s targets.
05 Recover & Report
Sparks repurposes, reuses, and recycles at teardown, then reports progress and improvement actions through TFC’s reporting.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sustainable Event Production
Yes. Sparks works to The Freeman Company’s (TFC) sustainability policy, which applies to all TFC-controlled operations globally and is published for clients, suppliers, and the public. It uses the UN Sustainable Development Goals as its framework and is reviewed and signed at least annually.
Through TFC, Sparks works toward three measurable, time-bound goals: cut scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, reach net zero by 2050, and achieve zero waste in facilities by 2035 and at events by 2050.
Sparks designs waste out first, then applies a Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle hierarchy to what remains. On site, standing policies govern the work: Power-Down for non-essential equipment, Pack In Pack Out so every item has a post-event solution, and No Idling for vehicles.
Yes. Sparks operates under TFC’s ISO 14001 and ISO 20121 certifications and TFC’s Gold-level certification to the Events Industry Council’s Sustainable Event Standards, which is independently audited. Progress is reported publicly through TFC’s Impact Report, CDP, and EcoVadis.
Sparks serves a variety of industries; however, the company specializes in technology, fintech, healthcare, and sports & entertainment.
Build a Brand Experience That Performs.
Talk to our team about a live event that hits the brief and meets real environmental standards from the first planning session.