Certification of the Event Sustainability Management System for Cultural Events

This thesis focuses on the implementation of a sustainability management system according to the international standard ISO 20121 in the context of a non-profit cultural organization Institute of Documentary Film (IDF), which became the first organization in the Czech Republic to complete the certification process for this standard. The theoretical part addresses the importance of sustainability in the cultural sector and introduces ISO 20121 as a tool for systematically managing the environmental, social, and economic impacts of cultural events. The aim of the thesis is to describe the entire process of implementing the sustainability management system at IDF – from the initial decision, through the specific setup of the system, to the certification audit – and to evaluate its benefits based on an analysis of internal documentation, interviews, and participant feedback. The findings show that the implementation contributed to improved internal processes, enhanced transparency, and a deeper integration of sustainability principles into the organization’s operations. Based on these insights, the thesis formulates specific recommendations that may be valuable to other cultural institutions seeking a responsible and systematic aproach to event management.