UCF and Event Cornwall pilot new eco-friendly event management MA module

A course exploring eco-friendly and sustainable event management has been developed by Event Cornwall and University College Falmouth.

The equivalent to MA-level pilot module in Sustainable Event Management examines the impacts of live music and events on the environment, ethical processes and carbon footprints of large projects.

It also looks beyond the environmental impact by exploring market opportunities, sustainable funding and viability of events.

The course has been piloted through Education 360, a University College Falmouth initiative, funded through HERDA's Higher Level Skills Pathfinder project, which is aimed at offering higher education opportunities to businesses.

Event Cornwall director Claire Eason-Bassett said: "There's no denying that large events can have a significant impact on the environment with their use of resources, creation of waste and carbon emissions through audiences travelling to the site.

"But we're also very interested in creating events that grow sustainably and responsibly. There are so many arts and creative events out there so we want to explore the markets in which they operate."

The pilot module is being delivered over three tutorial days with additional research and distance learning.

There is also opportunity for students to get involved with live events, such as the City of Lights parade, Truro's highest profile event which attracts 20,000 visitors each year.

Areas of study include:

• Developing sustainable management practices
• Impact of events and calculating their carbon footprint
• Ethics of sustainability
• Financial viability and ethical decision making

Rick Rogers, Business Fellow in Music for University College Falmouth, said: "Event management and work in the music industry is a hugely popular career choice, but it's very important that we understand what impact this has on the environment.

"Creating sustainable events that audiences can continue to enjoy year after year is the key to the future development of this industry."

www.eventcornwall.co.uk

www.falmouth.ac.uk

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Press release distributed on behalf of Event Cornwall by mpad. For more information, images or interviews, please contact Rachel Picken, 01872 321533, rachel@mpad.co.uk.

Notes to editors:

About University College Falmouth

University College Falmouth is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the powers to award degrees in its own name. It has two campuses in Cornwall - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns, and jointly manages with the University of Exeter) - and a third campus at Totnes in Devon, following its merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008.

This merger created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing. The Devon-based courses will relocate to a new, high-specification Performance Centre at Tremough in 2010, paving the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2012/2013 that will be unique to the South West.

The College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

About ERDF

Education 360 is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, part of Convergence, a multi-million pound European support programme designed to increase employment, skills and economic performance. Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly qualified for Convergence in 2005 because economic performance between 2000 and 2002 was below 75% of the European Union average.

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