Hungarian festival among the first in the world – towards Good Events sustainability certification with the support of Innotime
We are proud that the Innotime Hungary Kft.'s special sustainability award thanks to a domestic event, the Valley of Arts was able to become one of the first festivals in the world to participate in the new, international Good Events in the pilot phase of the sustainability certification program.
This groundbreaking rating system is Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) introduced in 2024, specifically for events and event venues is based on relevant sustainability standards. The Good Events program is supported by the internationally recognized Green Destionations organization to provide a globally uniform framework for the sustainability assessment of festivals, conferences, sporting events and MICE events.
The Innotime special award helped me get into the international pilot
By Innotime Hungary Kft. At the Tourism Gala on February 1, 2024 The special award given to the Valley of Arts gave it the opportunity to set an example on an international level as a participant in the pilot program. In the days before the event, the festival obtained the “Good Events engaged” status, and as part of the program, the festival will feature on-site audit also.
This is particularly significant, as in the first year of the program it was not yet possible to apply openly for the certification – the events participating in the pilot were selected exclusively based on recommendations from Green Destinations representatives. The Valley of the Arts is therefore one of the few in the world to be the first to receive the Good Events certification.
Qualification and next steps
To obtain the certification, events must: 37 criteria across 10 sustainability themes The preparation process in Hungary is carried out by Innotime Hungary Kft. specialists supported by Hungarian language consulting and methodological assistance. After the pilot program is completed, the official auditing process will also be available in Hungarian.
The experiences of the program and the first qualified events were reported by At the Green Destinations international conference in late September 2025 are presented to the professional audience – this is where the results of the events participating in the pilot and the future of the Good Events certification are put in the spotlight.
