Sustainability body isla appoints communications lead Ellie Ashton-Melia

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Ellie Ashton-Melia is joining isla as Member Engagement and Communications Lead, following the successful launch of the organisation, Autumn 2020. isla’s mission is to accelerate the industry transition to sustainable events and has quickly grown to over 50 members. It now looks to both continue this growth, and offer more value to existing supporters, through the appointment of Ellie, who starts next month.

The appointment is a signal of the continuing ambition of isla, with further expansion planned for 2021, enabling the organisation to help event businesses prioritise sustainability as live events return.

With a background in marketing and events and a passion for sustainability, Ellie was previously creative producer at brand experience agency Clive. She also worked freelance as a marketing and sustainability consultant for Langley’s Gin, where she devised the brand’s sustainability strategy, mapped the company’s carbon footprint and implemented a reduction plan and has been working towards their B Corp accreditation.

Ellie will be the first point of contact for all members, ensuring that they can get the most out of being part of the isla network, driving peer to peer knowledge sharing and helping amplify member success stories and learnings. She will also be responsible for isla’s marketing and communications, promoting the tools and resources it has to offer companies looking to become more sustainable.

Speaking about the plans for the year, Ben Quarrell, isla Co Founder said “We’ve got so many exciting things planned for 2021 as we head towards COP26, including the release of our measurement software, a universal sustainability scoring system for events and a membership and working group specifically focused on solving the challenges around sustainable print. Ellie is going to add a whole new dimension to the team, help us grow and ensure that all our members, who have supported us in such a tough year, can reap the benefits as we increase our impact together.”

Ellie can’t wait to get started, and speaking about her appointment she said “Until now there hasn’t been a source for agencies, brands, or suppliers to turn to when trying to deliver sustainable events. isla provides the expertise and guidance that the industry so desperately needs at a critical time as live events return. I am excited to be working closely with our incredible members to grow our network so that collectively we can make the events industry greener.“

Having successfully launched a nonprofit in the height of the pandemic, 2021 promises to be a hugely exciting year for isla and for the sustainability agenda as more and more companies accelerate their efforts to reduce their environmental impact across their events portfolios.

Adam Parry
Author: Adam Parry

Adam is the co-founder and editor of www.eventindustrynews.com Adam, a technology evangelist also organises Event Tech Live, Europe’s only show dedicated to event technology and the Event Technology Awards. Both events take place in November, London.

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