Who needs Euro 2008 when the transfer market at home is such a hotbed of activity?

We may not be talking the Premiership, but when it comes to the industry pitch there seems to be a merger or acquisition at every turn.

The year opened with the Emap stable being divided up and sold off. Next, Reed Elsevier hit the headlines by announcing the planned divestment of its B2B publishing division, Reed Business Information. Hot on its heels was completion of the long-awaited sale of Reed Exhibitions' defence show portfolio.

Enter newly acquired Clarion Events, which took control of the controversial exhibitions in May and has already met with opposition from vocal anti-arms-trade protestors.

And of course, it doesn't end there. Over in east London, ADNEC's acquisition of Excel London has stirred renewed interest in the venue's plans.

And now the rumour mill is buzzing once more. As Event went to press talks regarding an all-share merger between Informa and United Business Media had been abandoned and Informa was in discussions with a third party.

Looking at the first half of 2008, this is going to be a year dominated by the boardroom. So as the major players battle it out to create international superpowers, spare a thought for the lower leagues.

- (Claire Bond is associate editor of Event)

LORRAINE FRANCISCO

It's interesting that so many industry events include a green or sustainability topic, yet the uptake for the BSI BS8901 Sustainable Events Management System has been slow.

However, this could be explained by a lack of clarity, which Eventia has picked up on, voicing its concerns to the BSI at its recent AGM. Issues raised that relate to the standard included companies' ability to manage self-accreditation, and the administrative burden of adhering to the standard.

These issues will hopefully be rectified by the end of the year as the BSI is set to review comments made with regards to accreditation.

It is important that these issues are ironed out sooner rather than later, as the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games has stated that all events should be BS8901-compliant. In preparation for the Olympics and as part of their sustainable campaign, leading venues, agencies and suppliers trialled BS8901 last year. EC&O's Olympia is now in the process of becoming fully certified. The Fresh Group has also applied for BS8901 status to complement its current accreditations. Similarly, Seventeen Events now offers compliance for all of its events.

EC&O Venues customer services manager Emma Wellman advices all companies to be BS8901-compliant on a standalone basis - the easiest and most positive way to adopt it - while the BSI itself predicts that more than 2,000 companies will use the standard.

The concern of the administrative burden should not be viewed as a major issue, as any new management system always requires planning. Ultimately, the industry should be looking ahead to the long-term benefits for all.

- (Lorraine Francisco is a reporter at Event).