2023 Women Of Live: Kristen Fulmer
Senior Director, Sustainability | Oak View Group
Now that live entertainment is back in growth mode, Kristen Fulmer thinks it’s time to consider how the live market is growing and better evaluate what changes could be made to reduce negative impacts.
“For example, now that people are starting to feel comfortable to eat and drink in venues again, how can we transition away from single-use packaging to promote more circular economies?” she said. “Now that people are more comfortable to travel on planes and trains again, how do we advocate for more sustainable alternative transportation? And how do we tap into the federal and state policies and incentives to increase the transition to cleaner energy, which will make our venues into hubs that support our community?”
Fulmer is helping to make this a reality.
About six months ago, Oak View Group launched GOAL (Green Operations & Advanced Leadership) as a set of tools, resources and standards for sports and entertainment facilities to integrate sustainability anywhere along their journey.
“We now work with more than 35 innovative, forward-thinking venues and convening some incredibly passionate, impact-driven professionals across our industry,” she said. “We’re just getting started, but I’m really proud of what we’ve done so far.”
She predicts the growth of GOAL will continue to drive environmental and social impact across the industry.
“I’m most excited about seeing venues work together to tackle environmental challenges and to share lessons learned about what has or has not worked,” she said. “Together, we will move our industry’s positive impact further and faster.”
Fulmer notes that while women might still be outnumbered in this business, especially in venue operations, she continues to meet more women who hold unquestioned leadership positions.
Fulmer notes that in addition to her grandmother, who taught her that there’s no such thing as a bad contact and emphasized the importance of networking and personal connection, leaders in her past positions in real estate and construction taught her the importance of prioritizing efforts that maximize impact.
“I often tell emerging professionals who want to work in sustainability that they don’t need to try to do everything at once, but instead find a focused project to deliver and replicate,” she said.
