Building a Sustainable Meetings and Events Program

It’s exciting to see so many organizations embracing sustainability, with climate change remaining an important and growing consideration for meeting leaders of all kinds. According to the 2024 Global Meetings and Events Forecast, 78% of respondents said their organizations plan to have net-zero goals by the end of 2024. Seventy percent say that sustainability has been strongly adopted in their meeting program.

Sustainability goals are climbing up the corporate agenda for many reasons. Strong corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies not only help our people and planet thrive – but businesses as well.

Companies with strong ESG scores outperform those with lower ones. A strong sustainability program is an advantage for attracting talent, with typically younger candidates wanting to align themselves with companies perceived as doing the right thing for the earth and society. Also consider that many consumers want to be associated with brands that reflect their core values.

The strategic advantages of sustainable meetings and events can be big.

Roadmap to more sustainable meetings and events

The world is changing, and meeting attendees want to travel and meet smarter. But how exactly are good intentions translated into actions? Here is a roadmap for building a best-in-class and actionable sustainable events program:

1. Start with the strategy

The first step is to create a plan. It need not be perfect. Policies and strategies will evolve and can later be enhanced. The important thing is to get the ball rolling.

You can begin with a high-level overview of where you want the program to be in a few years, accompanied by a concise one-page policy outlining your commitments that can be shared among teams.

This step is critical for visualizing your yearly priorities and setting guidelines to achieve your sustainability goals. It will also help you obtain the right resources and support, get internal leadership buy-in, and track your progress.

Ownership of this process is essential and clearly defining their role is imperative. Otherwise, there’s a chance the program will be neglected.

2. Engage stakeholders to help build a sustainable meetings & events culture

Educating your internal stakeholders will help drive engagement and adoption of your sustainability strategy. The success relies on them understanding how the strategy will benefit their role, the wider company, and how they can contribute to driving sustainable meetings and events, thus enhancing corporate sustainability goals. How can this be achieved? Ongoing education and engagement tools and sessions, sharing policy, requesting their insights, and rewarding colleagues for their sustainability efforts.

The biggest challenge for change is people – and the best asset for change is people. That’s why enlisting support from stakeholders is crucial. That includes gaining buy-in from senior leadership and influencing stakeholders to make sustainable decisions.

Don’t stop there. Make sure you also communicate with attendees before, during, and after an event to make them aware of your organization’s efforts to promote sustainability and how they can contribute themselves. People want to be a part of something good.

3. Allow time for planning

Organizing a sustainable event starts long before the event occurs and continues after it ends. From selecting destinations and transportation options to minimizing food and material waste and utilizing reusable items, consider every touchpoint and determine where to incorporate sustainable practices.

Start with the low-hanging fruit and elements you can easily implement. It’s a step-by-step, so don’t try tackling everything at once.

Sustainability shouldn’t be an additional task on top of a meeting planner’s already-packed agenda. We’re here to help and can match you with suppliers and vendors from our preferred supply chain. Each supplier has already been fully vetted, undergoing an ESG assessment by Amex GBT.

4. Engage with your supply chain

Sustainability can be a game-changer in procurement, so it’s vital your suppliers understand what you want to achieve and what it could mean for your relationship. You can abate emissions across your value chain by shifting demand toward greener options and partnering with suppliers that adhere to leading sustainability standards. In doing so, you can also motivate other suppliers to adopt more sustainable practices. It´s important that you set your priorities here as you build up your supply chain – from airlines and venues to ground transportation and food donation partners. All are key but you may not be able to tackle everything at once.

Share your sustainable meetings and events policy with suppliers early and often, including in proposal requests. Get their insights to foster alignment, improve your policy, and achieve tangible outcomes together.

5. Track your progress

Monitoring and reporting the impact of your environmental activities is key to understanding and communicating the impact of your sustainability initiatives. Without this insight into your performance, you won’t be able to review your progress and work with your stakeholders to drive improvements. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

How you can take meaningful action to create more sustainable meetings

Now is the time to act and implement the changes required to establish a best-in-class sustainable meetings and events program that adopts industry standards and best practices.

How can you do so? Here are some key actions to reduce an event’s footprint and leave a positive legacy. Since you have limited time and resources, begin with two or three key areas with the biggest impact that you can manage across your meetings and events program. Consider these the “No Excuse” initiatives!

Choose destinations that minimize attendees’ carbon footprint

Select a destination with strong sustainability programs, particularly those with green-certified hotels and electric transportation options. You can also check countries with lower greenhouse gas intensity of electricity production. Given that transportation contributes substantially to an event’s footprint, picking a destination that’s centrally located for the majority of attendees and that has good rail access can significantly mitigate emissions.

Pick venues with a green certification

Third-party certifications demonstrate a hotel’s commitment to sustainability. So, when looking for accommodations, prioritize those with sustainable certifications from recognized accreditation bodies, such as the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. This enables you to choose accommodations and venues that not only minimize water, and waste but also promote the use of renewable energy sources. Choose a hotel that can accommodate your event on-site or is situated near public transportation, the convention center, restaurants, and other attractions to encourage walking – the most eco-friendly way to get around.

Avoid single-use plastics and minimize waste

Did you know humans consume five grams of microplastics per week, or the equivalent of a credit card, due to plastic pollution?

Regarding plastic and other kinds of waste, we follow the five Rs: refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle. As a rule of thumb, minimize as much as possible. The less that comes in, the less waste is generated.

You should avoid single-use plastics entirely. This is a must for the “No Excuses” initiatives. Water bottles, plastic cutlery, and other disposables shouldn’t be seen at an event nowadays. Technology like QR codes, electronic signage, and event apps make eliminating paper signage and products easy.

Rent and reuse instead of producing production elements, including staging, backdrops, carpets, and other AV and production equipment. If you need to produce them, make sure they are created locally, curbing emissions from transportation, and with recyclable materials, avoiding harmful elements like PVC.

Finally, make sure a proper recycling program is in place since many items used at events are not recyclable in the standard waste streams.

Optimize ground transportation options

Optimize ground transportation everywhere you can. For airport arrival and departure, or off-site dinner transfers, consider sustainable transportation options like providers offering electric or hybrid vehicles. Where easy and accessible, public transportation remains the top choice, cutting emissions by more than 45%, but it may not always be the most convenient option. Additional elements to consider: curtailing single-passenger trips by consolidating attendees and utilizing shuttle services or ridesharing whenever possible.

Integrate sustainability into food & beverage

Food is one of the preferred conversation topics for meeting and event attendees. By sourcing local, organic, and seasonal items, minimizing meat options, and incorporating farm-to-table experiences for your events, you can significantly reduce an event’s environmental impact while supporting local communities and promoting the health and well-being of your attendees.

Better food waste management lies at the heart of tackling climate change. If we fully eliminate such waste, we could reduce global carbon emissions by about 6% to 8%.

The event industry needs to do better. An average of 20% of all food is wasted at events since caterers and organizers typically order more than necessary.

To mitigate food winding up in landfills, conduct accurate planning through participant registrations, avoid buffets, serve smaller portions, and don’t buy into the FORO (fear of running out) mentality. Partner with a local food donation program to donate edible leftovers and compost non-edible ones.

Create a positive impact with legacy events

Work with your meetings and events partners to support your sustainable sourcing and planning needs. They can help calculate the emissions produced and offer reports on emissions and waste. If desired, offset unavoidable residual emissions through nature-based verified carbon compensation projects.

Start today to build a sustainable meetings and events program

Our Amex GBT M&E sustainability team provides a best-in-class approach to meetings and events, incorporating sustainability standards and best practices for event planning. We will align with your values and goals and work in partnership with you to plan and deliver a sustainable, inclusive, diverse, and socially responsible meetings and events program. Through a flexible and scalable approach, clients can incorporate sustainability into a single event or their entire meetings program, depending on their needs.

To learn more, connect with your Amex GBT client relationship manager, or if you do not have one appointed, you may contact me.