Lack of support, budget, and a clear understanding of an event’s impact are the top barriers preventing corporate event organisers from prioritising sustainability.
According to the latest Annual Benchmarking Research Report by International Corporate Events (ICE), produced in collaboration with Cvent, many corporate event professionals still struggle to adopt sustainable practices within their event planning process due to high costs, limited resources, and/or a lack of knowledge.
As part of its sustainability programme, The Grand Plan, Olympia Events collaborates with event organisers to integrate sustainability into their event from the start and makes key recommendations for future improvements.
Here are three ways Olympia Events is helping corporate event planners prioritise sustainability:
Collaboration
The sustainable delivery of events is an industry-wide effort. The Net Zero Carbon Events (NZCE) initiative highlights the power of the global events industry and the role it plays in tackling climate change and collectively minimising its impact.
Olympia Events’ Grand Plan strategy identifies ways it can work with organisers, visitors, and everyone in between, to share resources and knowledge. In 2024, Olympia Events collaborated with Laithwaites and Green Circle Solutions to measure the carbon footprint of the Laithwaites Wine Festival. Working in close partnership with the organiser, the Olympia Events team and Green Circle Solutions gathered data from the organiser’s main contractors and visitor travel, adding this to venue services data to better understand the event’s total impact, while identifying key areas for improvement. Read the full case study here.
The venue is also an active member of the UK’s cross-association sustainability working group and partners with associations such as the Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA) and the Association of Event Venues (AEV) to host and sponsor industry sustainability training days and carbon literacy training.
Data
Knowledge is power. Visitor data and access to a venue’s waste, energy and water data – including whether the electricity is from certified renewable sources – is essential for event organisers to make better, more informed decisions around sustainability.
As standard, Olympia Events provides event organisers with a post-event sustainability report to help identify opportunities for year on year improvements. The report showcases the results of the energy, water, and waste outputs during the event, CO2 emissions of build-up and breakdown logistics, and a comparison to previous events.
Key findings from the Laithwaites case study confirmed that visitor travel is the largest single contributor to an event’s total carbon emissions, aligning with findings from the NZCE initiative. To begin to address this, event organisers need to start collecting more detailed and accurate data from their visitors, at the point of sale or ticket registration.
Waste management
Managing waste more responsibly by partnering with the right venues, waste suppliers and charity groups can make a huge difference to an event’s overall environmental impact.
In close partnership with waste management and recycling services Powerday and ReFood, Olympia Events has successfully diverted 100% of waste from landfill for the past 13 years and recycles 98% of all its waste. By introducing a QR code system for food waste bins, the venue was able to help the Speciality and Fine Food Fair successfully separate its food waste. Through the venue’s partnership with City Harvest, 1.02 tonnes of edible food were donated from the event, equivalent to 2,440 meals, thereby reducing food waste by 64% compared to the previous year.
Additionally, to reduce single-use waste, all exhibitors and visitors that bring their own reusable cups receive a discount at all of Olympia Events’ catering outlets. Water bottle refills are also provided as standard and are made readily available from both water fountains and all catering outlets.
For corporate event organisers, prioritising sustainability begins with selecting the right venue partner. By choosing venues that demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, organisers can ensure that eco-friendly practices are a standard feature of their event, rather than an afterthought.
Olympia Events supports organisers in understanding their environmental impact, connects them with suppliers and charities who champion sustainable practices and works alongside them to place sustainability at the heart of their events.