Practical steps to lower the footprint of your company event

More companies now ask us how to make their events more sustainable. It is a good question, and it deserves an honest answer: bringing people together in one place always has an environmental cost, and no event is truly impact-free. What you can do is make choices that genuinely reduce that impact, and talk about them accurately. This article focuses on the decisions that make the biggest difference, in roughly the order they matter.

Travel: the biggest lever by far

For most corporate events with attendees travelling from other cities or countries, getting people there and back is the largest single source of emissions. That means the most important sustainability decision is made early, when you choose the destination.

• Choose a destination close to where most attendees are. Map departure cities before deciding. A destination that saves many people a connecting flight is better than one with a recycling programme.
• Prefer direct flights. Take-off and landing are a large part of a flight's emissions, so fewer legs usually means a lower footprint.
• Use rail and coach where it is practical. In Türkiye, high-speed trains connect Istanbul, Ankara, Eskişehir and Konya, and an Istanbul team heading to Sapanca or Kartepe can travel by coach instead of flying anywhere.
• Combine trips. One longer gathering often has a lower impact than several short ones, and it is usually better for the team too.

The venue: ask specific questions

Many hotels in Türkiye now hold sustainability certifications or run their own programmes. Labels are useful, but specific questions are more revealing.

1. How is energy supplied, and is any of it from renewable sources?
2. Can meeting rooms use daylight and natural ventilation rather than full lighting and air conditioning all day?
3. How does the venue handle water, laundry and towel changes for multi-night stays?
4. What happens to food waste and other waste after your event?
5. Can attendees walk between rooms, meetings and meals, so you avoid daily transfers?

The answers matter more than the brochure. A venue that can tell you clearly how it handles waste and energy is usually one that is genuinely working on it.

Food: less waste, more local

Turkish cuisine makes this easier than in many countries. Seasonal vegetables, olive oil dishes, pulses and grains are at the heart of it, and many of the best dishes are vegetarian.

• Give the venue accurate final numbers and update them; over-catering is the main source of food waste.
• Use plated or served meals for smaller groups instead of very large buffets.
• Build menus around seasonal, regional produce and make plant-based dishes a central part, not a side option.
• Ask whether surplus food can be donated through a suitable local partner where food safety rules allow it.

Practical tip: include a simple "will you join this meal?" question in your registration form for each lunch and dinner. It takes attendees seconds and gives the kitchen far better numbers than a single headcount.

Materials and giveaways

Printed programmes, single-use badges, branded items nobody keeps and stage sets built for one night add up quickly. Use digital agendas, reusable badge holders and refillable water stations. If you give gifts, choose fewer, better items made locally, such as olive oil, ceramics or textiles from a small producer, which people are more likely to keep and use.

Activities with a positive local impact

Sustainability is social as well as environmental. Work with local guides, small family-run restaurants and craftspeople. If you include a volunteering or CSR activity, choose a credible local partner and let them define what is genuinely useful, rather than designing an activity that mainly makes good photos.

Measure and communicate honestly

If you want to report on your event's footprint, start with the data you can collect: attendee travel modes and distances, nights in hotels, meals served. Be cautious about claims. Phrases like "carbon neutral" or "zero impact" are difficult to justify and increasingly scrutinised. It is more credible to explain what you did, for example "we chose a destination reachable by direct flight for most attendees and served mainly plant-based menus".

Tell us where your attendees are based and what matters most to your company. We will suggest destinations and venues that reduce travel and help you make practical choices, without overstating what they achieve.