Sustainable events playbook: lower-impact corporate events and retreats

More and more requests for proposals now ask how an event will reduce its environmental impact. Some companies need event data for their sustainability reporting; others simply want their events to reflect their values. This playbook sets out the decisions that make the biggest difference, in the order you make them, with honest guidance on what can and cannot be claimed.

1. Start with the brief

Sustainability is easiest when it is part of the brief from day one, not added at the end. Write down:

• what your company already requires (a travel policy, a supplier code of conduct, reporting obligations);
• which priorities matter most to you: carbon, waste, local economic impact, accessibility and inclusion;
• what data you need after the event, and in what format.

Two widely used references can help you structure the work: ISO 20121, the international standard for event sustainability management systems, and the criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), which are used to assess hotels, tour operators and destinations.

2. Understand where the impact comes from

For events where people fly in, travel is typically the largest source of emissions, often by a wide margin. Accommodation, food and beverage, energy use at the venue, production and materials follow. The practical conclusion: the most important sustainability decision is usually where and how people travel, not the choice of name badges.

3. Choose the destination with travel in mind

• Minimise total travel. Map your participants' origin cities and compare destinations by total distance and number of flights, not by the distance from headquarters. Our flight estimator compares destinations for your group and shows indicative CO2e.
• Prefer direct flights. Take-off and landing account for a large share of a flight's fuel use, so one direct flight usually beats two connecting ones.
• Stay longer, travel less often. One well-designed three-day retreat can replace several short trips.
• Use rail and shared transfers where they exist, and coaches rather than many cars on the ground.
• Consider hybrid participation for people who would fly a long way for a short session.

4. Choose venues on evidence

Ask every venue the same questions and ask for evidence, not intentions:

• Which certifications do you hold, issued by whom, and when do they expire?
• Do you use renewable electricity, and how is it sourced?
• Do you measure energy, water and waste, and can you share data for our event?
• Do you offer refill water stations instead of single-use plastic bottles?
• How do you reduce and measure food waste? Where does surplus food go?
• What share of your food and staff is local?
• Is the venue reachable by public transport or a short shared transfer?

In Türkiye, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism runs a national sustainable tourism certification programme for accommodation, developed in cooperation with the GSTC. A certificate is a helpful signal, but still ask what it covers.

5. Food and beverage

Food is where an event can show its values most visibly, and where waste often hides.

• Plan to real numbers. Confirm final numbers per meal and ask the venue to cook to them rather than to the full headcount every time.
• Make plant-forward the default. Turkish and Mediterranean cuisine makes this easy and delicious: mezze, olive-oil dishes, pulses, grilled vegetables. Offer meat and fish as options rather than the centre of every meal.
• Go local and seasonal. Local produce cuts transport and supports the regional economy; it is also usually the best food on the menu.
• Avoid buffets that cannot be managed. Smaller plates, plated service or buffets that are replenished gradually reduce waste.
• Arrange surplus food donation where local rules and food safety allow.
• Replace bottled water with filtered water in jugs or refill stations, and give guests a reusable bottle if you give a gift at all.

6. Materials, gifts and production

• Go digital for agendas, travel packs and menus where possible; print only what guests really use.
• Design branding without dates so banners and backdrops can be reused.
• Rent rather than build: furniture, stage sets and decor can usually be hired.
• Choose fewer, better gifts: local crafts, food from small producers or a donation in guests' names.
• Avoid single-use items such as plastic lanyards, balloons and confetti.
• Ask the AV and production supplier about energy-efficient lighting and screens.

7. People and local impact

Sustainability includes people. Choose suppliers who pay fairly and treat staff well, include local guides, artisans and small businesses in the programme, and make the event accessible: step-free venues, dietary needs met, quiet spaces and inclusive activities that everyone can join.

8. Measure what matters

• Agree up front which data you will collect: participants' travel by mode and distance, room nights, meals, energy, waste and materials.
• Collect travel data in the registration form (origin city, mode of transport), which is far more accurate than estimates afterwards.
• Use a recognised calculation method and the same method every year so you can compare events.
• Keep a short sustainability log during the event: what was done, what was measured, what went wrong.

9. Offsetting and communication

Reduce first, then consider compensating what remains. If you buy carbon credits, choose projects certified under recognised standards and describe them precisely. When communicating:

• say what you did and measured, with numbers where you have them;
• avoid broad claims such as "carbon neutral" or "zero waste" unless you can document them under a recognised standard;
• be open about what you could not do this time and what you will improve next time.

Rules on environmental claims are becoming stricter in many markets, so precise, verifiable statements are both more credible and safer.

10. One-page checklist

• Sustainability priorities and reporting needs written into the brief.
• Destination compared by total travel; direct flights preferred.
• Venue chosen on evidence: certifications, data, refill water, food waste.
• Plant-forward, local and seasonal menus planned to real numbers.
• Digital materials, reusable branding, fewer and better gifts.
• Local suppliers and accessible, inclusive programme.
• Travel data collected at registration; measurement method agreed.
• Honest communication: what was done, what was measured, what is next.

Planning an event in Türkiye with sustainability goals? Tell us your priorities and we will propose venues and suppliers that can show what they do, and help you collect the data you need.