Discover 20 ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your MICE events

Organizing MICE events, such as training courses, meetings with business partners, and conferences, is a crucial part of many modern companies' operations. Each such event generates a carbon footprint. In an era of rapidly evolving climate change and companies setting new ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals, sustainable MICE events are gaining significant popularity. Implementing well-thought-out strategies at the planning stage of a corporate event can significantly reduce the environmental footprint. In this guide, we'll discuss 20 practical ways to make your events more sustainable. We invite you to read on!

Why are sustainable MICE events becoming increasingly important for many companies?

Minimizing the carbon footprint of your events is a decision that impacts both your organization's financial performance and its positive image. Why is this so important?

1. ESG reporting – Companies subject to the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) are required to measure and report their carbon dioxide emissions. Corporate travel and MICE events are excellent areas for action in this regard.
2. Cost savings – the less-is-more approach is not only environmentally friendly but also financially beneficial. Choosing more sustainable forms of transportation for attendees to corporate events, eliminating disposable tableware, and reducing food waste all translate into real savings.
3. Building a positive image for the organization – sustainable events build trust among customers, investors, and partners. This is an important area that positions the company as responsible and developing in a sustainable spirit.
4. Attracting and retaining talented employees – today, more and more people expect their employers to be environmentally responsible. This approach boosts morale and influences team loyalty.

MICE event transport and logistics

Getting attendees to events typically accounts for the largest share of CO₂ emissions. Therefore, appropriate and more sustainable mobility management is an important step towards reducing the carbon footprint.

Conscious choice of MICE event location

Choose a location with the best possible access to public transportation. Events located in well-connected city centres, near train stations, or near metro or tram lines, can reduce car and taxi journeys by up to 30-50%. In practice, this means that with a well-located event, attendees generate a smaller carbon footprint.

It's also worth considering minimizing the need to transport equipment and scenery. Try to choose local suppliers. Choose venues with full technical support, including adequate lighting, sound systems, and other essential elements on-site. Operate with the principle that each additional transport translates into greater carbon dioxide emissions.

Encourage EVENT participants to be mobile

If you're inviting participants from different countries, promote travel by train instead of by plane. For routes of around 800-1000 km, rail is up to ten times less carbon-intensive. Therefore, it's worth utilizing appropriate tools to ensure better travel logistics.

For this purpose, you can use predefined events available on the worktrips.com platform. This functionality allows you to comprehensively manage transportation and accommodation for your company event. You can easily assign a travel policy, allowing employees/business partners to book travel to the MICE event within your established guidelines. They can also choose a specific mode of transportation, taking into account individual preferences. This gives you full control over the travel process and allows you to monitor transportation and accommodation issues from your computer screen.

You can also choose to travel to the event in a group by coach or minibus. One larger vehicle can replace up to a dozen or even several dozen cars, which is crucial for minimizing your carbon footprint.

Energy consumption of a MICE event venue

Venues designated for conferences and other MICE events can have varying carbon footprints, largely dependent on their energy management. Book venues with environmental certifications that utilize renewable energy (RES). Such certifications confirm that the venue:

• has efficient energy systems,
• takes care of water savings,
• conducts responsible waste management.

A good trick is to plan events around times of daylight. Spring and summer are good times to choose them. Maximizing daylight is the easiest way to reduce electricity consumption. If you're using various illuminated decorations, opt for energy-efficient solutions. Modern LEDs and low-power projectors reduce electricity consumption by as much as 20-60%.

Catering and waste management during a MICE event

Meals and waste generated during events account for as much as 20-30% of total carbon dioxide emissions. Some of the best ways to reduce your carbon footprint include:

• Choose local and seasonal menus. The shorter the distance food travels, the lower the emissions. Use local suppliers and avoid imported fruits and vegetables out of season.
• Reducing the share of meat. Balanced plant-based meals are one of the most effective methods for reducing emissions in catering.
• Limit the use of disposable tableware, such as plastic cups, disposable cutlery, and PET bottles. These can be replaced with glass, ceramics, reusable tableware, and water dispensers. If you're concerned about this, choose tableware made of eco-friendly materials, such as compostable ones.
• Implementing zero food waste policies, through portion counting and constantly restocking buffets, is also important in this regard. Collaboration with food banks is also crucial to enable the donation of surplus food.
• Waste segregation. Ensure that clearly marked recycling bins are available at the event. If catering and decorations are well planned, most waste should be recyclable or compostable.

Marketing materials promoting your corporate event

Minimize the amount of printed marketing materials. Replace paper with an event app, e-agenda, QR codes, and digital badges. This is an environmentally friendly approach that significantly simplifies the entire organizational process.

It's also worth considering renting a set instead of creating one from scratch. Disposable structures and decorations generate a huge amount of waste. Renting various modular solutions and adapting them to your own concept, for example, through minor modifications, is more cost-effective, faster to implement, and, most importantly, more environmentally friendly.

Use recycled and reusable materials wherever possible. Instead of traditional gifts or gadgets, you can also opt for digital options, such as vouchers or discount codes.

Organizing sustainable MICE events made easy

Reducing the carbon footprint of MICE events is a key element of business strategy and ESG reporting. However, for you, it doesn't have to be a complicated process. Thoughtful planning and the selection of responsible suppliers are all that's needed. It's also important to utilize intuitive tools like the worktrips.com platform, which allows for predefined event planning and measures the carbon footprint of business travel. Your company can also have a real impact on the planet's green future; you can learn more here.