Why does sustainability matter for events?
Sustainability is now a core expectation in the events industry. Corporate events can generate significant environmental impact through travel, energy consumption, catering, staging and waste. Due to these elements, it is so important to try and reduce the impact as much as possible.
Sustainable event practices deliver more than environmental benefits, let’s take a deeper look into these:
Stronger Brand Reputation
Audiences are increasingly turning to brands that are demonstrating authentic sustainability commitments. They are invested in what the brands are doing to help the environment. With live events, these provide a visible opportunity to showcase your environmental responsibility in action.
Alignment With ESG Goals
A new metric that organisations are now tracking are Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics. These metrics are a great way to see companies impact on the environment and what changes they are planning to impose. Keeping these metrics in mind whilst planning an event, helps companies contribute towards broader reduction and sustainability targets.
Cost Savings
There are a few different ways you can lower event costs alongside improving efficiency. Reducing waste from over-ordering food to choosing to reuse evergreen content instead of printing new designs.
Limit unnecessary shipping, if you do need items printing for your event, look at local suppliers that you could pick up from instead of them being shipped. Shipping your equipment in multiple small deliveries increase emissions. There are a few best practices to reduce this, including:
- Consolidated freight planning
- Shared supplier logistics
- Local equipment sourcing
- Advance planning to avoid rushed shipping
Use digital assets, our team can use the latest LED display technology to showcase your digital artwork instead of being printed. Digital assets can also be updated in real time, reducing reprint requirements. Our technical and creative team work together seamlessly to ensure our clients requirements work for both them and their audience, as well as the environment.
Whilst all these combined help businesses with several benefits, it’s important to remember how this affects the environment. If you can make even the smallest changes, you will be helping to keep the world spinning and the environment safe.
Common sources of event emissions
Emissions can be caused in many ways, with some that are higher than others, but understanding where emissions come from is the first towards reducing them and making an impact.
Travel and Transportation
Travel is often the biggest contributor to an events carbon footprint, some of the contributors include:
- Air travel for attendees, speakers, and crew
- Ground transportation and shuttle services
- Freight and logistics for equipment and staging
- Supplier and vendor travel
If you are hosting an international conference, attendee flights can account for more than half the total event emissions.
At Sparq, we help organisations reduce the cost and environmental impact of business travel by promoting alternative ways of bringing people together.
For example, hybrid meetings that combine in-person and remote attendance can significantly reduce travel costs whilst expanding accessibility.
Benefits include:
- Fewer flights and hotel stays
- Lower venue energy demand
- Reduced catering and waste
- Greater flexibility for international attendees
Alternatively, instead of asking attendees to travel to a single venue, a roadshow allows Sparq to deliver the same event across multiple locations, making it more accessible while reducing overall travel. We have worked on a few roadshows for a variety of different clients, speak to our team to find out how we can help you plan your roadshow.
Energy Consumption
Hosting an event requires substantial energy for:
- Lighting
- LED walls and displays
- Audio systems
- Charging stations and networking equipment
Poorly optimised AV systems and inefficient power management can significantly increase energy usage. Sparq can help with this, we ensure all our equipment is regularly optimised and produces efficient power management. We collaborate with trusted partners to repurpose and reuse obsolete AV equipment, giving it a second life instead of sending it to landfill.
Catering and Food Waste
Food production and waste carry a major environmental impact.
A few key issues include:
- Over-ordering food
- Single-use packaging
- High-emission menu choices such as beef and dairy-heavy catering
- Unused food ending up in landfill
When we work with caterers, we ensure they share our sustainability values to minimise the environmental impact of the food waste.
Sustainable AV and staging choices
AV and staging play a big part in corporate events, but they can also contribute significantly to energy use and material waste.
Sustainable production strategies can dramatically reduce environmental impact without compromising quality.
Energy Conscious Companies Using Energy Efficient AV Equipment
As we mentioned earlier in this post, AV uses a lot of energy, it’s important to find a company that takes their consumption to heart. At Sparq, we ensure that all our equipment is regularly tested and optimised to keep sustainability at the forefront of our business model.
When you are looking for an AV partner for your event, speak to them about what their sustainability goals are and what their commitments are to operating in line with ISO 14001.
Reuse Modular Staging Systems
Instead of building entirely custom sets for every event, consider:
- Modular staging systems
- Reusable scenic elements
- Reconfigurable exhibition structures
- Rental-based production assets
These approaches reduce material waste while maintaining design flexibility. When we work with our clients on full-service production, we take into consideration how we can reuse and recycle materials. We work with reputable companies to assess and minimise the environmental impact of the event.
Tips for more eco-friendly event planning
As specialists in the event industry and environmental activists, we have a few tips for you:
Start Sustainability Planning Early
Sustainability works best when integrated from the beginning, rather than added at the end.
Early planning allows teams to:
- Set measurable sustainability goals
- Select responsible suppliers
- Optimise logistics
- Reduce unnecessary materials
- Build sustainability into event design
Choose Sustainable Venues
Look for venues with:
- Renewable energy usage
- Waste reduction programmes
- Water-saving systems
- Sustainability certifications
- Accessible public transport links
Venue sustainability policies can significantly influence overall event impact.
Work With Sustainable Suppliers
When you are talking to suppliers, to ensure sustainability is at the forefront of planning, ask them about:
- Carbon reduction initiatives
- Equipment reuse policies
- Sustainable packaging
- Recycling capabilities
- Local sourcing practices
Sustainability should become part of vendor selection criteria.
Communicate Sustainability Clearly
Attendees are more likely to participate in sustainability efforts when communication is visible and practical.
Examples include:
- Explaining recycling systems
- Encouraging reusable bottles
- Sharing transport guidance
- Highlighting sustainability initiatives in event messaging
Transparency helps build trust and engagement.
Want to know how Sparq can help?
Sustainable event planning is no longer a nice-to-have, it is becoming an essential part of delivering modern corporate experiences.
At Sparq, sustainability is considered at every stage of the event journey, from smarter AV and staging solutions to reducing transport impact, minimising waste, and working with trusted local impact wherever possible.
By combining innovative production with practical environmental thinking, Sparq helps clients create high-impact events that are both memorable and more responsible. Whether through energy-efficient technology, reusable staging systems, hybrid capabilities, or streamlined logistics, Sparq is committed to delivering experiences that support both business goals and long-term sustainability objectives.
We also work closely with SAIL to recycle and re-use items and props. This gives them another life instead of going to landfill, some of our second-hand props have been reused in stage performances.
Instead to find out more? Take a look at our Sustainable Event Planning page to see how Sparq supports events across the UK.
