Sustainability in Corporate Events: 2025 Trends and Innovations

The corporate events industry is at a pivotal moment where sustainability is no longer optional—it’s expected. With global businesses committing to ambitious ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals, event planners must lead the way in adopting sustainable practices.

I'm excited to see all of the great things happening in the industry. Festival planners are starting to use hydrogen generators to power stages, a step in the direction of fully powering events with water.

This amplifies the efforts that are already happening where event planners are using larger battery generators to power events and festival.

This year, the industry is seeing groundbreaking innovations that are setting new standards for green events.

Carbon-Negative Initiatives

While carbon-neutral events have been the benchmark in recent years, the new frontier is carbon-negative events—where more carbon is removed from the atmosphere than is emitted.

Case Study: The Net Zero Festival – This UK-based festival partnered with carbon capture companies to offset double the emissions created by the event, effectively making it carbon-negative.

• Practical Application: Event planners can achieve this by funding reforestation projects, utilising carbon capture technology, and integrating regenerative event strategies such as green rooftops and biochar.

AI-Driven Sustainability Tracking

AI is revolutionising event planning, providing real-time tracking of sustainability metrics such as energy consumption, waste generation, and carbon emissions.

Case Study: IBM Think Conference – Leveraged AI to monitor energy efficiency and waste reduction, providing instant data that allowed for sustainable adjustments.

• Practical Application: AI can optimise HVAC systems, lighting, and catering, reducing energy usage by up to 30%. Planners can speak with venues about how they are tracking energy usage and if required bring in outside expertise to amplify the efforts. A lot of venues, especially the larger exhibition centres like Manchester Central are well on their way to doing this.

Renewable Energy-Powered Events

Reliance on diesel generators and fossil fuels is diminishing as event planners adopt cleaner energy solutions.

Hydrogen and Battery Power: Innovations like hydrogen fuel cells and battery storage systems are becoming more popular for powering stages, lighting, and AV equipment.

Solar-Powered Venues: More corporate events are selecting venues that run on 100% renewable energy.

• Example: The Glasgow SEC Centre, which hosted COP26, now operates on renewable energy.

Conclusion

The push for sustainability in corporate events is no longer a niche effort—it’s a mainstream expectation. By adopting carbon-negative initiatives, AI-driven sustainability tracking, circular economy practices, and renewable energy solutions, event planners can significantly reduce their environmental impact while delivering innovative, engaging experiences.