Planning Sustainable Events

Mobility Event Location & Accommodation Catering Waste Management Personnel and Inclusion Communication & Reporting

7 helpful hints

for planning a sustainable event

Frankfurt’s special events industry is well prepared for the ever-increasing demand in sustainable events. Numerous event venues in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region have already been officially certified and dispose over a so-called “Green Policy”. Nowadays, all new buildings, reconstructions and public spaces within Frankfurt’s city districts must be designed according to the prevailing “Open Space and Climate Design Regulations”.

Frankfurt’s city centre and most of its hotels, event locations and incentive activities are easy to reach on foot or by way of the city’s excellent public transport system, thereby making environment-friendly mobility an easy option.

In the following, we have selected a number of action areas that will help you to find sustainable solutions and environment-friendly alternatives for your event in Frankfurt.

Good to know
Are you just starting to plan your event but don’t know where to begin in terms of sustainability? Our checklist will help you to determine specific measures and fields of activity for your sustainable event.

Hint 1

Mobility

Is your event location easy to reach by public transport, by bicycle, or even on foot?
Take advantage of the special offers of the DB Event Ticket of Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) for arrival from within Germany.
Offer your event’s participants an incentive for using the local public transport system; for example, by providing them with our Congress Ticket or Congress-Combination Ticket.
Inform event participants of the many convenient ICE connections for arrival from within Europe.
Inform event participants of the possibility of CO₂ compensation when no alternative to airline travel exists.
There are in the meantime more than 130 charging stations for electric cars in Frankfurt. What’s more, our Online Meeting Guide will help you to find those hotels and event locations disposing over their own charging stations.
Sharing economy: Electric hire-scooters and rental bikes are a low-emission alternative for getting around in Frankfurt quickly and easily. The current choice of alternative mobility providers includes Deutsche Bahn, Tier, Lime, Bolt and Voi.

Hint 2

Event Location and Accommodation

Think about which sustainability criteria an event location or accommodation establishment should fulfil. For example:
- Arrival via public transport
- Implementation of reusable energies
- Barrier freedom
Has the event location or accommodation establishment been awarded an official sustainability seal? Sustainability certificates recognised by the MICE industry include, for example, EMAS, ISO140001, Global Impact, Fairpflichtet, Green Globe Certification and TourCert.

Hint 3

Accessibility and Inclusion

Please note that the term “barrier-free” applies to more aspects than just physically visible limitations. Therefore, please make sure to plan your event as inclusively as possible, so that everyone is able to participate easily and without hindrance.
When planning your event, make sure that it is barrier-free, thereby making it accessible for handicapped persons, and make sure to communicate this fact pro-actively.
Make sure to ask about any possible barrier-free requirements at the time of registration in order to meet the various needs of your event’s participants.
Offer your information in plain (easy-to-understand) language and take advantage of the barrier-free technologies available to you, such as subtitles or induction loops.
Acquaint yourself with the “Travel for All” (“Reisen für alle”) classification and consider selecting partner companies issued with such a certification.

Hint 4

Catering

Regional products and vegetarian dishes greatly reduce the environmental footprint of your event.
If any of the products required for your event are not produced within the region (e.g., coffee and tea), try to use fair-trade alternatives.
Providing large carafes of tap water for your guests is one simple way to reduce costs and CO₂ emissions.
Inform your event’s participants of the place of origin of the foodstuffs and products being used during your event.

Hint 5

Waste Management

Save resources – and money – by making do without disposable tableware. Use porcelain cups, glasses or multiple-use cups instead.
The “Mainbecher” returnable cup also makes for a clever give-away.
Thanks to service providers like “Trash Galore”, materials such as wood, metal, textiles and office supplies are given a second life.
Leftover food and beverages may be donated to local aid organisations or passed on by way of the “Too Good To Go” platform.

Hint 6

Personnel

Whenever possible, try to use staff, speakers and specialists from the region.
Integrate local groups from within the region into your fringe programme and offer social initiatives the opportunity to present themselves at your event.
The use of an awareness concept and an awareness team may well be of advantage to your event.

Hint 7

Communication and Reporting

“Do good and talk about it!” – Inform your stakeholders and the public at large of your sustainable event plans in a timely manner.
Speak openly and transparently about the potential effects of your event on the location’s immediate surroundings.
Only those aware of the facts and figures will be able to improve upon them: Make sure to document the implemented measures by way of a separate report.

Ihr Kontakt für Fragen

Caro Blaettner und Ramona Rutert, Frankfurt Convention Bureau, Tel. +49 (0) 69/24 74 55 - 500 (Kopie 1)

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