Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) Acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Narrm, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and to Elders of all First Nations communities that visit MCEC.

Sustainable events guide

Looking to integrate sustainability into your event? Explore the simple yet impactful ways we can help you infuse sustainability into every aspect of your event – whether it's food choices, setup, transportation, energy use, or waste management. Plus, discover how our team is working to fulfil our sustainability goals and what our eco-friendly venue has to offer.

What you can do

    • Choose plant-based: Add more vegetarian and vegan food choices.

    • Accuracy matters: Order the right amount of food for your guests.

    • Eco-friendly hydration: Choose water coolers or carafes, not bottled water.

    • Get exhibitors on-board: Ask your exhibitors not to bring in bottled water.

    Event planners incorporating sustainability into their food and beverage choices
    • Recycle: Guide guests to use organic and recycling bins correctly.

    • Back of house recycling: Let us know pre-event if you’d like us to collect additional waste streams, like timber, plastic, metal, and e-waste.

    • Smart packing: Avoid bringing items that can't be recycled through our waste streams.

    • Give instructions: Provide clear recycling instructions in exhibitor guides and information sessions.

    • Think ahead: Create reusable signage without printed dates.

    • Single-use ban: Say no to single-use branded items, lanyards, and unnecessary packaging.

    • Offer incentives: Encourage guests to bring reusable water bottles and coffee cups for a 40c discount on coffee.

    • Repurpose: Ship leftover goods and supplies for reuse after the event.

    • Eco-friendly hydration: Rent a portable drinking station for bottle refills.

    • Get everyone on-board: Ask exhibitors to use reusable or recyclable items (no compostable or biodegradable items).

    • Give back: Join Bright Sparqe to donate brand-new products to charity (MCEC cannot store waste on your behalf).

    Event planners can reduce waste by implementing effective waste management practices.
    • Go digital: Choose digital giveaways and brochures over physical handouts.

    • Fair trade: Choose recycled materials for any necessary giveaways, focusing on items of value and utility for guests.

    • Repurpose: Design reusable lanyards and collect after the event.

    • Use technology: Embrace digital apps instead of printed programs.

    • Say no: Create a ban on balloons.

    Event planners can style events and merchandise sustainably with eco-friendly choices.
    • Embrace digital: Opt for digital signage from our Event Signage Guide [7.38mb] , reducing printed waste.

    • Aim for multi-use: Don't use specific dates/locations on signage for multiple uses.

    • Recycled materials: Choose synthetic signage with 50%+ recycled content.

    • Supplier collaboration: Discuss takeback, reprinting, or reuse with suppliers.

    • Prioritise sustainable designs: Encourage reduced MDF use in stand design, especially custom stands.

    • Recoverable stands: Request at least 50% recoverable (reusable or recyclable) materials in custom stands.

    • Get everyone on-board: Create an exhibitor stand approval process to monitor materials and waste.

    Event planners can make their signage more sustainable by adopting eco-friendly materials and practices.
    • Go green: Encourage and prioritise public transport, walking, and cycling (minimise driving).

    • Easy directions: Provide clear transport details and recommended routes for easy access to MCEC. Find out how to get to MCEC .

    • Focus on transport: Schedule events with public transport in mind.

    • Share rides: Embrace ride-sharing options.

    Event planners can promote sustainable transportation with eco-friendly choices.
    • Save power: Request power be turned off overnight in the Exhibition Bays.

    • Reduce lighting: Choose to cut lighting in exhibition bays to 25% or 50%.

    • Unplug: Power down unused appliances and equipment.

    • Think ahead: Opt for fewer logistics suppliers to reduce truck movements.

    • Be energy efficient: Maintain our energy-efficient 21-degree event spaces; avoid onsite temperature changes that stress our system.

    • Offset journeys: Reduce delegate travel emissions by calculating carbon footprint and buying carbon offsets from groups like Carbon Positive Australia . Plant trees through them too.

    Event planners can make energy usage more sustainable by adopting implementing energy-efficient measures.
    • Green marketing: Share your commitment to sustainability across marketing.

    • Communicate: Send a pre-event email to tell attendees about your sustainable choices and initiatives at the event.

    • Go digital: Use e-tickets, apps, and online info to save paper.

    • Track and improve: Use platforms like Trace by isla to measure your impact and report on emissions and waste.

    • Ask and learn: Get guest feedback on how to boost sustainability in future surveys.

    • Embrace online: Say no to print and yes to social media for event marketing.

    Event planners can make their marketing more sustainable by adopting eco-friendly strategies and practices.

What we do

    • Support local: Our 100-Mile Menu sources ingredients from nearby farms and markets, backing Victorian food producers and lowering our carbon footprint.

    • Homegrown goodness: We've set up 36 'food cubes' in our Courtyard , growing herbs, citrus, and flowers for our menus.

    • Reusable focus: We offer reusable Eco Boxes over disposable lunch boxes. We replace disposable coffee cups with reusable steel ones at catered events.

    • Food rescue: Leftover food goes to our community partner OzHarvest. In 2022, we donated 16,280 meals, saving over 8 tonnes of food from landfill.

    MCEC's sustainable Food and beverage practices.
    • Reducing food waste: Our venue uses an onsite organics dehydrator to divert food waste from landfill, cutting volume by 80% and taken away for composting.

    • No to single-use plastic: Retail outlets now offer paper straws, bamboo cutlery, and BioPak products.

    • Smart waste sorting: Our front of house has three recycling bins (landfill, recycling, organics); exhibition bays have four (landfill, recycling, paper/cardboard, organics).

    • We're coffee conscious: Use Returnr reusable cups, get a 40c discount for bringing your own cup, and recycle disposable cups via Simply Cups .

    • Pro waste management: Our partner IKON Services, has extensive event waste expertise, tailoring solutions and providing post-event waste reports.

    • We donate: We proudly partner with and support Bright Sparqe to connect our surplus products to charities, cut waste, and help vulnerable communities.

    MCEC sustainable waste management: We created a resource to help enhance the positive impact of your event.
    • Reduce waste: We're eliminating the distribution of notepads and pens.

    • Repurposing: We design and create trade show stands to last. We use reusable components that can be repurposed and recycled at end-of-life.

    MCEC's commitment to sustainable event styling involves both waste reduction and the innovative re-purposing of materials.
  • MCEC's sustainable approaches to event signage and stand design.
    • Convenience: Our location matters, MCEC's city-centre location offers easy reach via trains, trams, and cycling routes.

    • Tram accessibility: Effortless access to the free tram services within Melbourne CBD improves accessibility, reducing car reliance.

    MCEC promotes sustainability with easy access via trains, trams, cycling, and free CBD trams, minimising car reliance.
    • Renewable energy: We purchase renewable electricity which offsets about 15% of our consumption annually.

    • 6 Green Star Green Building: Our venue has sustainable features like natural light, sensor lights and solar heating.

    • Eco-control system: Our Exhibition Centre has an energy management system with CO2 monitoring and variable speed drives.

    • Water conservation: We harvest rainwater from our roof for cooling and irrigation.

    • Sustainability certified: MCEC is EarthCheck gold certified.

    • Net zero mission: We're measuring our carbon impact and creating a plan to achieve net zero emissions.

    MCEC prioritises sustainability with renewable energy, water conservation, zero carbon emissions, and wind turbines.
    • Transparency: Our sustainability commitments are out in the open. Discover our targets and progress reports.

    • Zero emissions: We've pledged for net zero emissions through the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative, uniting against climate change. You can be part of it too. Sign up.

    • Amplify your event: Boost your pre-event buzz and explore our marketing guide [3.39mb] for digital channels and support to amplify your event's reach.

    MCEC's Net Zero Carbon Event initiative and marketing guide maximise sustainability and minimise event impact.

Creating carbon-neutral events

Registered consultants can assist in calculating and offsetting your event's carbon footprint. Carbon neutrality is possible through the Australian Government's Climate Active certification program. Certification comes with a recognisable "stamp" for your communications and collateral.

To start:

  1. Find suppliers and resources at climateactive.org.au .

  2. Engage a registered environmental consultant to help you achieve carbon neutral certification. OR

  3. Explore carbon calculators like South Pole's Climate Calculate or Climate Compensate tools.

  4. Connect with our MCEC Sustainability Manager to receive an excel-based event carbon calculator (not valid for offsets).

Sustainable Events Guide to Create Carbon Neutral Events