Sustainable events guide

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Looking to integrate sustainability into your event? Explore impactful ways we can guide you in infusing sustainable practices into every aspect—food choices, setup, transportation, energy use, and waste management. Plus, discover how our team is working to fulfill our sustainability goals and what our eco-friendly venue has to offer.

Sustainability Manager Sam Ferrier discusses enhancing event sustainability with the Positive Impact Guide.

What you can do

Choose lower-impact: add more vegetarian and vegan choices and locally sourced food and beverage options.
Accuracy matters: order the right amount of food for your guests.
Reusables are key: returnable cups and eco lunch boxes should replace single use packaging.
Eco-friendly hydration: choose water coolers or carafes; or water bottle refill stations.
Get exhibitors on board: ask them not to bring bottled water or materials that can not be recycled.

Event planners incorporating sustainability into their food and beverage choices

What you can do

Choose lower-impact: add more vegetarian and vegan choices and locally sourced food and beverage options.
Accuracy matters: order the right amount of food for your guests.
Reusables are key: returnable cups and eco lunch boxes should replace single use packaging.
Eco-friendly hydration: choose water coolers or carafes; or water bottle refill stations.
Get exhibitors on board: ask them not to bring bottled water or materials that can not be recycled.
Recycle: we provide clearly colour-coded bins for multiple streams.  Guide your guests to use organic and recycling bins correctly.
Back of house recycling: if you need us to help you recycle timber, clear soft plastic, metal or e-waste, let us know pre-event, and make sure your waste is sorted correctly.
Smart packing: avoid bringing items that can not be recycled - this includes MDF and particleboard; PVC; and any soft plastic that is not clear.
Think ahead: create reusable signage without printed dates so you can take them with you.
Single use ban: avoid bringing ANY single use branded items - this includes lanyards, unnecessary packaging.
The future is digital: avoid printing brochures, booklets and signage; and go digital instead.
Repurpose: take leftover goods and supplies for reuse after your event - don't leave them behind.
Eco friendly hydration: rent a portable drinking station for water bottle refills.
Get everyone on board (before the event): make sure your exhibitors know to use ONLY reusable or recyclable materials.
Take back: we are unable to store left behind items for you - please be prepared to take your goods away with you.
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.
Embrace digital: reduce and aim to eliminate printed material by choosing digital.
Design for reuse: plan to take signage, merchandise and stand components away with you for resuse - not printing specific dates and locations is a good start.
Recycled materials: choose recycled and recyclable materials for stands and signage; avoid MDF or particleboard, and PVC.
Build to disassemble: make sure your stand is built to disassemble and that components are recoverable/ reusable.
Get everyone on board, before the event: make sure your exhibitor's stand are reviewed and approved to ensure sustainable material use and responsible waste management.
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.
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.
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.

What we do

Support local: 95% of our suppliers are Victorian, and 100% are Australian; our teams love to support local and sustainable producers.
Growing our own: we have 36 food cubes set up in our courtyard growing herbs, citrus and flowers which can be used for our menus.
Reusable focus: we've replaced single use coffee cups with returnable cups in all of our catering spaces; and we offer reusable eco boxes instead of disposable lunch boxes.
Food rescue: we donate food that has not been consumed to our community partner, Oz Harvest .  In 2024 we donated 3,200kg of food.

MCEC's sustainable Food and beverage practices.

What we do

Support local: 95% of our suppliers are Victorian, and 100% are Australian; our teams love to support local and sustainable producers.
Growing our own: we have 36 food cubes set up in our courtyard growing herbs, citrus and flowers which can be used for our menus.
Reusable focus: we've replaced single use coffee cups with returnable cups in all of our catering spaces; and we offer reusable eco boxes instead of disposable lunch boxes.
Food rescue: we donate food that has not been consumed to our community partner, Oz Harvest .  In 2024 we donated 3,200kg of food.
Reusables are the future: We've replaced all disposable coffee cups across our catering areas with Returnr reusable cups. We'll also give you a discount at our cafes if you remember to bring your own reusable cup.
Organics recycling: Organics' food waste bins can be found across our buildings - food waste that can't be rescued is processed in our onsite dehydrator and used to make organic compost and mulch for gardeners and farmers.
Donate to help feed those in need: Any food that can be rescued is donated to our community partner, Oz Harvest.
Rehome unwanted items: We proudly partner with Bright Sparque to rehome any surplus products/ items to charities that support vulnerable communities.
Waste reporting: Our waste management partner IKON has extensive experience in separation and recycling, and can help us to provide detailed post-event waste reporting for 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.
Go digital and cut print waste: Use in-house digital displays and wayfinding. Learn more from our Event Signage Guide [7.21mb] .
We avoid using materials that cannot be recycled, such as MDF (particleboard) and PVC.
We build our modular stands for disassembly and make sure the components can be reused, year after year.
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.
Renewable energy: We currently purchase renewable energy equivalent to about 15% of our annual consumption, and we are working towards 100% renewable energy purchase as a priority.
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 platinum certified - We are one of only 5 convention centres globally to be platinum or master certified.
Net zero mission: We've measured our scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and we have developed a roadmap to support our net zero journey. We are committed to halving our emissions by 2030, and achieving net zero by 2050.
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 [4.31mb] for digital channels and support to amplify your event's reach.

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:

Find suppliers and resources at climateactive.org.au .
Engage a registered environmental consultant to help you achieve carbon neutral certification. OR
Explore carbon calculators like South Pole's Climate Calculate or Climate Compensate tools.
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

Sustainable events guide

What you can do

Food and beverage

Waste

Event styling and merchandise

Signage and stand design

Transport

Energy, water and emissions

Marketing and communications

What you can do

Food and beverage

Waste

Event styling and merchandise

Signage and stand design

Transport

Energy, water and emissions

Marketing and communications

What we do

Food and beverage

Waste

Event styling and merchandise

Signage and stand design

Transport

Energy, water and emissions

Marketing and communications

What we do

Food and beverage

Waste

Event styling and merchandise

Signage and stand design

Transport

Energy, water and emissions

Marketing and communications

Creating carbon-neutral events

MCEC Partners with Local Suppliers to Showcase the Best Victorian Beverages

How to Build a Sustainable Exhibition Stand

MCEC Event Experts: Sam Ferrier, Creating Sustainable Events

MCEC Makes an Impact - Driving Environmental Change, Social Impact and Economic Contribution

Sustainable events guide

What you can do

Food and beverage

Waste

Event styling and merchandise

Signage and stand design

Transport

Energy, water and emissions

Marketing and communications

What you can do

Food and beverage

Waste

Event styling and merchandise

Signage and stand design

Transport

Energy, water and emissions

Marketing and communications

What we do

Food and beverage

Waste

Event styling and merchandise

Signage and stand design

Transport

Energy, water and emissions

Marketing and communications

What we do

Food and beverage

Waste

Event styling and merchandise

Signage and stand design

Transport

Energy, water and emissions

Marketing and communications

Creating carbon-neutral events

Our sustainability efforts

MCEC Partners with Local Suppliers to Showcase the Best Victorian Beverages

How to Build a Sustainable Exhibition Stand

MCEC Event Experts: Sam Ferrier, Creating Sustainable Events

MCEC Makes an Impact - Driving Environmental Change, Social Impact and Economic Contribution