Sustainability in Events: What Actually Works vs Greenwashing

Published: 6th July 2026 | Last updated: 6th July 2026 |

Written by Paul, Head of Production, Studio Cube

About the author: Paul is Head of Production at Studio Cube, a London event production company established in 2024 as part of the Cube group. With over twenty years of experience delivering events across the UK and internationally, he writes from direct operational experience of what sustainability in events actually looks like when creative ambition, budget reality and environmental responsibility all sit in the same room at the same time. Connect with Paul on LinkedIn.

About Studio Cube: Studio Cube is a London full-service event production company helping clients with every aspect of their events from concept through to execution. Part of the Cube group alongside Cube, London's hospitality staffing agency. studiocubeevents.com

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Sustainability in events means meaningfully reducing the environmental impact of travel, energy, food waste, logistics and production materials rather than focusing on visible but low-impact changes like paper straws or compostable cups. The most impactful decisions are almost never the most visible ones.

If there is one thing I have learned after more than twenty years delivering events, it is that the events industry has become very good at talking about sustainability. Sometimes that is a positive. Sometimes it is simply marketing.

Too often, conversations focus on the most visible changes, paper straws, compostable cups, recycled lanyards, while ignoring the decisions that have a far greater environmental impact. Travel emissions, energy consumption, food waste, logistics and production materials rarely make the headlines yet they usually account for the biggest share of an event's footprint.

That is where the real opportunity lies.

Most Events Are Not Sustainable. That Is the Honest Starting Point.

Let us start with an uncomfortable truth. Most events, by their nature, are not sustainable.

They involve transporting people, equipment, food and materials, often over long distances. They require power, temporary structures, production equipment and catering. There will always be an environmental impact.

The question should not be whether an event is completely sustainable. The question should be how far we are prepared to go to reduce that impact in meaningful ways. That shift in thinking changes everything.

Greenwashing Usually Starts With the Visible

One of the biggest myths in this industry is that sustainability is measured by what guests can see.

A paper straw looks sustainable. A compostable cup sounds sustainable. But those decisions become meaningless if the wider system does not support them.

I worked on an event where we discussed whether to use compostable drinkware or reusable hard plastic cups. The client preferred the compostable option because it appeared to have stronger environmental credentials. Once we looked at the waste management arrangements we discovered the rubbish contractor could not separate compostable waste from general waste. Every cup would have ended up in general waste.

At that point the greener option was not actually greener. And had guests discovered this afterwards, the reputational damage could easily have outweighed any environmental benefit the client was trying to achieve.

Sustainability is not about choosing the product with the best label. It is about understanding the entire lifecycle from sourcing through to disposal.

Where Sustainability and Reality Collide

Of course it is never that simple.

I have worked on fashion events where sustainability was discussed extensively during planning. Then the costs became clear. Questions changed from how can we make this more sustainable to could we spend less if we did not do that.

I have seen concepts built around ingredients that simply were not in season despite sustainability being a stated objective. Creative ambition, budgets and environmental responsibility do not always point in the same direction. That is the reality event professionals deal with every day.

The honest answer is that genuine sustainability requires genuine commitment from the client, not just from the supplier. An agency or production company can recommend and advocate but cannot force a decision that sits outside the brief or the budget.

The Industry Has Quietly Improved

Despite the criticism, this industry deserves more credit than it often receives.

When I started delivering events, seasonal catering was not always the default. Today many caterers treat seasonality as an opportunity rather than a restriction. They produce more creative menus using local suppliers and ingredients that naturally belong at that time of year.

Production companies are embracing innovative materials, reusable scenic elements and lower-impact power solutions. Many businesses have invested in better procurement, waste reduction and supply chain standards long before clients even thought to ask.

Sustainability is becoming part of good event planning rather than an optional extra. And ironically these improvements have often made events better. The food is more interesting. The production is more considered. The planning is more efficient. Good sustainability frequently produces better events.

Small Decisions Create the Biggest Impact

In my experience the biggest sustainability gains rarely come from one dramatic gesture. They come from dozens of smaller operational decisions made throughout the planning and delivery process.

Finishing an event early enough for guests and staff to use public transport instead of taxis. Choosing local drinks suppliers to reduce transport miles. Designing production so elements can be reused rather than discarded after a single event. Planning logistics carefully to reduce unnecessary deliveries. Selecting build materials with reuse in mind from the outset. Using cleaner power solutions where practical. Improving waste separation at the venue.

None of these changes are glamorous. Collectively they make a significant difference. And crucially they are all decisions that can be made without a sustainability accreditation, a B Corp certification or a sustainability manager on the team.

What About B Corp?

B Corp certification is an interesting example of where the conversation around sustainability sometimes gets complicated.

Some people argue it has become a form of reputational signalling. There is probably some truth in that. But it has also accelerated positive change across the industry. It has encouraged businesses to measure what they do, improve internal processes and adopt higher standards.

The risk is when certification becomes more important than actual outcomes. It can also create challenges for smaller businesses that may already operate responsibly but do not have the time or resources to complete formal accreditation.

Clients should not simply ask whether a supplier has a badge. They should ask what that supplier actually does on a day-to-day basis. The answers to those two questions are not always the same.

What Good Sustainability Actually Looks Like in Practice

The best sustainable events do not feel like sustainable events. They feel like exceptionally well-designed events.

The food is seasonal and interesting rather than sustainable and worthy. The production is considered and reusable rather than stripped back and apologetic. The logistics are efficient because good planning is good planning regardless of whether sustainability is a stated objective.

When sustainability is integrated into the planning process from the beginning rather than retrofitted at the end, it stops being a constraint and becomes a creative driver. The events I have been most proud of from an environmental perspective have also been among the most creatively successful.

The two are not mutually exclusive. They never were.

Looking Ahead

The future of sustainable events will not be defined by one revolutionary initiative. It will be defined by increasing accountability.

Environmental impact reporting. Greater scrutiny of supply chains. More focus on material sourcing. Smarter power management. Better measurement of actual outcomes rather than stated intentions.

Clients, venues and procurement teams will increasingly expect evidence rather than promises. The suppliers who will thrive in that environment are the ones who have been doing the work quietly and consistently rather than those who have been loudest about their intentions.

There will always be suppliers offering cheaper, less sustainable alternatives. But the most thoughtful, well-designed events have never come from cutting corners on quality or care. Sustainability is simply the latest expression of that truth.

How Studio Cube Approaches Sustainability

At Studio Cube we treat sustainability as an integrated part of event planning rather than a separate workstream or a box to be ticked.

That means asking the right questions early. Understanding the waste management arrangements before specifying materials. Thinking about logistics from the beginning rather than optimising them at the end. Recommending suppliers whose practices we know from direct experience rather than from their marketing materials.

It also means being honest when a sustainable option is genuinely better and equally honest when it is not. Our clients des

erve accurate information, not greenwashing in the other direction.

If you are planning an event and want to talk through how to make it more genuinely sustainable without compromising on quality, creativity or budget, we would welcome that conversation.

Get a Quote

Visit: studiocubeevents.com

Call: 0203 488 3386

Frequently Asked Questions

What is greenwashing in events?

Greenwashing in events is when visible but low-impact sustainability measures such as paper straws or compostable cups are used to create an impression of environmental responsibility without addressing the decisions that have the greatest actual impact, such as travel emissions, energy consumption, food waste and production materials.

What are the most impactful sustainability decisions in event planning?

The highest-impact sustainability decisions in events relate to travel and transport, energy sources and consumption, food sourcing and waste, logistics planning and production materials. Finishing events early enough for public transport use, choosing local suppliers, designing reusable production elements and improving waste separation typically deliver far greater environmental benefit than switching to compostable single-use items.

What is the difference between sustainable events and greenwashing?

Sustainable events address the entire lifecycle of environmental impact from sourcing through to disposal and measure actual outcomes. Greenwashing focuses on visible changes that signal sustainability without reducing the underlying footprint. The clearest test is whether the sustainability decision would still be made if no guests would ever see or hear about it.

Is B Corp certification a reliable indicator of sustainable event suppliers?

B Corp certification has accelerated positive change across the industry and encouraged businesses to measure and improve their practices. However certification should not be treated as a guarantee of genuine sustainability. Clients should ask suppliers specifically what they do rather than relying on accreditation alone as a proxy for environmental responsibility.

Can a sustainable event be as good as a non-sustainable one?

Yes. The best sustainable events are not distinguishable from any other well-designed event. Seasonal food is often more interesting than non-seasonal food. Reusable production elements are often more considered than disposable ones. Efficient logistics make events run better regardless of whether sustainability is a stated objective. Sustainability and event quality are not in conflict.

How should event planners approach sustainability realistically?

Start with the decisions that have the greatest environmental impact rather than the most visible ones. Understand waste management arrangements before specifying materials. Choose local suppliers where possible. Design production with reuse in mind from the outset. Accept that budgets and creative ambition do not always align with environmental ideals and make the best decisions available within those constraints rather than abandoning the effort entirely.