It all started back in 2021, when our former Portfolio Marketing Director, Alex Softley, approached our Group Commercial Director, Ross Barker, with the idea of developing a sustainability course for the meetings and events sector. Having both worked in the industry for most of their careers, they’d seen first-hand just how much event profs were struggling with the know-how to take a truly strategic and authentic approach to their sustainability efforts.

Their determination to drive positive change within our industry saw them meet with one of our industry’s leading sustainability figures, Anna Abdelnoor. As the founder of isla, a non-profit organisation focusing on a sustainable future for events, Anna knows just how capable the industry is in delivering huge projects under pressure and believes the same collaborative attitude is integral to addressing the climate crisis within the events sector. So it’s easy to see why she was asked to share her actionable insights and lead the course.

…And then came Andy King! You may remember him as the star of Netflix’s Fyre documentary, or perhaps as the keynote for The Meetings Show back in 2020, but what you may not know is that Andy has helped top brands, foundations, and celebrities execute sustainable large-scale events and experiential campaigns, and co-founded Inward Point, a zero-waste event company. Drawing upon his expertise, Andy rounds off each module, sharing anecdotal stories (expect the odd name drop!) from his sustainability journey and illustrious 30+ year career.

Together, Alex, Ross, Anna, and Andy pinpointed some of the key areas event profs should address when trying to produce sustainable events (think briefs, supply chains, food menus and more), establishing 6 key modules that would be delivered in bite-sized formats, lasting no longer than 1 hour. They spoke with a host of sustainability experts who also agreed to share their insights…and that is how The Sustainable Events Course (formerly The Complete Sustainable Events Course) was born!

After launching at the end of 2021, the course has gone on to spawn 4 successful editions, with a +41 NPS and CPD accreditation.