In the hyper-competitive international meetings market, "subventions and financial grants are super important," says Elena Fis, sustainability officer at congress organiser Kenes group. "A lot of destinations have significant financial and governmental funds to attract events to the city. But in addition to cash subventions, they also offer non-cash options that are a wonderful incentive to bring in more delegates and promote greener and more sustainable events."

As the industry attempts to put itself on
a more sustainable trajectory, green conditions to secure event funding are gaining ground. Genevieve Leclerc, cofounder and CEO of Meet4Impact, refers to this shift in intention as eco conditionality, or cross-compliance. "The terms describe the allocation of financial assistance conditional on compliance with environmental or social requirements, whether regulated or not," she explains.

"Convention bureaux can boost demand for 'sustainable' service providers by forcing event promoters towards more socially and environmentally responsible procurement practices. They can catalyse adoption of public transportation by large-scale events, prompt the development of innovative circularity models and nudge their citizens and visitors towards carbon-neutral activity – in a word, event funding programmes can become a powerful transformative mechanism towards the necessary urban transition."

VisitBritain’s Business Events Growth Programme provides an excellent example of eco-conditionality. The UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) in Leeds in 2023, The World Congress of Soil Science in Glasgow in 2022 and One Young World in Manchester in 2022 were all granted funding from the Business Events Growth Programme on the condition that "the event strategies gave detailed evidence of how they would deliver wider impact objectives alongside a strong environmental policy when hosting each event," explains Paul Black, head of business events at VisitBritain.

One Young World, for example, sponsored a scholarship for 30 young people from Manchester to take part in the Summit, while the World Congress of Soil Science curated a soil related arts programme to increase engagement between scientists and the public; and UKREiiF was accredited with ISO20121.

Banff & Lake Louise encourage spending

Canada’s Banff & Lake Louise Tourism organisation has launched the Community Impact Program (CIP) that aims to ‘positively transform the environment, society, and economy of the region while driving sustainable economic growth’. The programme is a collaboration between Banff and Lake Louise Tourism (BLLT) and the non profit Banff Canmore Community Foundation (BCCF). CIP provides delegates with a pre-paid credit card, pre-loaded with a value determined by the event planner and topped up by BLLT.

Upon the expiry of each card, the unused funds are donated to one of 18 local charities supporting the well-being and sustainability of the communities of Banff and Lake Louise.

Since launching in September 2022, the programme has contributed more than CAN$53,000 to local businesses in Banff and Lake Louise, as well as donated over CAN$2,000 to local charities from the BCCF.

Job creation in Wales

The National Events Strategy for Wales 2022 to 2030 prioritises funding for projects that support the principles of fair work and pay, well-being, sustainability, equality and diversity and promotion of the Welsh language.

Steering clear of a prescriptive eligibility criterion, the funding encourages event planners to submit innovative and forward-thinking applications that support job creation, such as an accessibility or inclusion manager, activities which seek to maximise use of local supply and activity designed to improve equality, diversity and inclusive recruitment within the sector.

Favourable initiatives for funding also include activities which align with the Stronger, Fairer Greener Wales: Net Zero Skills Action Plan, and any activity designed to improve equality, diversity and inclusive recruitment within the sector.

Encouraging collaboration in Gothenburg

Gothenburg has led the Global Destination Sustainability Index for six years, (2016-2021) and was the European Capital of Smart Tourism in 2020. In lieu of a subvention fund, it leverages these sustainability credentials, and plenty more, to attract meetings and help event planners to create sustainable events.

“Financial incentives and subventions are a powerful tool, if you have the resources, but Gothenburg doesn’t have a convention fund yet. There’s no sort of national or regional funding for conventions and congresses,” explains Katarina Thorstensson, sustainability strategist at Göteborg & Co, the city’s convention bureau.

“We know the competition is fierce, so we’ve worked hard with our supply chain to make it easy for an association to organise a sustainable event here. We can offer smaller financial incentives for conventions, such as city receptions, but this collaboration can only happen if the association can prove they are working on sustainability issues.

"It doesn’t matter if they’re at the beginning of their journey, but they must show willing otherwise we are not interested in collaboration. If they want to push their boundaries, we are happy to collaborate with them.”

Inclusive conferences in Cyprus

For events taking place in Cyprus between November 1 and April 30 of any year, planners are eligible to access a share of the Cyprus Conference and Incentives Subsidy.

The fund, worth up to $32,000, can be used towards venue hire, transport, and marketing, but a keen focus on inclusivity is laid out in the terms and conditions with the financial support calculated by taking into account how accessible the event is to people with disabilities.

Cyprus Convention Bureau also encourages planners to use the subsidy to cover the cost of hiring an interpreter for the conference, providing audio description for the visually impaired during the event, sourcing a sign language interpreter during the event, and renting audio-visual equipment.

Community outreach in Edinburgh

The Edinburgh International Convention Centre can support events with value added initiatives and activities covering incentivised public transport for groups, encouraging delegates to travel via sustainable methods with partner discounts, and hosting public access talks, to allow community engagement as part of the conference programme.

"Edinburgh’s business events community
recently launched BEST (Business Events Shaping Tomorrow), a tool which recognises clients for the societal and sustainable impact that their events have.

Increasingly we are seeing this type of initiative being one of the things that our clients value, truly considering that hosting a congress in a destination should be mutually beneficial to both the association and the city host,” explains Amanda Wrathall, sales and marketing director at the EICC.

In June 2023, the Association of Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (ACNAP) worked with the EICC to create an education programme to raise awareness of heart health within Edinburgh. Community engagements included a public talk for non-conference attendees to hear from heart health experts on how to improve heart health through active travel, reducing air pollution and lowering salt intake. There was also a walking history tour in aid of the British Heart Foundation, and a fun run in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

Free transport in Bordeaux

Bordeaux Convention Bureau’s partnership with Keolis Bordeaux Metropole Mobilities, offers delegates unlimited access to all modes of transport, including trams, buses, and the river shuttles though the ‘Congress Pass’.

The Pass is available to large professional events, decided in advance, with links to regional centres of excellence. The aim of the offer is to encourage soft modes of transport and reduce the carbon footprint of all types of events. In 2022, more than 25,000 participants benefitted from the offer of free transport tickets.

Copenhagen's eco-conditionality

“We support congresses that are aligned with our strategic priorities, and that have a big focus on sustainability and creating long-term positive impact. Our funding is allocated to activities taking place in Copenhagen, such as travel passes that provide delegates with free public transportation or legacy activities.

"One of the conditions is that congress organisers proactively use our Copenhagen Sustainability Guide 2.0 in the planning and execution process of the event, as well as share any beneficial data from this," explains Bettina Reventlow-Mourier, deputy director of conventions at Wonderful Copenhagen.

The Guide provides inspiration for sustainable choices and actions to ensure the event minimises its carbon footprint, creates a positive impact and highlights how an event can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.