Fáilte Ireland
Announcing the distribution of Ireland’ s Green Toolkit for Business Events
F áilte Ireland is now ready
to share its new Green Toolkit for Business Events, designed to support Irish and international event organisers in planning and delivering more sustainable business events across the country.
The toolkit provides a practical 7-Step Sustainable Event Roadmap, sustainability checklists, and case studies demonstrating best practice from recent conferences hosted in Ireland. It also includes guidance on avoiding greenwashing, as well as information about Fáilte Ireland supports such as the Business Events Carbon Calculator and the Destination Subvention Framework. Available to download through the Fáilte Ireland Business Supports website, the toolkit aligns with Ireland’ s business events strategy, Business Events 2030, and Ireland’ s broader climate ambitions. It is intended for PCOs, event organisers, universities, associations, and international planners seeking to embed sustainability into their events.
The resource also provides further information on how environmental sustainability is linked to Ireland’ s subvention framework. Applicants who select sustainability criteria within their funding application will receive direct access to the toolkit and will be required to use the toolkit along with Fáilte Ireland’ s Business Events Carbon Calculator.
Ireland’ s sustainability credentials, combined with this new practical resource, ensure that business events hosted in Ireland can manage and reduce environmental impacts, while delivering long-term legacy impact..
A destination built on strong environmental management and adaptation credentials The toolkit does not exist in isolation. It is underpinned by strong environmental credentials. The Irish government has a strong commitment to protect its natural landscapes and habitats including eight national parks, over 600 Natura 2000 sites protecting land and marine biodiversity, three UNESCO Global Geoparks, and 89 Blue Flag beaches.
The country ranks second in Europe for wind and solar energy production per capita 1, and 100 % of Ireland’ s convention centres have achieved environmental certification.
For planners evaluating destinations on sustainability grounds, Ireland’ s five principal business event hubs: Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Galway, and the Shannon Region, all rank within the top 40 of the Global Destination Sustainability Index 2( GDS-Index).
“ The strategy ambition is clear: to make Ireland not merely a destination of choice, but a destination of conscience for business events worldwide”
This internationally recognised benchmark assesses cities and regions on their environmental policies, carbon reduction efforts, circular economy initiatives, and community engagement.
Ireland’ s business events sector includes a range of venues and destinations that participate in recognised sustainability certification schemes and benchmarking frameworks. These certifications and benchmarks provide structured and independently assessed indicators of sustainability performance. Examples include The Convention Centre Dublin( CCD) which is the world’ s first carbon-neutral convention centre 3, and Dublin Airport has maintained carbon-neutral status since 2020. Dublin Bay holds UNESCO Biosphere designation – the only capital city biosphere in Europe. In Cork, over 70 % of hotels hold sustainability certification, while Clare is home to Ireland’ s first GSTC-certified sustainable tourism destination and the first carbon-neutral, B-Corp certified hotels in the country. Kerry, meanwhile, holds Ireland’ s first International UNESCO Dark Sky Reserve and is home to the longest section of the Wild Atlantic Way.
Aligning with international sustainability frameworks Fáilte Ireland’ s ambition extends well beyond destination marketing. As part of the UN SDG Ambassadors Programme, led by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment, Fáilte Ireland serves as an official ambassador for advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals across tourism. Its four core contributions are advocacy – promoting awareness and adoption of the SDGs across the tourism sector; support – assisting businesses in implementing sustainable practices; integration – aligning strategic programmes and initiatives with the SDGs; and vision – positioning Ireland as one of Europe’ s most sustainable tourism destinations.
22 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 142