Fáilte Ireland
For the business events sector specifically, Fáilte Ireland’ s work aligns with seven SDGs: Decent Work and Economic Growth( SDG 8), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure( SDG 9), Reduced Inequalities( SDG 10), Sustainable Cities and Communities( SDG 11), Responsible Consumption and Production( SDG 12), Climate Action( SDG 13), and Partnerships for the Goals( SDG 17). These goals are not aspirational, but are embedded into Business Events 2030 and operationalised through Fáilte Ireland’ s practical supports and funding frameworks.
Business Events 2030 was developed collaboratively with Fáilte Ireland, the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Tourism Ireland, and industry leaders. It represents a fundamental shift in how Ireland approaches the sector – one rooted in sustainable development, taking full account of current and future economic,
social, and environmental impacts. The strategy’ s ambition is clear: to make Ireland not merely a destination of choice, but a destination of conscience for business events worldwide.
From footprint to handprint: Leaving a lasting legacy One of the most compelling ideas within the toolkit is the concept of the event‘ handprint’, that is the positive legacy an event actively generates, as distinct from the environmental footprint it leaves behind. While reducing travel emissions, eliminating single-use plastics, and lowering venue energy consumption remain essential, Ireland’ s leading events are going further: funding biodiversity projects, partnering with social enterprises, using hyper-local suppliers, and piloting circular models that benefit the wider community long after delegates have departed.
Recent events hosted in Ireland demonstrate what this looks like in practice. The 35th International Geographical Congress, held at Dublin City University in August 2024, engaged almost 300 members of the public through events including a‘ City Climate Walk’, and raised funds through an optional environmental levy to support carbon insetting on Irish university campuses as a legacy project.
The 2022 Atlas International Tourism Conference in Cork aligned its programme to Cork City’ s own SDG commitments, introduced a‘ Leave No Waste’ charter, and established a new‘ Inclusive Access to Education’ programme as a direct conference output – a tangible example of how regionally anchored sustainability ambitions can shape internationally impactful events.
Fáilte Ireland’ s own flagship trade event, Meitheal, has become a live model for how the 7-Step Sustainable Event Roadmap can be applied, with food and beverage sourced locally, carbon footprint measured using the Business Events Carbon Calculator, and postevent sustainability reporting built into its commitment cycle. It is precisely this culture of evidence-based, improvementfocused sustainability that the Green Toolkit is designed to spread across Ireland’ s business events industry.
Download the toolkit: https:// supports. failteireland. ie / irelandsgreen-toolkit-for-business-events / n
n For further information contact: SustainableImpactTeam @ failteireland. ie
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