Sustainability trends for your 2025 corporate event

In 2025, more people are prioritising events that genuinely consider their environmental impact. Guests aren’t looking for token gestures or buzzwords; they want to see real, meaningful actions.

That doesn’t mean hosting your event off-grid with solar panels and a fully plant-based menu. Small, thoughtful changes can make a big difference. And with eco-friendly practices becoming the norm, planning a sustainable event is easier than ever.

If you’re looking for ways to make your event greener without the overwhelm, here’s some simple, impactful ideas to get you started.

Zero-waste events

Even if you haven’t stuck around after an event to see all your caterers and venues tidy up the mess, it’s easy to imagine just how much leftover food and single-use cutlery ends up in the bin. Zero waste events are all about reducing this and saving you from throwing money away.

The key is to be thoughtful and intentional with every detail. For example, consider renting décor or choosing pieces you’ll reuse, and opt for fabric or digital backdrops instead of plastic or paper. When it comes to catering, find suppliers that are all about zero-waste with more considerate portions or compostable bins in action for leftovers and single-use items. The simplest thing is to have the right bins set up with clear signage, so everyone can do their part by recycling what they can and composting what they don’t want. Because let’s be real: if people can’t figure out where to put their waste, it’s all going in the wrong bin anyway.

Choosing a sustainable venue

While choosing a sustainable venue isn’t super clear cut, there are a few things you can ask your chosen venue to make sure they’re heading in the right direction. Searching for venues that use renewable energy is the simplest thing to do, but some venues will also offer carbon-neutral packages to offset any emissions from your event. 

Location is another simple set to consider a little more. Choosing a location that’s close to public transport or within walking distance is a great way for guests to cut costs and the amount of emissions created before your event even starts. But if you’re booking a stunning winery out in the Yarra Valley, for example, think about offering shared transport or shuttles to make it easier for your guests and limit the number of vehicles all heading in the same direction. 

Ditch paper: go digital 

In an era where everyone is glued to their phones, there’s really no excuse for paper-heavy events anymore. Programs, schedules, maps—everything can be digital. You can provide an event app, stick some QR codes around the venue, and offer online registration to make it easy for guests to have access to everything they need without printing out pages and pages of wasted paper.

Locally sourced and planet-friendly catering 

Food is a huge part of any event, but it’s one of the biggest sources of waste. While sustainable events are all about creating no wastage it’s also important to create a menu that creates as little emissions as possible from sourcing the produce to serving and getting rid of leftovers. 

A lot of caterers love to work with local and seasonal ingredients not just to create a unique selling point and foods that are so much tastier, but because it involves less transport and work to get ingredients delivered. While meat can play a role in our diets, it doesn’t need to be the star of every meal. Because meat requires significantly more resources than plant-based foods, many sustainable caterers are embracing a more balanced approach: offering plenty of plant-based and vegetarian options to reduce environmental impact.

Make sustainability the norm with the help of Venue Crew

At the end of the day, sustainability shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be involved in every step of your event preparations. With sustainability becoming front of mind, there are so many more ways to balance your events without sacrificing style, quality or the overall experience (and it also helps create a great brand image with your guests too.)