Sustainability at the Responsible Leaders Innovation Forum 2024

Our Commitment to Sustainability

How do we monitor our sustainability efforts?We have created an Internal Sustainability Strategy to help us track our sustainability efforts, monitor the influence of our activities on the environment, and reduce our environmental impact. Our process is divided into three steps: diagnosing, reducing, and offsetting. DiagnosingWe regularly measure our emissions to assess our progress. This data helps us understand our impact and identify areas for improvement. ReducingWith clear goals and a reduction plan in place, we work to reduce our footprint while continuing to fulfill our mission and goals. We are working with a self-established “Playbook for Responsible Event Management" to ensure our events run sustainably. OffsettingFor the emissions we can’t entirely eliminate, we use an internal carbon price, which assigns a monetary value to greenhouse gas emissions and helps guide our processes and decisions.

Sustainable Events: Our Responsible Event Management

Events are powerful opportunities for reflection, connection, and driving change. They create a space where leaders can have open, meaningful conversations, connect with diverse voices, and explore ideas for transforming systems. By doing so, we contribute to a fairer and more sustainable future. To bring this vision to life, we take a holistic approach to designing and planning our events—what we call Responsible Event Management.​Putting Responsible Event Management into action means understanding our focus areas. For the Responsible Leaders Innovation Forum in Berlin, our guiding principles of sustainable event management are a well-curated event design, Sustainability, and EDB (Equity, Diversity, Belonging).

Responsible Event Management in Practice​

Geographical Location & Venue​Choosing the right venue plays a significant role in shaping the experience of an event. When selecting a venue, we consider factors like public transport access, energy use, and whether suppliers follow sustainable practices. For the Responsible Leaders Innovation Forum, we focused on a few key elements:
  • Easy to reach with sustainable transportation for most participants
  • Strong public transport connections for individual arrivals
  • Barrier-free access throughout the venue
  • Suppliers committed to sustainable practices
 In this way, we ensure that our venue aligns with our sustainability and accessibility goals. Technical Equipment​When we think about the technical setup for an event, we often picture large screens, bright stage lights, and microphones. However, this equipment has a significant environmental impact and can also be costly.  Consider this:
  • A screen uses about 100 watts per hour, and a projector uses 200 to 300 watts.
  • Traditional light bulbs waste 90% of their energy as heat, while LEDs are far more efficient.
  • Event spotlights typically consume 1000 to 2000 watts.
 For the Responsible Leaders Innovation Forum, we’re working closely with our technical provider, satis&fy, to align with their sustainability strategy and reduce our tech footprint. Catering​Good food is crucial for a successful event, and its benefits extend beyond feeding participants. When selecting catering, several factors come into play.Eating animals not only raises moral questions; vegetarians produce about 50% less CO2 than meat-eaters. For instance, 75% of the land used for food production is dedicated to meat and animal products, and the farming of feed crops like corn, soy, and wheat has a significant environmental impact.As we choose our catering options, we ask ourselves: How are the ingredients sourced? What is their carbon footprint? Do the dishes highlight local cuisine? Does the caterer have a sustainability mission?At the Responsible Leaders Innovation Forum, we prioritize vegetarian, organic, regional, and seasonal food. We also provide ways for attendees to engage with our sustainability efforts, such as an overview of our coffee shop’s CO2 emissions and QR codes on the menu cards to share information about our offerings.Setup​A venue’s look and feel significantly enhance the event experience. Often, setups are created just for the event and then dismantled afterward, which can be very resource intensive.To minimize the environmental impacts of our setups, we avoid temporary stage constructions and exhibition stands whenever possible. When necessary, we focus on using durable and recyclable materials.At the Responsible Leaders Innovation Forum, we implement several eco-friendly practices:
  • We use light installations and screens instead of printed backdrops.
  • We avoid harmful substances and waste.
  • We reuse long-lasting components.
  • We source rental furniture and decorations locally.
  • We communicate our sustainability strategy and collaborate with suppliers to achieve our sustainability goals.
 Additionally, we highlight our sustainability efforts at the Forum with:
  • Badges made from coffee cup paper at the welcome desk.
  • Digital event programs accessible via QR codes to minimize paper use.
 Communication​Communicating our efforts is just as crucial as our actions. For us, this means sharing our responsible event management practices, both beforehand and during the event, to inspire and influence others.When people see others taking action, they’re more likely to follow suit, which amplifies our efforts to minimize our carbon footprint. That is why we communicate our criteria for selecting venues and catering and our CO2 reduction measures. This creates transparent event practices that raise awareness among participants.We aim to build a supportive atmosphere, not one of guilt, and want to encourage participants to embrace change without feeling judged. Our focus is on solutions that motivate positive behavior and create value.As we prepare for the Responsible Leaders Innovation Forum, we follow these steps:Participant Management:
  • We follow up with registered participants to inform them about the program, which helps reduce no-show rates.
  • We communicate our sustainable measures throughout the invitation and registration process.
During the Forum:
  • We highlight the names of local providers and stakeholders contributing to our sustainability efforts, especially in the introduction speech.
  • We continue to share our sustainability measures on-site.
We hope to inspire everyone to join us in making a positive impact through our words and actions.

Equity, Diversity, and Belonging

Events Manifesto

As an organization that brings people together, we see it as our responsibility to create safe spaces in which everyone feels invited, seen, and heard, to ensure they can be their full selves. Equity, diversity, and belonging (EDB) are intrinsically linked to our work and to how we strive to host events. We would like to ensure that our EDB approach goes beyond singular activities and is systemically implemented in every event we plan – from the people and program to the physical places in which we convene.

EDB Events Manifesto