Written by Chris McQue, Founder of MeetSleepCycle
But this year feels different. Recent data from NASA satellites confirms our planet is becoming dimmer. Environmental degradation, retreating ice sheets and expanding urban landscapes are reducing the amount of sunlight reflected back into space. The Earth is darkening. Over sixty years of climate change, captured in a single image.
The events industry has been sitting with its own version of this for years. There has been real, genuine effort – from pledges to reporting frameworks, sustainability leads hired, panels convened, and awards given. The community of event professionals who care about getting this right is bigger and more committed than ever.
Despite this, it’s not getting any easier to deliver sustainable events. Budgets are tighter, and timelines are shorter. The infrastructure of vetted suppliers, aligned destinations, and Procurement tools that support sound decision-making is hard to source when you need it. That’s how MeetSleepCycle was created. We believe the best way to understand why Sustainability matters is to be at the heart of it, by taking event professionals out of the conference room and into nature on two wheels.
This September, in partnership with the Slovenian Tourist Board, we’re bringing a group of EMEA event buyers and suppliers to Slovenia to experience a purpose-driven event. Staying in five green-tourism certified hotels and eating from regionally sourced menus, this is far more than a beautiful backdrop for a networking event.
One well-designed event can reduce the impact of many more
MeetSleepCycle has worked with Sirocco Sustainability consultancy to develop a programme bringing academics, institutions, NGOs and business leaders from outside the M&E bubble to inspire us to approach events differently.
One of the most underserved groups in the sustainability conversation is the supply chain that event organisers depend on every day. The Buyer-Ready Sustainability Workshop, led by Sirocco, equips suppliers at MeetSleepCycle with the language, credentials, and procurement-ready frameworks to walk into any buyer meeting with confidence.
A sustainable event is arguably one that shouldn’t exist. Every gathering, including MeetSleepCycle, has an environmental impact, and we’re not pretending otherwise. Our belief is that one well-designed event can reduce the impact of many more. When event professionals leave Slovenia with trusted suppliers, practical frameworks and a deeper understanding of what responsible delivery looks like, they take that back into every event they produce for the next year, five years, ten years. Those event professionals deserve better tools, better spaces and better conversations than the industry has been giving them.
The countdown to September has begun.
MeetSleepCycle Slovenia takes place 20–23 September 2026. The event is organised in partnership with the Slovenian Tourist Board, Slovenia Meetings, Liberty Adriatic DMC, Visit Maribor, Bohinj ECO Hotel, Sava Hotels & Resorts, Hit Alpinea, Polka Dot Cycling, Alpinia, Planet Positive Event, MeetPoint and Sirocco Sustainability.
For more information or to register your interest, visit meetingsleepcycle.com.
