The cure for sustainable depression

As global corporations revoke their climate pledges, climate change is becoming an increasingly significant business risk for event organisers. Is the events industry ready to face this new reality?

How do you comment on a week filled with headlines about global corporations backing away from their sustainability pledges? Yesterday’s staunchest supporters of battling climate change switched their tune overnight. Starbucks, a brand that built its image on environmental consciousness and social responsibility, has quietly abandoned some of its most ambitious sustainability goals, according to the Financial Times. These include its goal to halve water use and waste. Moreover, the coffee brand has laid off several employees responsible for implementing its sustainability strategy.

A similar story is unfolding with other global giants. Nike, too, has scaled back its sustainability ambitions, the Financial Times says. Adding to the story is the latest upheaval in the finance world, where major banks have begun to renege on international climate alliances. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are names that show these are no longer isolated choices of individual companies, but symptoms of a broader shift.

Sustainability, though a strategic priority until yesterday, seems to have become an unnecessary burden overnight.

As long as it was a competitive advantage, it embellished annual reports, advertising campaigns and speeches made by board presidents. When the political climate and market conditions changed, they began to question its value.

It would be imprudent to ignore the influence of the US political climate. Donald Trump has repeatedly labelled climate change a conspiracy, while his policy has encouraged others to revoke climate pledges and pacts. Yet a widespread move away from sustainability isn’t the result of a single politician. It signals a deeper, systemic issue: how quickly long-term responsibility can give way to short-term business interests.

Similar thinking echoes in Slovenia. At a recent discussion about the price of climate politics, held at the National Council on 8 October, one advertised guest was Israeli‐American physics professor Nir J. Shaviv, known for claims that downplay human impact on global warming. Umanotera and other environmental agencies wrote a public letter well before the conference, warning that Desmog’s internal database lists the speaker as environmental disinformation. He was not the only controversial speaker, though. Among the announced speakers were also individuals whose claims about climate change scientists have long been refuted with sound arguments.

Needless to say, the debate over the costs of a green transition, economic competitiveness, and the future of energy is paramount. In this respect, debating the effectiveness of individual climate measures is completely legitimate. Yet it is quite different if we allow such stances to be treated as internationally agreed scientific findings under the roof of one of Slovenia’s most important government institutions.

We should and must discuss how we will fight climate change. However, voting cannot decide whether humans play a salient role in the planet’s warming.

Is there a light at the end of this increasingly dimming tunnel? I believe so. Responses from scientists, environmental organisations, and individuals who keep advocating for argued debates show that climate responsibility has not disappeared yet. Still, hope will not suffice in and of itself.

What does all this have to do with event organising?

A lot more than meets the eye. In recent years, the events industry has placed sustainability at the centre of its strategies, presentations, and promotional messages. We discussed green events, carbon footprints, waste reduction, sustainable mobility, and responsible energy management. The Net Zero movement, supported by most of the global events industry, underlined all this. Yet what happens when sustainability grows old and is no longer a competitive advantage or a client demand? What happens when sustainability pushes us to change our iron habits, make tough decisions, or give up work driven by short-term profits? Will event organisers similarly start to revoke their pledges clandestinely?

The real test of our commitment to sustainability is not how loud we speak of it when it is popular, but whether we are prepared to remain loyal to it even when it becomes complex and expensive. Yet there is one, perhaps more important, reason event organisers should take climate change seriously.

Sustainability is no longer only about how an event affects our environment. The more pressing question is how a changing environment affects our events.

According to the EEA, extreme weather and climate events between 1980 and 2024 caused 822 billion euros in economic damage in the European Union. A whopping 208 billion EUR, or nearly a quarter of the damage, occurred in the last four years of this period.

Behind the numbers lies ravaged infrastructure, lost homes, disturbances in the economy and countless human tragedies. So what do these billions have to do with organising a congress, festival, trade show or business event?

A lot more than we can imagine. Climate change doesn’t stay out of our event bubble. It affects prices, destination accessibility, logistics, attendee safety, and an event’s financial success.

Let’s see five risks every responsible event organiser should know:

1. Climate risks are becoming operational risks

Extreme weather events, energy uncertainty, and supply chain disruptions can quickly affect event organisation costs. More expensive electricity can mean higher cooling and heating costs and venue rental expenses. Draughts and floods can affect food prices and, consequently, catering costs. Even if an event is held in a state-of-the-art, air-conditioned event hall, it does not mean it is safe from climate risks.

Climate change can affect your budget long before the first attendee registers.

2. The risk of low attendance is growing

An event’s success is often closely tied to attendance. Yet what happens when extreme weather prevents them from arriving? Floods can close roads and rail lines, storms can cancel flights, and sweltering heat waves can reduce attendees’ willingness to travel. As a result, event organisers can expect last-minute cancellations, fewer attendees, unhappy sponsors, and poor financial results. The risk is even greater for international events, as the event organiser depends not only on conditions at the venue, but also on weather at key air and traffic hubs.

3. Outdoor events are becoming especially vulnerable

Festivals, concerts, sports events and other outdoor events are particularly exposed to the elements. Heat waves can seriously endanger attendees’ and staff’s health. Strong winds, storms, and floods can threaten the safety of walls, temporary installations, and other infrastructure. In extreme cases, organisers must postpone or cancel an event. This prompts a sharp demand for stronger safety measures, a plan-B location, and suitable guarantees. Insurance costs and accessibility can also become problematic for the most exposed events. The question is thus no longer whether the weather will hold up on the day of the event, but whether an event is designed to function safely in unenviable conditions.

4. Climate resistance is becoming a financial question

We still don’t discuss climate resilience enough in our industry. It is an event’s capacity to prepare for potential weather and climate disturbances, respond quickly, and limit their effects. To do so, event organisers must plan for contingencies, book alternative venues, create flexible schedules, use suitable infrastructure, and implement clear crisis protocols. These measures come with a price, though. But being caught off guard can cost significantly more. A cancelled event can mean lost revenue, one-way expenses, contractual obligations, and possibly a tarnished reputation for the organiser. One weather disturbance can endanger the business outcome of an entire project, especially for grand events. Hence, climate risk assessment should not be an appendix to a contingency plan, but an integral part of an event’s financial plan.

5. Butterfly effect: risk is not limited to event venues

In chaos theory, the butterfly effect explains how a small change can produce massive, often unpredictable consequences in a complex system. A similar rule of thumb applies to how climate risks connect. A flood on one side of Europe can interrupt equipment supplies for your event on the other side. A drought in an agricultural region can impact food prices. A storm at a major European airport can delay speakers’ and attendees’ arrivals at a conference in Ljubljana. Event organising is an extremely intertwined activity that relies on numerous external systems we can only influence so much.

An event can be safe from the elements but still vulnerable to the climate.

Highly possible. Before that, they’ll likely move across the calendar. Destinations long considered ideal hosts for summer festivals, congresses, and other events will have to grapple with increasing heat waves, water scarcity, and fire risk. On the other side, northern European countries and destinations on more northern parallels will become more alluring thanks to mild summer temperatures,

Will Europe soon be divided by a new climate parallel? While this is not a scientifically approved line on a map, it is becoming an increasingly tangible climate border. Research by the European Commission, which analysed 269 European regions, found that some tourism will shift from the scorching south to the milder north. If more severe global-warming scenarios come true, southern coastal destinations could lose up to a tenth of their summer visitors. If we discuss tourists today, we will undoubtedly debate congresses, festivals, and other events tomorrow. State demarcation lines might not define the future borders of destinations’ competitiveness, but the borders of climate resilience.

Perhaps an even more profound shift in events will be from hot summer months to autumn and spring. Can you imagine organisers of large-scale international events choosing destinations primarily for their climate resilience, rather than attractiveness, accessibility, or price?

The climate, once seen as a competitive advantage, can now become a destination’s greatest business shortcoming.

How unprepared are we really?

Here’s a question the events industry should address head-on. How many event organisers actually double-check the exposure to heat waves, floods and other climate risks when selecting an event venue? How many have a plan for extreme weather conditions? How many account for the possibility that an event will need to be postponed, adapted, or cancelled in their financial plans? I am afraid we are still more focused on reducing our events’ carbon footprint than adapting them to climate change.

Both are necessary; these are two differing tasks. The former reduces events’ impact on the climate, while the latter ensures events can take place safely and without interruption, even in a changing climate.

A responsible event organiser should be able to list the climate risks for their event and measure its carbon footprint. In other words, they should be able to explain the venue’s vulnerabilities, the sensitivity of traffic accessibility, identify weak points in the supply chain, and explain the financial consequences of possible disruptions.

When selecting a destination, we should prioritise climate resilience over price, allure, and infrastructure. When drafting contracts, we should define responsibilities for extreme weather. Likewise, when setting budgets, we should set aside funds for sudden changes or crisis scenarios.

Event organisers are considered masters of mastering the unpredictable. We prepare contingency plans for speaker cancellations, technical issues, supplier delays, and many other predicaments. Yet we too often treat climate risks that can endanger an entire event as force majeure beyond our control.

We can’t control the weather, but we can prepare for it better.

Of course there is, but it will not turn on by default. While the largest global corporations move away from their sustainability pledges, event organisers can do the opposite. We must step forward and, above all, admit something we rarely hear in our industry.

An event that causes slightly less harm than last year is not sustainable. It is just slightly less harmful.

It’s time to think beyond reducing negative impacts. Yes, less waste, plastic and emissions are paramount. But it should not be the end goal.

We must stop reducing our harm and begin creating positive changes. This is where the future of the Planet Positive Event concept lies. It is not just another green pledge or marketing story; it is a different approach to events. It encourages event organisers to measure their events’ carbon footprint while fostering tangible positive effects for the environment, local communities, and society at large. At the same time, these events must be climate-resilient enough to succeed in our fast-changing world.

To succeed in this climate-uncertain planet, event organisers must do more than produce beautifully designed sustainability reports.

Event organisers must change their modus vivendi: flip how they plan, finance, and execute events.

Perhaps now is the right time for the events industry to show its courage, as global giants give up on their promises. If corporations answer the climate crisis with surrender, ours will be to stand firm.

Back to the title and the cure for sustainable depression: the best remedy isn’t another sustainability conference, declaration, or promise of carbon neutrality by 2050. The best antidote is substantial action, because the future of the events industry will belong not to those who can sweet-talk with green claims, but to those who can prove they can organise events that leave more than a heap of waste, some nice photos, or content for attendees.

The time has come to stop asking how to organise an event that does as little harm to the planet as possible. We must ask ourselves how to plan an event that leaves the world a bit better.

Author: Gorazd Čad