SEMINARS

This year's theatre programme follows one journey through the day. Drop in anywhere, but the day builds, starting with the keynote and advencing throughout.

BASIC, BETTER, BEST: ONE DAY, THREE LEVELS

Basic sets the foundations.

Better is your opportunity to improve the industry.

Best pushes leaders further.

The same three specialists speak in the morning and the afternoon. Each topic is pitched once for people starting out and once for strategic decision-makers, so you can pick the level that fits you or attend both.

With a strict limit on the number of delegate places (same rule as last year!) make sure you register for the show today and avoid missing the only exhibition to provide you wall-to-wall solutions for executing sustainable events.

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*Please note there is no reserved seating for delegates attending seminars. If you have special access or disability needs, please notify us in advance so we can make provisions for you.

Keynote 09:30 - 09:55

what’s actually stopping us? With Anna Abdelnoor, TRACE by Isla

We know more about how to make events sustainable than ever before. We have better data, more alternatives products and services, and plenty of good intentions. And yet progress still feels painfully slow.

So what’s actually getting in the way?

In this opening keynote, Anna Abdelnoor explores the space between caring about change and being able to make it happen. She’ll look at how our ability to act shifts depending on where we sit within a system, what happens when responsibility sits with people who lack the power to deliver change or when we have more agency than we're willing to exercise.

It’s an invitation to start the day differently and get clear on the outcome you need from your day.

Maybe it's better information, infrastructure, or technologies. Maybe you need other people to act. And maybe the solution is already in front of you - you just need to decide whether you're willing to use it.

BASIC, BETTER AND BEST SESSIONS

MORNING: BASIC 10:15

For coordinators, executives, early-career planners and career changers.

The language is plain and no prior knowledge is assumed. Every session has to pass one test: could someone in their first year use it on Monday?

Commercial & Sustainable

With Ben Quarrell, Sustainability Simplified

Sustainable choices and commercial choices usually point the same way. This session covers why clients now ask about sustainability in briefs and tenders, and where it saves money on menus, materials, freight and energy. It explains event carbon in plain English and shows how to put a sustainable option into a proposal without it looking like an add-on.

Social Value in Events

With Matt Grey, event:decision

This is the S in ESG, the part most people are never taught. The session explains what social value means for people, place and legacy. You'll leave with easy wins you can own on your next event.

Certifications & Accreditations

With Ariela Schnitman, Worlds Better

This session demystifies the badges on supplier websites and in tenders. It maps ISO 20121, B Corp and the main venue and supplier schemes, and explains what each one proves and what it doesn't. You'll also learn how to check that a supplier's claim is real, and where certification fits for a smaller agency or a freelancer.

LATE MORNING: BETTER 11:30

Responsible Futures London: Live Data Session

Hosted by Matt Grey

This session is for anyone and everyone in the building. Take part in a live survey and add your voice to the Responsible Futures programme on everything sustainable and responsible.

AFTERNOON: BEST 14:00

For agency directors, heads of sustainability, corporate buyers, procurement and venue GMs.

The sessions bring evidence, challenge and a forward view. The test here: does it change what you plan to do next year?

Panel: Is it all going to sh*t for agencies?

Ben Quarrell, Matt Grey and Ariela Schnitman,

joined by Mike Kershaw and Ed Richards

Agencies face squeezed budgets, procurement-led buying, AI and rising demands for ESG data. The panel asks whether the model is breaking or whether responsible practice is the way through. It's a frank, high-energy start to the afternoon.

Commercial & Sustainable: Leadership Edition

With Ben Quarrell, Sustainability Simplified

This session treats sustainability as a strategy for revenue, margin and client retention. It covers how to price measurement and reduction as a service, how procurement scores sustainability in tenders and what wins, and how to build the business case for the board.

Social Value in Events: Leadership Edition

With Matt Grey, event:decision

This session takes social value from good intentions to something you measure, report and bid on. It covers what the existing data reveals about the gap between what the industry says and what it does, how to evidence social value and how to win on social value in tenders without overclaiming.

Certifications & Accreditations: Leadership Edition

With Ariela Schnitman, Worlds Better

This session helps you decide which accreditations are worth the investment. It covers choosing the right scheme for your business and clients, what certification really takes in time and cost, and how to use it to win work while meeting the governance it demands.