On September 18th 2024, the Oekozenter Pafendall and the Luxembourg Convention Bureau (LCB) held a workshop to discuss the opportunities and challenges of sustainable catering in business events. Around 30 industry professionals gathered at the Chamber of Commerce to address current issues and explore practical solutions for more sustainable catering practices.
The workshop began with a welcome speech from the president of the Luxembourg Convention Bureau, followed by a presentation from the Oekozenter Pafendall on the Green Business Events (GBE) project. The GBE project sets standards for participating caterers, requiring them to offer a certain percentage of regional, organic, and fair-trade products. Meeting these criteria demands a strong commitment from caterers and other industry professionals to satisfy clients’ requirements while ensuring high-quality and ecological services.
Inspiring testimonials
The workshop also featured a roundtable discussion with insights from Anne-Sophie Preud’homme and Stéphanie Bour-Reicher of PWC Luxembourg, Savéria Eyer from LCB, and Julien Cliquet, who shared their recent experiences organising Green Business Events.
They highlighted the benefits of this approach, including positive participant feedback, the opportunity to stand out, and the chance to demonstrate a strong commitment to social responsibility (CSR) toward both clients and employees.
However, they also discussed challenges faced along the way. Participants noted the importance of raising awareness among attendees about reducing food waste, as well as the difficulty of sourcing certain regional or organic products, increased costs, and additional logistical and time considerations. One of the GBE project’s goals is indeed to support local and organic agricultural diversification, which should help improve access to sustainably sourced food products over time.
The dynamic legislative landscape of the organic certification
Katherine Miller, from the Administration of Technical Agricultural Services, provided valuable insights on upcoming legislative developments regarding organic certification for the catering sector. Although there are currently no specific regulations for the catering and event industry, changes that could impact the sale, processing, and labeling of organic products are expected.
A participative brainstorming session
After a short coffee break, participants gathered for a participative brainstorming session aimed at considering concrete solutions to the challenges of sustainable event catering. Key topics discussed included reducing no-shows and food waste, improving communication between stakeholders, raising client awareness, clarifying certain criteria, and exploring the environmental value of local organic agriculture compared to locally sourced uncertified products.
Next steps
Building on the success of this first edition, additional workshops will be organised to delve deeper into key topics of sustainable event management, such as:
- Reducing food waste
- Lowering the carbon footprint of events
- Eco-labels and sustainable initiatives for service providers
In addition, the feedback gathered during this workshop will inform the revision of the GBE criteria, reflecting our commitment to align these criteria with the sector’s realities and needs. Ongoing discussions between the GBE project coordinators and caterers will aim to improve the clarity of service offerings and facilitate communication between caterers, clients, and project coordinators.
Our sincere thanks to our speakers—Anne-Sophie Preud’homme and Stéphanie Bour-Reicher of PwC Luxembourg, Savéria Eyer from the Luxembourg Convention Bureau, and Julien Cliquet—as well as to all participants for their dedication and inspiring contributions.
