Photo Credit: Sergey Isaev/fotomaximum - stock.adobe.com
We've all heard the excuses. For every environmentally sustainable initiative you attempt to incorporate into an event, there's an event owner or stakeholder with a ready-made reason why we just can't make that work.
Anna Abdelnoor, the CEO and founder of the event-sustainability nonprofit Isla, is prepared to help you combat those quick excuses with myth-busting data. At last week's IMEX America in Las Vegas, she and I addressed the top 5 myths in an Inspiration Hub session.
Do these excuses sound familiar? Here's how to address these common myths.
Myth #1: It's too expensive.
The reality: You have to calculate what you're comparing expensive to. Add up the cost of purchasing, transport and disposal, and you'll find that reuse and rental are often a better value. The fact is, the lower-carbon option frequently costs the same or less. Renting vs. buying reduces spend, as do shipping lighter loads and producing less waste — both of which have costs directly proportional to weight.
Isla has data to back up these points, as do a variety of venues. For instance, MGM Resorts has saved $5.5 million since 2024 through waste diversion and recovery. And if you're looking at sustainable menu options? Consider that U.S. beef prices rose four times faster than all other foods in 2025.
Myth #2: We don't have time. We're too busy.
The reality: Most of these are the same decisions you're faced with today; you simply need to make different choices. Sustainability practices can drive these decisions, whether they entail more plant-forward menus or lower-carbon suppliers. Measuring your carbon footprint will definitely help, in terms of prioritizing which decisions are most impactful and then tracking progress — and that takes time. But you can incorporate sustainably motivated decisions immediately.
And these sustainable options do exist. According to data from Trace, the carbon-measurement platform developed by Isla, 54 percent of meals are plant-based, so these menu options shouldn't be difficult to find. Carpet exists that is 100 percent recyclable, and paper-based board is actually the most common graphic material in the U.K.
Myth #3: We don't know how. We lack the knowledge.
The reality: You learn faster once you start than you ever will by preparing to start. It's normal to not know exactly how and where to begin, but sustainable initiatives are all about improving over time. "You'll get it slightly wrong and improve next time," said Abdelnoor. "The knowledge increases by doing it."
The Trace platform was built with this in mind, and allows event professionals to begin measuring for free.
Myth #4: My delegates want print, meat and choice.
The reality: You can provide choice and still dramatically reduce your carbon impact. A blended burger recipe, for instance, can cut the carbon footprint by as much as 71 percent. And even if you serve meat as, say, an option for salads, you're still reducing the quantity and the impact with that choice. Pro tip: Describe dishes by their flavor, rather than as "vegan," and the number of people choosing them increases dramatically.
We can also become victims of what's known as pluralistic ignorance, in which we misperceive the social norms with respect to what our audience expects. Frequently, organizers have anticipated more pushback to initiatives than what has actually played out. And sometimes attendees will expect to miss something — like a printed show program — than they find they do in practice.
Myth #5: Measuring our carbon footprint is too much effort.
The reality: The process of measuring carbon footprint can be complex and time-consuming — but getting started is less effort than you think. If you decide to measure from the outset, the inputs are readily available, whether you're talking about fuel, power, transport or materials. Capturing this as you go is much easier than rebuilding the data after the event ends. Also: You don't have to measure everything to start! Pick one impactful area and focus on that to begin.
If you've ever launched sustainable-events initiatives, or attempted to, you know that these excuses are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. For more myth-busting ammunition, see the basis for this session: 31 Sustainability Excuses and What to Say Back, produced by Isla and The Meetings Show.