Fáilte Ireland

Worth more than €1 billion a year and supporting around 22,000 jobs in the country, the Fáilte Ireland Business Events Team set out to prove that responsible growth in the events sector could be a commercial advantage, not a constraint. As Ireland’s national business events unit, working with regional convention bureaux, universities, venues, suppliers and associations, the team re-engineered how the country bids for and stages international meetings around environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals with a program that links directly to Business Events 2030 – the national roadmap aiming for 8% revenue growth and €700 million in qualified opportunities each year.

Progress was swift and saw policy followed up with operational tools, including Ireland's first Business Events Carbon Calculator to provide a consistent scope-based view across travel, venues, accommodation, catering and logistics, with more than 50 events benchmarked since launch. Plus, a Green Toolkit to translate sustainability goals into procurement and planning practice, and a national Impact & Legacy Framework to assess impact across eight measurable outcomes, ahead of delivery. This toolkit was applied to several pilots, including the International Social Housing Festival 2025 in Dublin, and Autism Europe Congress/EACD 2026 in Galway where it was proven to influence communities, accessibility, knowledge transfer and partnerships.

According to the judges, the team successfully turned ESG into a shared, country-wide playbook. It enabled six Irish cities to reach the top 40 of the GDSIndex destination sustainability benchmark; Dublin climbed 10 places to 19th; 15 partners joined Fáilte Ireland's Climate Action Programme; and training is ongoing to build capability and skills among PCOs and convention bureaux. The judges noted the inspirational leadership on a national level, and credible outcomes that "moved ESG from aspiration to infrastructure”.