Sustainability is becoming an increasingly important consideration when choosing where to hold an event. But progress doesn’t mean changing everything overnight or getting every decision exactly right. It means hotels, venues and planners doing what they reasonably can, while still creating experiences that work for their guests, businesses and budgets.
Many hotels across M&I’s international network are already leading the way with thoughtful initiatives and measurable improvements. Sheraton Stockholm, which hosted M&I Flagship Stockholm 2026 from 17 to 20 June, is one excellent example. Rather than relying on one headline-grabbing initiative, the hotel has introduced practical measures across its energy and water use, cleaning and laundry, food waste and guest experience. Individually, some may feel like small changes. Together, they show how a clear commitment can become part of a hotel’s everyday operations.
Recognising real progress
M&I’s Green Tick was created to recognise and encourage this kind of progress across our supplier community. It helps buyers identify suppliers that can demonstrate how they support more responsible events, whether that is through sharing emissions data, offering guidance or providing practical, lower-impact options.
Crucially, the Green Tick isn’t about claiming that any supplier is perfectly sustainable. It recognises evidence-based action and a willingness to work with planners as they pursue their own sustainability goals.
Sheraton Stockholm offers a strong example of the practical work that can sit behind a hotel’s wider environmental commitments.
Looking beyond what guests can see
Some of the most effective changes are the ones guests may never notice. All the electricity used at Sheraton Stockholm comes from 100% renewable sources, while 99% of its district heating is recycled or renewable. The hotel has also installed Otis ReGen elevators, which use up to 75% less energy than conventional lifts. When a lift brakes, the system regenerates power that can be reused elsewhere in the building.
These infrastructure improvements may not be particularly visible, but they can make a meaningful long-term difference, especially in a hotel with 463 guest rooms and suites, busy communal areas and extensive meeting facilities.
For hotel operators, it is worth looking at opportunities throughout the building, from heating and lighting to ventilation and lift systems. For planners, asking where a venue’s energy comes from, what efficiency measures it has introduced and whether it can provide supporting information helps to build a much clearer picture.
Rethinking the everyday essentials
Water is another area where seemingly simple changes can quickly add up. In partnership with Nordaq, Sheraton Stockholm filters and bottles the city’s tap water on-site, before serving it in reusable glass bottles throughout the hotel. This reduces the need for commercially bottled water and the transport and waste that come with it. The difference can be particularly noticeable during a large event, when delegates might otherwise use hundreds of single-use bottles over several days.
The hotel also uses Nordic Swan Ecolabel Z-Water for its cleaning and laundry operations, saving approximately 1,950 litres of chemicals each year. It is a good reminder that sustainability reaches far beyond the meeting room. Housekeeping products, laundry processes and the suppliers working behind the scenes all contribute to an event’s overall impact.
Planners can ask venues how water will be served, whether reusable options are available and what measures are in place across housekeeping, kitchens and laundry. For hotel teams, reviewing the full guest journey and supply chain can uncover realistic opportunities to make a difference.
Giving guests a choice
Guests can play a part too, particularly when that participation is simple and doesn’t feel like a compromise. Through Marriott’s Make a Sustainable Choice programme, guests at Sheraton Stockholm can opt out of daily housekeeping and receive Marriott Bonvoy points in return. Each room clean declined saves approximately 141 litres of water, 0.19 kWh of electricity and 207 ml of cleaning products. One guest opting out may feel like a small gesture, but across hundreds of rooms during a multi-day event, the combined saving becomes far more significant.
The scheme works because participation remains a choice and guests receive something in return. It also makes a behind-the-scenes saving more tangible by showing people the difference their decision can make.
Event planners can help by making delegates aware of programmes like this before they arrive. Hotels can support participation by communicating the benefits clearly, while ensuring guests still have access to anything they genuinely need.
Finding a better destination for surplus food
Food is an important part of any event experience, but it can also be difficult to predict perfectly. Delegate numbers change, dietary requirements vary and busy schedules sometimes leave surplus that even careful planning cannot avoid. Sheraton Stockholm works with Too Good To Go to help ensure surplus food reaches people instead of going to landfill.
Reducing waste in the first place remains the priority. Accurate forecasting, sensible portions and flexible menus can all help. When safe, edible food is left over, however, having a responsible plan for it matters.
This is something planners should feel comfortable discussing with potential venues. How does the kitchen avoid overproduction? Is food waste measured? What happens to safe surplus food? The answers can reveal a great deal about how a hotel’s commitments translate into daily practice.
Why trusted credentials matter
Sheraton Stockholm also holds Green Key certification, an internationally recognised standard for sustainable hospitality. Green Key and M&I’s Green Tick serve different but complementary purposes. Green Key independently assesses a hotel against established sustainability criteria. M&I’s Green Tick helps buyers identify suppliers that can show practical progress and support the objectives of their events.
For busy buyers, that added visibility is valuable. The Green Tick appears within M&I’s matchmaking platform, making it easier to spot suppliers whose approach may align with their organisation’s priorities and begin relevant conversations during their meetings. For suppliers, it is an opportunity to share what they are doing, demonstrate their progress and explain how they can help planners make more responsible choices.
Making sustainability part of the experience
M&I Flagship Stockholm brought leading UK and European buyers and suppliers together for three days of one-to-one meetings, networking and destination discovery in one of the Nordics’ most established MICE destinations. Sheraton Stockholm provided an excellent base for the event, with its sustainability measures sitting naturally alongside the guest experience. Renewable energy powered comfortable rooms, reusable glass bottles provided convenient access to water and guests could choose to reduce housekeeping, while surplus food could be redirected instead of wasted.
It is one of many examples across M&I’s hotel community showing that responsible hospitality doesn’t have to feel restrictive. When approached thoughtfully, it simply becomes part of how a great hotel operates.
Asking the right questions
When comparing venues, planners can get a much clearer sense of their approach by asking:
* Where does the venue’s energy come from?
* What is it doing to reduce its use of water, energy and chemicals?
* How does it prevent and manage food waste?
* Can delegates opt out of daily housekeeping?
* Does it offer reusable alternatives to single-use items?
* Can it provide useful information or data for event reporting?
* Does it hold recognised third-party certification?
* How can its team support the sustainability goals of the event?
There is no single route to more sustainable hospitality. Every hotel is working with different buildings, locations, budgets and operational demands. What matters is a willingness to make realistic improvements and communicate openly about the progress being made.
Sheraton Stockholm is one excellent example among the many hotels in M&I’s international network taking positive steps. Through the M&I Green Tick, buyers can identify more of these suppliers, have better-informed conversations and find partners that can support their goals.
Progress rarely comes from one dramatic gesture. More often, it is the result of thoughtful decisions, practical changes and a shared determination to keep moving in the right direction.
