The PLEDGE on Food Waste for Events
Conferences, congresses, and corporate events waste 15–20% of the food they commission. We help event organizers, venues, and agencies prevent — and get certified for it.

The PLEDGE on Food Waste, now extended to the MICE industry — conferences, congresses, and corporate events. Where our hospitality service supports hotels and restaurants, this service applies the same third-party certified methodology to event organizers, venues, and meeting planners, using a dedicated 8-pillar framework built specifically for the event lifecycle: before, during, and after.

Who Is This For?

  • Corporate Clients and Planners

    Build food waste prevention into your event brief from day one, and demonstrate it to stakeholders with a certified outcome.

  • Event Venues and F&B Teams

    Give kitchen, service, and steward teams a practical system to plan, monitor, and reduce waste across every event.

  • Congress and Organizers

    Align large-scale conferences and congresses with sustainability commitments your delegates and sponsors expect.
  • Delegates & Attendees
    Every attendee plays a part — from choosing portions mindfully to engaging with on-site food waste initiatives.
Why it matters?
  • 90%
    of event planners welcome venues raising the topic of food waste prevention
  • $6
    saved for every $1 invested in food waste reduction by caterers
  • 15-20%
    of food commissioned during events goes wasted, on average
The 8 Pillars
Food waste prevention at events runs through three phases and eight pillars — spanning organizers, venue teams, and delegates alike.
BEFORE THE EVENT
  • Forecast & Planning — Align food supply with actual demand instead of estimates.
  • Communication & Promotion — Set expectations and shape stakeholder perception early.
  • Staff Responsibility & Training — Build a culture where team members know their role in prevention.
  • Food Rescue & Transformation Partners — Line up local partners to redistribute or repurpose surplus before it happens.
DURING & AFTER THE EVENT
  • Menu & Service — Design portions and buffet service to prevent overproduction at the source.
  • Delegates Engagement — Turn attendees into active participants in reducing waste.
  • Monitor, Rescue & Transform Food Waste — Track and manage waste in real time against the plan.
  • Post-Event Communication — Report results, reinforce trust, and set the benchmark for the next event.
Certified, Not Self-Assessed
Larger events are verified through an independent third-party audit, giving your certification real external credibility — not a self-assessment.
  • Evidence collected before, during, and after the event
  • On-site audit for large-scale events
  • Certification aligned with UN SDGs 2, 12, 13, and 17

Most food waste at events isn't a failure of intention — it's a failure of planning. Give any team a clear system, a way to measure it, and a reason to care, and waste stops being inevitable. That's project management applied to sustainability, and it works.

Vugar Rustamli
Founder & MD, PMWILL
Running a Hotel, Restaurant, or Foodservice Operation Instead?
If your food waste challenge is day-to-day — hotel dining, restaurant kitchens, or catering operations — rather than a one-off event, our original Food Waste Consulting service uses The PLEDGE's Six Pillars methodology built for ongoing hospitality operations.
See Food Waste Consulting for Hospitality
Ready to make your next event a certified zero food waste event?
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