The events industry spent almost half a million pounds disposing of single-use materials from less than 800 events, according to new research from sustainability body isla, with the organisation warning that event waste represents both a significant environmental challenge and an unnecessary financial cost.
Drawing on data from 789 events and more than 6,400 material entries recorded through isla's TRACE carbon measurement platform during 2025, the report estimates that 1,229 tonnes of event materials were used once before being discarded. Based on UK government packaging waste disposal fees of around £292 per tonne, isla estimates the disposal cost alone approaches £500,000 - more than £600 per event on average.
The findings suggest that while travel remains the largest contributor to an event's overall carbon footprint, materials account for 27 per cent of emissions once audience travel is removed and almost a third of an organiser's controllable emissions when staff travel is also excluded.
The report also found that 84 per cent of materials used across the dataset were virgin materials, while 42 per cent of build materials were used only once. Carpet emerged as the industry's highest-emitting build material, with 78 per cent of event carpet being used for a single event before entering the waste stream.
Emily Shephard, insights lead at isla, said: "When you dig into the materials data, what stands out isn't just the scale of the emissions, it's the volume of waste that's become normalised and accepted as part of doing business.
"Nearly half of build materials are used once and thrown away, a shocking stat for circularity efforts, emissions reductions, as well as a significant financial burden. That's a clear call to action and somewhere to focus for anyone making design and build decisions."
Alongside identifying carpet and banners as priority areas for improvement, the report argues that organisers should focus on using fewer materials, designing for reuse and planning what happens to materials before an event begins rather than after it ends.
The report also suggests venues could play a much greater role in tackling waste by managing shared flooring inventories and coordinating the reuse of materials between events, helping to break what it describes as the industry's "single-use default".
While isla acknowledges that hired materials are likely to be underreported within the dataset, meaning the proportion of virgin materials may be overstated, it says the findings nevertheless reveal a significant opportunity for organisers to reduce both emissions and costs by rethinking how event materials are specified, sourced and reused.
Read the report.
