BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Pavilion︱MSC 2025
Sustainability
Our Commitment to Sustainability
How do we monitor our sustainability efforts?We have created an Internal Sustainability Strategy to help us track our sustainability efforts, monitor the influence of our activities on the environment, and reduce our environmental impact. Our process is divided into three steps: diagnosing, reducing, and offsetting. DiagnosingWe regularly measure our emissions to assess our progress. This data helps us understand our impact and identify areas for improvement. ReducingWith clear goals and a reduction plan in place, we work to reduce our footprint while continuing to fulfill our mission and goals. We are working with a self-established “Playbook for Responsible Event Management" to ensure our events run sustainably. OffsettingFor the emissions we can’t entirely eliminate, we use an internal carbon price, which assigns a monetary value to greenhouse gas emissions and helps guide our processes and decisions. The revenue generated from the internal carbon price is then channeled into supporting carbon capture projects.Using an internal carbon price is an essential strategy for addressing emissions that cannot be fully eliminated through other means. By placing a monetary value on greenhouse gas emissions, the internal carbon price incentivizes the organization to find ways to reduce its carbon footprint and invest in solutions that can capture and store the remaining emissions. For instance, in 2024, our unavoidable emissions were priced with a carbon fee of 100€/t CO2e and the resulting carbon fee was used to support the regeneration of wetlands in Germany as a vital carbon sink led by the organization tomoorow.
Sustainable Events: Our Responsible Event Management
Events are powerful opportunities for reflection, connection, and driving change. They create a space where leaders can have open, meaningful conversations, connect with diverse voices, and explore ideas for transforming systems. By doing so, we contribute to a fairer and more sustainable future. To bring this vision to life, we take a holistic approach to designing and planning our events—what we call Responsible Event Management.Putting Responsible Event Management into action means understanding our focus areas. For the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Pavilion, our guiding principles of sustainable event management are a well-curated event design, Sustainability, and EDB (Equity, Diversity, Belonging).
Responsible Event Management in Practice
Geographical Location & VenueChoosing the right venue plays a significant role in shaping the experience of an event. When selecting a venue, we consider factors like public transport access, energy use, and whether suppliers follow sustainable practices. For the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Pavilion, we focused on a few key elements:
- Easy to reach with sustainable transportation for most participants
- Strong public transport connections for individual arrivals
- Suppliers committed to sustainable practices
- A screen uses about 100 watts per hour, and a projector uses 200 to 300 watts.
- Traditional light bulbs waste 90% of their energy as heat, while LEDs are far more efficient.
- Event spotlights typically consume 1000 to 2000 watts.
- We use light installations and screens instead of printed backdrops.
- We avoid harmful substances and waste.
- We reuse long-lasting components.
- We source rental furniture and decorations locally.
- We communicate our sustainability strategy and collaborate with suppliers to achieve our sustainability goals.
- Badges made from coffee cup paper at the welcome desk.
- Digital event programs accessible via QR codes to minimize paper use.
- Plant rental in cooperation with the Botanikum: The Botanikum Gmbh & Co.KG company promotes sustainability by combining ecological, economic, and social aspects of sustainable business practices by conserving resources, reducing waste, and strengthening the circular economy.
- We follow up with registered participants to inform them about the program, which helps reduce no-show rates.
- We communicate our sustainable measures throughout the invitation and registration process.
- We highlight the names of local providers and stakeholders contributing to our sustainability efforts, especially in the introduction speech.
- We continue to share our sustainability measures on-site.