Ljubljana will become the basis for the future of sustainable events on 10 February 2026, when it hosts SWITCH – an educational workshop and official warm-up to Conventa Meet 2026. Rather than another talk-heavy conference, SWITCH is conceived as a practical, experience-driven format focused on how sustainability actually works when you put it into action.
The workshop is developed by the Planet Positive Event team, Conventa’s official sustainability partner, and is designed as a live laboratory for event organisers. The idea is simple but ambitious: move sustainability out of presentations and into real-life decision-making. Participants won’t just hear about sustainable event practices, they’ll experience them, test them and measure their impact in real time. According to the organisers, this approach further cements Conventa’s role as a regional reference point for sustainable and regenerative event organisation.
One of the key international perspectives will be brought by Roger Legner from IMEX Group, who will present how one of the world’s most influential trade shows in the meetings and events industry is working to turn sustainability goals into measurable outcomes. IMEX is among a small group of global events that systematically integrate sustainability into strategy, KPIs and on-site execution, an approach closely aligned with Conventa’s own long-term vision.
At the heart of the SWITCH programme is practical work. The organisers have structured the workshop around five interlinked segments that together form the backbone of a transparent and holistic approach to sustainable event organisation. These include managing and reducing an event’s carbon footprint based on accurate data, ensuring compliance with legislation, ESG requirements and international sustainability standards, and approaching impact management as an active process of planning, tracking and evaluating both short- and long-term effects.
The programme will also address carbon offsetting as well as communication and attendee inclusion. A strong emphasis will be placed on empowering participants to make informed choices and actively contribute to leaving a positive footprint behind. Through curated group work, attendees will dive into the fundamentals of each segment and walk away with practical, ready-to-use knowledge they can immediately apply to their own events. This kind of hands-on, operational insight is rarely shared so openly, yet it is exactly what many organisers are missing when trying to move beyond good intentions.
A highlight of SWITCH is the Sustainability Lab, where sustainability becomes fully tangible. Participants will be able to track an event’s carbon footprint in real time, map waste streams, compare different types of plastics and the emissions they generate, and see how much CO₂ is linked to individual food portions. The lab will also showcase how AI tools can be used to optimise events from both an environmental and organisational perspective.
Best practice case studies will play a major role as well. Events planned and supported by Planet Positive Event, ranging from large sports festivals and complex corporate gatherings to scientific conferences, will be presented as concrete examples of what sustainable event organisation looks like in practice. These cases will demonstrate how sustainability principles can be adapted to different formats, scales and objectives, without losing credibility or impact.
The programme will wrap up with an open and refreshingly honest roundtable titled “Everything you wanted to know about sustainable event organising, but never dared to ask.” Experts will tackle the questions that organisers often struggle with but rarely get the chance to voice, offering clear, practical answers without academic jargon or greenwashing rhetoric.
Another major moment of the day will be the official unveiling of the Ljubljana Manifesto. The document is envisioned as a future-facing framework for sustainable event organisation, helping organisers avoid greenwashing and base their decisions on measurable data and proven practices. Beyond principles, the Manifesto aims to bridge the gap between sustainability pledges and real action, covering planning, impact measurement and the creation of a meaningful long-term legacy.
Participation in SWITCH is free of charge for Conventa 2026 exhibitors and hosted buyers, reinforcing Conventa’s commitment to sharing knowledge within its community and encouraging long-term, regenerative change across the events industry.
Conventa is organised by the Slovenian Convention Bureau and Toleranca marketing, in close cooperation with Ljubljana Tourism, the Slovenian Tourist Board, and 20 strategic partners.
