Berlin’s Awakening Beauties - Series 3

Episode 4 – Opening shots and sustainable practices We take a longer and more winding route than usual through this episode as our host Mark Felstead strides out to visit some of his favourite Berlin hotels and venues and conducts a vox pop report on local reaction to Berlin opening up. He finds out how business guests are once again checking into hotels, and the city’s cafes and restaurants are opening as events take place again. Four of the venues on this tour are the Hotel Palace, Euref Campus. The Crowne Plaza Berlin City Centre and The Student Hotel. First off, however, before Mark gets fully into his stride on the street, is Christian Lehnert, one of Berlin’s most experienced event planners who has built a strong portfolio of exclusive automotive events over the last two decades and who now very much concentrates on what exactly it means to make an event sustainable. He also addresses the existential question that the most sustainable event is no event at all. Mark and Christian look at various aspects of the supply and command chain to see where concrete measures can and are being implemented. It’s not all about carbon footprint, says Christian as he illustrates how to shift the axis away from simple ‘greenwashing’ approaches. There are concrete organiser tips, as Christian shares some real gems about how to plan events in the most sustainable way and how to avoid some of the common mistakes being made. He is an advocate of a top-down approach to sustainability and much more education. The talk turns to avoidance of food wastage – which Christian estimates at around 25-30% at most events – and how that fits in with the correct hygiene concepts and measures and how it is something that he and his company Bettr:live is concentrating on. Mark and Christian then don their rose-tinted glasses to envisage what the hybrid events of the future might look like and try to see some great opportunities here for the events industry.