Explore Edmonton
Every action around sustainability, big or small, is a step in the right direction. Regenerative events are top of mind for event planners and rights holders, as organisations recognise the need to meet sustainability targets and leave host destinations in a better place than they were found.
So, where do we begin with sustainability when hosting a sporting event in Edmonton? Our team of in-house experts put together a list of the top five steps we take and some of the initiatives leading the way.
Choosing a venue that is accessible by local transportation options is a great place to start when it comes to lowering the carbon footprint of an event.
Want to go one step further? In partnership with the City of Edmonton, Explore Edmonton offers the opportunity for event hosts to take part in a ‘Show Your Badge Program’, where delegates and event goers ride local transit for free with their event badge.
Edmonton is home to a wide range of way-finding stations and transportation options that allows visitors to attend events via public transit from across the city.
Edmonton has a range of transportation options for spectators to travel to events sustainably
Typically, organisations are not able to reduce their operational emissions to zero when hosting events and are left with an unavoidable carbon footprint. To go beyond this reduction barrier, and take responsibility for event emissions, organisations can offset their emissions by purchasing verified carbon offsets and funding projects already working on decarbonisation.
So ,what is a carbon offset, and how can you incorporate this into an event? A carbon offset is an investment in a project with real and measurable emissions reduction and can help organisations cost-effectively meet their carbon targets.
In 2022, Explore Edmonton successfully hosted seven events that participated in our carbon neutral programme. By purchasing carbon offsets with us and our partner, Ostrom Climate Solutions, these events offset 1,276 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), which is equivalent to using 130,254 gallons of gasoline.
A few examples of high-quality carbon offsets Explore Edmonton has contributed to around the globe include the Darkwoods Forest Carbon Project and the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project. Supporting these projects ensures the long-term conservation and viability of forest ecosystems and wildlife.
Explore Edmonton also supports event planners with determining their carbon footprint. Through our Responsible Events Program, Volleyball Canada Youth Nationals accomplished this with us in 2022, where they used data on waste, heat, electricity, paper consumption, shipping, transportation, accommodation, and food to create a comprehensive sustainability report that allowed them to understand their impact and identify the next steps to reduce their carbon footprint for future events.
Explore Edmonton manages two venues, the Edmonton Expo Centre and the Edmonton Convention Centre, which are both embracing initiatives to become leaders in venue sustainability. They are not only certified as Green Key Global 5, Boma Best, and Climate Smart, but they are also recognised as ‘On the Road to Zero Waste.’
The Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA) describes zero waste as ‘the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.’
Explore Edmonton is striving for an ambitious goal of keeping 90% of our facilities’ waste out of landfills by 2025. To achieve the goal, our venues:
In partnership with Edmonton utility company, EPCOR, Explore Edmonton has a total of five hydrating stations that are used at festivals and events throughout the year. Guests bring their own water bottles to one of the ‘Glass of the Sask’ water stations at an event to refill their bottles using taps serving water from the local North Saskatchewan River. This allows attendees to stay hydrated while also reducing plastic waste.

Event-goers using the Glass of the Sask hydration station at the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Pro Tour in Edmonton in 2023
These stations were a huge success in 2023 at KDays, Edmonton’s annual ten-day summer fair and Midway at the Edmonton EXPO Centre. The use of the five stations over ten days prevented thousands of single-use water bottles from entering the landfill. Each mobile Glass of the Sask water tank holds 2,000 liters of water – that’s enough water to fill 4,000 500-milliletre plastic water bottles.
Inclusive planning through ticket donations and sponsorship is one of the ways that allows community involvement and continued future interest. Sports events have a unique opportunity to contribute to social sustainability.
Explore Edmonton currently partners with over 20 non-profit and community organisations that allow community members to be involved with the events that occur in Edmonton. Partnerships with organisations such as Kids Up Front, Big Brothers Big Sisters Edmonton, and Multicultural Health Brokers allow equity-deserving individuals to have fun, new experiences at events hosted in Edmonton.
Some examples of ways not-for-profit organisations can engage with the event include sponsoring, attending, or volunteering at the event to lead activities or presentations. Most recently, through the Responsible Events Program, organisations were able to sponsor Urban Farm Field Trips to provide farm and garden experiences for residents with mid-stage dementia.
Events have the ability to gain mass interest and provide people and organisations with shared interests to connect and grow together.
In 2022, Volleyball Canada held a fundraiser in partnership with Fill It Forward, where event attendees could fill up their water bottles and donate to local charities as they filled up. In this case, donations went to support an organisation working to create access to clean drinking water for rural Indigenous communities.

Team Canada’s Paralympic volleyball player Allison Lang uses her water bottle and the Fill it Forward QR code to donate to local charities
The Smart Airports 2023 conference held in Edmonton had a clothing drive that engaged attendees titled, ‘Let’s Help Knock the Socks off Poverty & Homelessness in Edmonton!’. Delegates brought a pair of airport, town, or city socks to the event to donate which were given to Boyle Street Community Services to give to community members experiencing poverty and homelessness in Edmonton.
There are numerous strategies and actions that event planners can take to host sustainable sporting events in Edmonton. Explore Edmonton is ready to support event hosts with these actions to balance the thrill of competition with environmental responsibility.
With pre-existing, eco-friendly initiatives such as waste reduction, carbon neutral programmes, and transportation alternatives, Edmonton is an excellent place to gather while minimising environmental impact. These efforts not only enhance the city’s reputation as a responsible host for sporting events, but also contribute to the broader global commitment to sustainable practices in the sports industry.
To learn more about how Explore Edmonton’s Sport & Culture team can support with your event, visit edmontonsportandculture.com.
This feature forms part of SportsPro’s Sustainability Week, a five-day run of exclusive content featuring experts from across the world of sports sustainability. Click here to access more exclusive content and sign up to the SportsPro Daily newsletter here to receive daily insights direct to your inbox.
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