What does sustainable event design actually look like when you stop talking about it and start doing it?
In April 2026, thirteen of the UK's leading event planners gave up an extra day of travel to find out. The result was Ireland Overland, an industry-first FAM trip that set out to prove something the events industry has been circling for years: that sustainable event design isn't a compromise. Done well, it's a better experience for delegates and for destinations.
‘Tús maith leath na hoibre’ - a good start is half the work. And as it turned out, the Ireland Overland journey itself was exactly that.
Developed in partnership with Dublin Convention Bureau, Kerry Convention Bureau, Meet in Ireland and Evolve Events, and in collaboration with Rail Tours Ireland, Irish Ferries and Meet In Wales, Ireland Overland was built as a live test, not a showcase.
Planners travelled from London to Dublin and on to Kerry by rail and ferry, before returning by air, experiencing both journeys directly, so they could compare what they felt, not just what they measured.
The journey as evidence
The trip began before Ireland. Travelling by train from London through the Welsh countryside to Holyhead, delegates experienced something rarely designed into a FAM trip: time. Curated playlists, guided meditation and light-touch content, via the sustainably built GoodiePack platform, transformed the journey into the opening act of the programme, rather than a necessary inconvenience.
At Holyhead, a Welsh male voice choir (arranged as a surprise by Meet In Wales) welcomed the group at the port. A connection to the place that, as one delegate put it, "you simply don't get at an airport."
The Irish Sea crossing continued the theme. An onboard session explored how arrival shapes delegate experience, while the ferry deck, sea air and open horizon did the work that no breakout room can replicate. By the time the group reached Dublin, they were already one.
Dublin: sustainability at scale
Ranked #19 in the Global Destination Sustainability Index, Dublin delivered sustainability not as a talking point but as a lived experience. Delegates explored the city on foot, replacing transfers with connection to place.
The programme wove a thread of storytelling through everything. At the evening reception at the Convention Centre Dublin, a contemporary reimagining of Molly Malone showed how traditional culture can be given new life without losing its soul. At Teeling Whiskey Distillery, local production and urban regeneration told of a place working to balance commercially relevance with support for the local community.
In Our Shoes Walking Tours replaced transfers, connecting the group directly to the Libertines area and offering, as one delegate put it, “a perspective of the city that we wouldn’t have experienced as typical tourists. What they’re doing as a project is both meaningful and important, and it added real depth to the experience.”
A Pull A Pint tour took the group into seventh-generation, community-focused pubs, places where learning the art of the slow pour became a quiet lesson in slowing down. On Earth Day, a visit to the Museum of Literature Ireland placed the group inside Wild Earth, an exhibition where poetry and language reconnect people to the natural world without a single slide or statistic.
Sustainability showed up in the details too. Rather than branded bags and printed collateral, delegates screen-printed their own tote bags at Jando, a B-Corp certified print studio in Dublin, reducing waste while supporting a business keeping traditional craft alive in the heart of the city.
Kerry: sustainability as immersion
Ranked #12 in the Global Destination Sustainability Index, among the highest-ranked destinations in Europe, maintaining Top 20 presence in the Index for last seven years, Kerry offered a different register entirely. Where Dublin showed sustainability operating at urban scale, Kerry showed it running deeper: into landscape, community and lived experience.
At Ballygarry Estate Hotel, connection was quickly built with local Kerry MICE suppliers through shared activity; cycling, beekeeping, wellbeing and locally sourced food. A social impact challenge by Orangeworks in Killarney redirected delegate energy toward local charities, a reminder that sustainability is as much about people as it is about carbon.
Time on the Lakes of Killarney brought the group to Innisfallen Island by open boat, where a wellbeing session held in the ruins of a monastery built centuries ago for solitude and reflection felt entirely fitting. From the water, the journey continued by jaunting car through Killarney National Park, hooves on quiet roads, adding another layer to a day that kept finding new ways to slow down. Ireland gave the group what event programmes rarely do: the time, space and inspiration to think differently about their work.
A seanchaí (a traditional Irish storyteller) held the group through aural history, keeping alive a form of knowledge-sharing that predates print and, some would argue, still surpasses it. Live music and dancing at Tigh Mary Donals, drinks and locally sourced dinner at The Europe Hotel with a memorable sing-along with the O’Neill Sisters, rounded out evenings that felt as considered as the days.
Traditional farming, craft skills and a breakfast at Muckross Farm, with butter churned by the group, brought heritage to life in the most tangible way. "It gave that real feeling of Ireland and tradition. Seeing older women still involved in the business, passing on their knowledge and wisdom, was very, very special."
Attendees took part in a watercolour painting class at Coolclogher House. Many arriving convinced they had no artistic ability, all leaving with a painting and a visual memory of their time in Ireland. In Kerry, the convention bureau partners gifted everyone a handmade ceramic coffee cup made by a family-run ceramics studio, Grounded Pottery, aligning with the Killarney Coffee Cups initiative to replace single-use plastics and paper, while supporting a craft tradition rooted in place.
Together, these moments made an argument no brochure could: that Ireland's approach to sustainable events isn't concentrated in one place or one type of experience. It runs across the island; in its cities, its landscapes, its makers and its stories.
The human dimension
Wellbeing partner Be In Your Element, travelled with the group throughout, introducing breathwork, reflection and movement from the train journey to the lake shores of Killarney. It was a reminder that sustainable events have a human dimension that carbon calculations don't capture: the quality of experience for the people in the room.
"Sustainable events aren't just about reducing impact - they're about creating experiences that feel better, for the people attending and for the places that host them. Ireland understands both."
Anna Peters, Creative Director, Evolve Events.
The numbers
From Now, who joined and partnered with on the programme, awarded Ireland Overland a Platinum rating for Holistic Sustainability, placing the event in the top 1% of all reports measured by From Now and “demonstrating exceptional commitment, innovation and impact across environmental and social outcomes.”
Measurement was also supported by Fáilte Ireland’s new Business Events Carbon Calculator, the independent assessment generated by its partner EarthCheck, providing a robust baseline for future measurement.
Beyond venue capacities and bed nights: rethinking the FAM
Ireland Overland asked a question that the events industry rarely puts to a FAM trip: what if the measure of success wasn't how many venues were visited or how many bed nights were showcased, but how profoundly a destination changed the way planners think?
For too long, FAM trips have been defined by logistics - site inspections, capacities, catering packages. Ireland Overland was built on a different premise: that the most powerful thing a destination can do is bring itself alive. To let planners feel it, not just assess it.
The result was a group of event professionals who returned not with a checklist, but with a conviction that Ireland is not just a destination to be considered, but a blueprint to be followed.
"The Ireland Overland FAM trip across Dublin and Kerry went far beyond showcasing the destination. It offered a different way of travelling, designed to create real connection while bringing to life what sustainable tourism, events and hospitality can look like in practice. It’s clear how far ahead Ireland is in this space, and what a strong example it sets for the industry." Alba Scanu, Hamilton Boyd
