As the world returns to meeting in person, sustainable events are becoming a great way to build a business’ reputation and cement thought leadership. However, implementing sustainable practices for an event can be challenging: from the logistics to the food, you’ll need to vet each aspect for verifiable sustainability practices. What if you have it seamlessly integrated, and taken care of in just one location?

This is what PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore offers meeting planners: an exceptional “Garden-in-a-Hotel” setting, that feels as green as it looks, by taking care of all areas of impact for your event. Here’s how the award-winning property does it:

1. A re-energised building

Designed by architect John Portman, PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore has been rejuvenated with a double-glazed glass skylight that reduces ambient temperature, while filling the atrium with natural light.

The built environment generates nearly 50% of annual global CO2 emissions, and this includes building operations, as well as building materials and construction. Choosing a venue that has sound energy management practices means your event is verifiably better for the environment.

PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore stands out in this regard. The hotel adopted a “rejuvenation” approach to its redevelopment instead of a major reconstruction, thereby preventing 51,300 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions from being produced.

The hotel building’s upgrades have improved, not just its looks, but also its energy efficiency: the double-glazed glass skylight reduces ambient temperature by about 2°C, equivalent to approximately 2% reduction in energy use for cooling, while 210 solar panels on the rooftop generate over 350 kWh of clean renewable energy — enough to power the hotel’s 13 passenger lifts and all emergency lighting daily.

Need to transport guests in style? The hotel’s own electric car runs 400km in a single charge, while producing less noise and virtually no pollutants.

2. Fresh food in a flash

Guests can visit the 150-sqm rooftop Urban Farm during their stay and discover the fresh ingredients going into their meals at the hotel.

Sustainably sourced food doesn’t just look better on your event menu; it tastes better too. Locally sourced produce, for instance, does not need to travel thousands of food miles to reach diners’ plates, so they can be harvested at the perfect ripeness, and served at their freshest.

With this in mind, PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore built its 150sqm rooftop Urban Farm — one of the largest in the Central Business District — and which now supplies 20% of the hotel’s food requirements.

The Urban Farm not only forms the backbone of the hotel’s farm-to-table, farm-to-bar, and farm-to-spa concepts, it also enables the hotel to plan menus months in advance to control food waste. For example, the Culinary team’s best practices have helped reduce food waste to less than 12% at Peppermint.

Be it a buffet lunch at Peppermint, a private meal at Peach Blossoms, handcrafted cocktails and mocktails at Portman’s Bar, or tea infusions served after spa treatments at St. Gregory, each event presents attendees with uniquely curated dishes and beverages enlivened with farm-fresh seasonal ingredients, and spa therapies uplifted by natural produce.

The hotel also chooses seafood suppliers that farm locally or adhere strictly to both Marine and Aquaculture Stewardship Council standards, and meat suppliers that practise ethical farming.

3. Waste not, want not

Meeting refreshments at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore are presented using the EcoServe chafing dish system, which reduces carbon emissions and minimises waste.

Eschewing waste  has become a standard for sustainable events, but PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore has taken this to the next level. While recycling bins are present in all guestrooms to encourage guests to recycle and reduce waste, the hotel has also partnered with its office equipment supplier to collect used toner cartridges for recycling, and the hotel works with waste disposal specialists to track its recycling and disposal efforts.

The hotel has replaced all plastic utensils with those made from bio-degradable materials, and even writing materials are Forest Stewardship Council-certified. Event refreshments are less wasteful, too: food for buffet lunches and coffee breaks is presented using the EcoServe: a cableless, waterless and safety-enhanced chafing dish system that has helped the hotel save 1.4 tonnes of carbon emissions and prevented more than 500kg of waste ending up in landfills, just in the first six months of launch.

PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore is also equipped with two food waste digester systems that break down one tonne of food waste in 24 hours, into a liquid that can be safely disposed into waste pipes without affecting the environment.

4. Digitally enabled hospitality

With the Automated Meal Tracking Solution, the hotel no longer needs to print daily breakfast reports.

More venues are moving towards a paperless, digitalised approach, and the same goes for PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore. In addition to implementing an IPTV system that serves as an in-room directory for guests, the hotel also features an AI-powered Vouch Digital Concierge that can answer questions or make facility bookings — all guests have to do is scan a QR code. For busy delegates, this means less waiting on the phone or in person.

Even in back-of-house, going digital has helped create a smoother stay while reducing carbon emissions. An Automated Meal Tracking Solution eliminates the use of printed breakfast reports, while a Luggage Management System reduces guests’ waiting time for luggage retrieval. These innovations not only reduce resource usage, but also help the hotel to better meet guests’ needs.

Solar panels on the rooftop generate over 350 kWh of clean renewable energy per day.

Sustainability is truly built-in at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore. The hotel is working on a carbon-reporting initiative to provide end-of-event carbon reports for event planners,  which can help companies understand, track, and demonstrate greater accountability in their sustainability efforts. The hotel’s MICE team is also on hand to lend their expertise, so you can focus on designing your next successful event experience.

Plan your next event at PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore today. Click to learn more.

This article is brought to you by PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay, Singapore