Organizers of the PRI in Person 2024 conference share key sustainability strategies behind their 100% plant-based Toronto event.

 

When organizers of the PRI in Person 2024 conference secured the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) for their October 8-10 event, they set an ambitious catering goal: 100% vegan and vegetarian meals for all 2,000 delegates.

Amy Jackson, director of marketing and signatory experience for UK-based Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), explains that plant-based catering has been the norm for the annual event for the past three years, driven primarily by the potential to achieve significant sustainability gains.

We spoke with Jackson and David Procopio, MTCC’s vice president of food and beverage, about how to reach sustainability goals through plant-based catering while keeping attendees happy and well fed.

“We prioritize clear communication with event planners and their exhibitors, taking the time to understand the goals for their events.”

—David Procopio, Metro Toronto Convention Centre

1. Take a deeper look into the plant-based trend 

Forgoing beef and chicken entrees is not the norm for large conferences (at least not yet). But PRI’s plant-based leadership is hugely relevant for the business events sector.

For context, Procopio notes that PRI in Person “is the first conference to take place at MTCC that has chosen all vegetarian and vegan meals.” Yet he sees “a noticeable trend towards incorporating more vegan and vegetarian options into events. The culinary world is constantly evolving and as people become more aware of the environmental and health benefits of plant-based diets, there's a growing demand.”

As for carbon emissions impact, Jackson gives powerful examples to illustrate why PRI has chosen this route:

  • “Plant-based catering can decrease the impact of meals by up to 90%”— a stunning figure that’s also cited by the Center for Biological Diversity.
  • Jackson says one meal per day, for three days, for 1,000 attendees might generate a carbon cost of roughly 0.75 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) with vegan meals, 2.04 tCO2e with vegetarian, and 9.21 tCO2e with meat-based. “So it's quite a significant difference,” she says.

“As people become more aware of the environmental and health benefits of plant-based diets, there's a growing demand.”

—David Procopio, Metro Toronto Convention Centre

2. Select your destination and venue partner strategically

Another key step for event planners is to choose an innovative destination and a venue that has robust sustainability practices already in place, plus knowledgeable staff who can run with a plant-based mandate.

Jackson is impressed with MTCC’s long list of sustainability initiatives, including deep-water cooling, emphasis on local sourcing and diverting 90% of event waste from landfill.

Alongside the sustainability commitment, Procopio says MTCC’s catering staff is expert at taking diverse client requests (including plant-based) and making culinary magic. The city’s diversity, he adds, is reflected in staff and culinary offerings. “Our chefs are top of class and can create exceptional customized dishes in-house with fantastic flavour.”

Good to know: National Geographic lists Toronto among the eight best cities in the world for vegans, and the city is home to one of North America’s largest vegan festivals.

3. Fill the menu with diverse flavours and fun options

Jackson admits that attendees occasionally struggle with the idea of plant-based meals, especially with “vegan options they're not used to.” She sums up her strategy for irresistible vegan and vegetarian fare in one word: variety.

“We make sure we have a wide range of choices and that the food is delicious,” Jackson says. “You know, Toronto's brilliant. It's got the diversity of cultures and ethnicities in terms of the food and catering.” 

During the October conference, Jackson says PRI will showcase “the best Toronto street food and we're incorporating live kitchens within the Exhibition Hall.” Interactive stations will feature ethnic cuisines such as “Indian, Caribbean, Asian, Greek, Italian and Portuguese,” plus the use of sustainable tableware.

Good to know: A recent TripAdvisor study ranked Toronto as having the world’s most diverse food scene.

“We are very careful to make sure we have a wide range of choices and that the food is delicious.”

—Amy Jackson, UK-based PRI

4. Source locally whenever possible

Sourcing ingredients closer to the venue is another great way to reduce carbon. At MTCC, the emphasis on local includes homegrown delights, such as leafy greens from the rooftop chef’s garden. 

Procopio says MTCC’s sustainability commitment also includes partnering with local farmers, produce suppliers, wineries in nearby Niagara like Malivoire and 13th Street Winery, and independent breweries such as Toronto’s Steamwhistle to “give our guests a taste of what Ontario has to offer.”

Good to know: MTTC is a certified 100km Foods partner and is committed to using its buying power to support local farms and create a more sustainable food system.

5. Reduce food waste from end to end

Jackson says that reducing food waste throughout is a powerful way to reduce carbon emissions. It starts at the planning stage, where calculating an accurate estimate of meals needed can cut waste. “We use our knowledge based on trends from previous events.”

Next, food formats come into play. Jackson is not a fan of buffets, which can generate food waste. During its Toronto conference, PRI will use live kitchen stations.

“We've actually had these before in Barcelona and in Tokyo, our last two events,” Jackson says, noting that, with uncooked ingredients on hand, staff can reduce waste by matching cooking to demand.

As for leftovers, Jackson says it’s a big plus that the convention centre has “affiliations with local charities where they donate leftover food.” 

Good to know: MTCC’s local donation partners include Daily Bread Food Bank and Second Harvest.

 

6. Weave clear communication into every stage

Jackson says communicating your organization’s “why” is an important way to encourage delegates to embrace plant-based meals. “Given that PRI is a sustainability-oriented organization, we are fortunate in that we kind of have to ‘walk the talk.’”

Messaging about catering and carbon reduction is featured on PRI’s website and event app. PRI may also display the carbon impact of meals on event menus. “We're going to draw attention to it in the remarks from our emcee... Just trying to make people feel positive about the choices,” Jackson explains.

Procopio recommends a multi-faceted approach. “We prioritize clear communication with event planners and their exhibitors, taking the time to understand the goals for their events.” 

Post-event communications are a part of sustainable catering success too, Procopio adds. “We actively gather feedback through post-event surveys and social media monitoring to continuously improve our offerings.”

Good to know: To assist with communications, MTCC creates detailed event menus with dietary symbols.