Putting sustainability first for NTT DATA’s APAC Sales Kick Off

Vision

Taking a sustainable approach to event planning

At the beginning of each financial year, NTT DATA hosts Sales Kick Off events across the globe, briefing sales teams on the strategy for the year and aligning everyone to the company’s goals and focus areas. In Asia Pacific, this requires bringing almost a thousand people, from 14 countries across the region, to the same location. The 2023 event was of particular importance as it was the first large, hybrid (online and in-person) Sales Kick Off in the region since the pandemic, and the first to be held alongside other NTT DATA companies under their new brand. This provided the opportunity to bring new teams together, showcase their combined portfolios and build the organization’s culture, setting the tone for the year ahead.

Sustainability was a critical consideration in planning the event: NTT DATA wanted to minimize the negative impact of the event on the environment.

Transformation

Creating a sustainable event for a regional team

To align the Sales Kick Off event with NTT DATA’s global sustainability targets, the events team worked with a partner to create a sustainability plan that considered all aspects of the event, including travel, catering, energy consumption and waste.

To limit unnecessary travel, they offered a virtual option for attendees, building on the experience from previous events that we held only online.

They eliminated the use of plastics at the event, covering signage, tags and catering. At mealtimes, meat-free options were made available and, by partnering with Scholars of Sustenance, a food-rescue foundation in Thailand, food waste was kept to minimum.

All paper used for the event was sustainably sourced. Delegates’ badges were printed on FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council) paper and recycled afterwards. Using an event app to share the agenda and updates digitally also helped to reduce paper and printing.

Delegates were presented with fun facts to educate them on the sustainability goals of the event, and a QR code linked to further information for those who wanted it.

Results

An event that’s measurably sustainable and sets the standard for future initiatives

The concept of sustainability was embedded into the event from the start. By using TRACE, a carbon-measurement platform for events, the team could accurately measure the total carbon footprint of the event and the average carbon footprint per attendee.

Hybrid event to minimize travel

By offering a fully hybrid event, NTT DATA were able to have 900 delegates at the venue with another 500 attending virtually. This cut the cost and environmental impact of travel.

No plastic, no food waste

Usually, an event like this would see 600 plastic bottles being used per day. Instead, the team replaced plastic water bottles with glass bottles and eliminated the use of plastic wherever possible. In addition, all surplus food was donated to charity, local communities and animal farms. This ensured that they minimized the amount of waste that ended up in landfills.

Ongoing awareness

The sustainability focus didn’t end with the event: the results achieved through these efforts were shared with all delegates afterwards, helping to raise awareness of the issues surrounding sustainability and climate change.