For years, the meetings industry had a pretty straight-forward answer when someone asked how we measured success: how many delegates showed up, how many hotel nights were booked, how much money flowed into the local economy. Those numbers still matter, but they’re no longer enough… as the business events industry has been advocating for some time now.
The question being asked today isn’t just “what happened?” It’s “what changed because this event took place?” Members, funders, governments and communities want to see real evidence of real outcomes. And the organisations that are responding well aren’t treating measurement as something you bolt on at the end of a post-event report. They’re building it into how events are designed from the start.
From Good intentions to Actual Evidence
The word “legacy” has always been part of the congress conversation. Knowledge exchange, professional development, and long-term benefits to host cities: these are genuine outcomes – the problem has been turning them into something you can actually track, learn from, and improve on.
That’s harder than it sounds. Scientific impact, for example, rarely shows up in the days after a congress closes. Research presented at an event might influence methodology, create a collaboration, or shape a study that won’t be published for another two years. Associations that are willing to take a long-term view, following up with delegates months or even years later, are the ones that are able to tell the most credible stories about their contribution to knowledge and practice.
Societal impact is even more difficult to pin down, but it’s becoming a big part of how events are judged. The most forward-thinking destinations aren’t just asking whether they can host a congress; they’re asking where and how the congress theme connects with local priorities, like public health, education, and innovation.
When that alignment is real, you see outcomes beyond the event itself: new partnerships, policy conversations, and skills transferred to local professionals. The key is being honest about what you can claim. Successful organisations talk about contribution, not causation. Real change is complex; no single event deserves full credit.
Sustainability as a Business Priority, Not Just a Compliance Exercise
One area where the industry has made real progress is sustainability. Framing sustainable initiatives has shifted significantly. It used to be treated as a nice-to-have option, but that’s changing fast.
It’s key to reposition sustainability as a core strategic priority. At ICCA, we look at sustainability as a strategic lens through which events are designed, delivered, and evaluated – not just a side project or a post-event calculation. The 64th ICCA Congress in Porto last November showed what this can look like in practice, with concrete commitments around carbon measurement, food waste, and community impact.
Air travel accounts for the majority of event emissions, which is a reality for any global gathering, but also a target for future action. Meanwhile, the congress achieved Zero Food Waste to Landfill certification for the second consecutive year, with nearly 1,500 kg of surplus food rescued and redirected for social use, amounting to about 2,990 meals.
These are the kind of evidence that builds credibility with boards, sponsors and public-sector partners who are increasingly scrutinising how events spend their goodwill as much as their budget.
Alexander Alles, ICCA’s Senior Director of Advocacy and Sustainability, frames it this way: “Responsible business events are not a trade-off against success – they are part of how success is defined. When we embed environmental and social responsibility into how we plan and deliver events, we’re not limiting what’s possible. We’re raising the bar for what a world-class congress actually looks like.”
A Common Language for Impact
One of the big ongoing frustrations in this space has been the lack of consistency. Every organisation that measures impact does it in a different way, which makes comparison and growth difficult.
That’s why ICCA’s initiative to develop the Global Impact Measurement Tool for Association Conferences is a step forward. The goal is to build a strong, globally applicable framework that provides clear, credible evidence of the multifaceted impact of association meetings, capturing benefits that go well beyond traditional tourism metrics.
The project is co-founded with convention bureaus in Barcelona, Copenhagen, Flanders, Sydney and Tokyo, and steered by researchers from the University of Technology Sydney and two leading Norwegian business schools. A tool that can be used to identify outcomes and provide a shared framework for associations and destinations alike is expected by mid-2028.
ROI Is Part of the Story, Not the Whole Story
Return on investment still matters; boards need to know that resources are being used wisely, and sponsors and exhibitors need to see tangible benefits. But treating ROI as the headline figure misses most of what actually makes an event valuable.
When financial return is placed alongside scientific, societal and economic impact, it gains extra depth. The return on investment might be skills gained or a network that didn’t exist before, or it could be association with an event that’s credible, responsible and respected. For a destination, it might be the long-term reinforcement of knowledge that one headline economic impact figure can’t capture.
The organisations doing this well share a few traits: they’re clear about why they’re measuring and who the results are for; they integrate impact thinking into event design rather than just reporting; and they treat measurement as a learning process, not a one-off exercise.