Every month, The Groundbreakers puts an inspiring initiative, product or company in the spotlight. By sharing knowledge and inspiration, we want to stimulate sustainable developments and hope to contribute to the greening of business. This time we would like to highlight the new subsidy from the municipality of Utrecht to make events in the city more sustainable.

Greener choices

On April 3th, the municipality of Utrecht started a new subsidy to make events more sustainable. The municipality hopes to encourage organizers to make greener choices when organizing public events. Consider, for example, the use of reusable cups, sustainable use of materials, efficient mobility, waste reduction, reuse of raw materials and saving energy. A total budget of €250,000 has been made available for the subsidy, with applications from organizers being processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Events in public space

The subsidy is intended for measures that lead to sustainable events in the public space of the municipality of Utrecht. The sustainability subsidy can be applied for for advice from specialists, additional costs incurred by choosing sustainable alternatives and the purchase of new materials that can be used more often.

“We want to work together with the organizers on a sustainable future for events in Utrecht. Sustainability is necessary in all areas and with this scheme we are giving the events industry that boost.” – Eva Oosters, councilor for the Municipality of Utrecht

Main conditions

The most important conditions for submitting the grant are as follows:

  • Company registered with the Chamber of Commerce
  • Company founded in 2020 or earlier
  • Event in the municipality of Utrecht
  • Event at a public location for which an event permit has been granted
  • The costs for making the event more sustainable will be incurred in 2023
  • The event will take place before December 31, 2023

The amount of subsidy depends on the size of the event. For a small event the maximum is € 1,000, for a medium-sized event the maximum is € 2,500 and for a large event the maximum is € 10,000. The new subsidy can be applied for between April 3 and December 31. On the website from the municipality you can read more about all the conditions and requirements for the application.

Do you want to organize a sustainable event in Utrecht? The team at sustainable events agency The Groundbreakers is happy to help you get started!