Start With Amsterdam

Emee tours the Hotel Okura Amsterdam with Senior Sales Manager, Jack Thanadsornsarn.

We were in Amsterdam during People and Planet First Week in November 2025, working on venue sourcing and site visits for our clients who meet in Europe, and were thoroughly impressed by the rich and multifaceted offerings available to the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions) industry.

EJP Events is a member of Good Market Global, the not-for-profit digital commons behind the People and Planet First verification. The movement recognizes enterprises that prioritize social and environmental impact over private profit. We’ve operated by those values for over two decades. Where we host, who we hire, and how we design experience are decisions with consequences beyond any single event.

Amsterdam reinforced that message for us in many ways. The city is sustainable, accessible, walkable, and well-equipped for meetings of every scale. Planners who care about aligning their events with People and Planet First values will find a strong partner in this destination.

A Country Built on Water Intelligence

More than half of the Netherlands sits below sea level. The country’s water councils — the oldest democratic institutions in Dutch history — have shaped governance, infrastructure, and culture for centuries. Their work is visible in Amsterdam’s engineered canal system, in Rotterdam’s storm surge barriers, and in programs like Room for the River, which widened and deepened river courses to accommodate flooding rather than simply building higher walls.

For MICE planners, the practical implications are direct. The picturesque canals are the backdrop for many meetings group selfies. This broadcasts FOMO far and wide to those who skip your annual meeting. Amsterdam’s tap water is safe and excellent, eliminating bottled water logistics. Green-certified venues incorporate rainwater collection, water-saving technology, and circular water management as standard practice. For organizations aligning their events with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, hosting in Amsterdam directly supports SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, which calls for increasing water-use efficiency across all sectors and implementing integrated water resources management. Few destinations make that alignment so easy.

Is Amsterdam Easy to Navigate for Conference Attendees?

Nearly 70% of commuter trips in Amsterdam happen by bicycle. There are more bikes than residents. The public transit system — trams, buses, ferries — runs on 100% renewable electricity. The city is removing thousands of car parking spaces from the center to widen sidewalks, add bike parking, and plant trees.

Delegates can walk, bike, or tram between hotels, venues, and restaurants without ground transportation and its related traffic jams. That reduces cost and carbon, and it frees up schedule time.

Amsterdam sits at the center of Europe’s high-speed rail network: direct Eurostar service to London, Paris, Brussels, and major German cities. The Amsterdam Convention Bureau has partnered with Eurostar to offer discounted delegate fares. Schiphol Airport, 15 minutes from the city center, connects to hundreds of international destinations.

National-Level Support for Meeting Planners

The Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC) operates holland.com/meetings, a dedicated MICE portal with regional convention bureau contacts, venue databases, DMC directories, and planning support. They assist with site visits, provide budget templates, and connect planners with professional congress organizers.

The standout program is the Pre-Financing and Guarantee Fund (VGF), which has run for over 25 years. For international, multi-day congresses held in the Netherlands, the VGF offers up to €90,000 in interest-free pre-financing for startup costs: deposits, promotion, foundation setup. A separate guarantee of up to €90,000 covers the risk of low attendance.

Pre-conference financing and attendance insurance from a national tourism bureau: For association planners presenting destination bids to their boards, this is a concrete advantage few other countries offer.

Venues

What Amsterdam Hotel Has Great Meeting Space and Sustainability Credentials?

The Hotel Okura Amsterdam is the property we know best. We toured the entire facility and found it to have multiple aspects that are conducive to smoothly-running, accessible and sustainable meetings.

The hotel practices omotenashi, the Japanese tradition of anticipating guests’ needs. Located in the De Pijp neighborhood on the Amstelkanaal, the Okura has Japanese-inspired rooms, a full spa, and multiple restaurants with three Michelin stars and a Bib Gourmand between them.

For planners: 2,700+ square meters of meeting and event space across 20 venues. The Grand Ballroom seats up to 2,500 — the largest such space in the Benelux region. The meeting space layout has multiple elevators, spacious foyers, and generous restroom access compared to similar European city-center hotels. Schiphol Airport is 15 minutes away by direct metro.

The Okura holds Green Globe Platinum status, earned through over ten consecutive years of certification. The property has 873 solar panels on the Grand Ballroom roof, saving 89+ tonnes of CO₂ per year. It uses heat-cold storage for climate control, FSC-certified wooden key cards, and reusable bamboo laundry bags. Purchasing policy favors local Dutch suppliers — the house wine comes from a Dutch estate, the house beer from a Dutch brewery. The hotel is a signatory of the UNESCO Sustainable Travel Pledge.

We’re actively building our relationship with the Okura and would recommend it to clients planning in Amsterdam.

What Other Green-Certified Conference Venues Are in Amsterdam?

The Amstel Hotel. Photo by C. Messier.

Amsterdam RAI Convention Centre is the city’s flagship large-format venue. Multiple halls, flexible configurations, renewable energy, and green meeting packages. It hosts trade exhibitions and multi-day conferences at scale.

Beurs van Berlage is a UNESCO-listed national monument from 1903 and the first Dutch conference center to earn Green Globe certification.

Hotel Jakarta holds BREEAM “Excellent” certification and is among the first energy-neutral hotels in the Netherlands. Features include solar-powered showers, rainwater collection, and a subtropical indoor garden usable as breakout space.

The Amstel Hotel sits on the Amstel River with Green Globe certification and dedicated meeting and event facilities.

Many other area hotels follow the same lead. Conscious Hotels holds Green Key Gold at all four Amsterdam locations. The Conservatorium Hotel has held Green Globe Platinum for over a decade. De L’Europe and Kimpton De Witt carry Green Key certification. For planners working through RFPs, Amsterdam’s sustainability documentation is deep and verifiable.

Can You Do a Canal Cruise as a Corporate Event in Amsterdam?

Amsterdam has roughly 60 miles (100 km) of canals and waterways. Canal cruises work well as welcome receptions, offsite breaks, or team-building activities. Electric-powered boats are increasingly standard. Many larger hotels run their own cruise programs or work with preferred operators, which simplifies logistics.

Other offsite options include guided cycling tours, culinary workshops with local ingredients, private museum access, and cultural programming at venues like the Rijksmuseum.

What Makes Amsterdam a Good Destination for Attendee Experience?

Destination selection often overlooks the hours between sessions: the offsite dinner, the morning walk, the free afternoon. Amsterdam is a 15-minute city. World-class museums, canal-side restaurants, independent shops, and distinct neighborhoods are all within walking or biking distance of the major conference areas. Delegates explore independently, on foot.

Traveling Responsibly: How Do I Reduce and Offset Carbon Emissions From a Conference?

Flying people across an ocean for a meeting has a climate cost, no matter how many green certifications the destination collects. Aviation is a hard sector to decarbonize, and no amount of solar panels on a hotel roof cancels out the emissions of getting there. We don’t think that’s a reason to stop meeting in person; direct connection, cultural exchange, and in-person collaboration matter, and plenty of research points to real value that video calls don’t replace. But it does mean the responsibility doesn’t end at destination selection. It carries through every decision after that, including how we travel, how much we travel, and what we do to account for the impact once the trip is unavoidable. MICE planners can reduce that impact through planning decisions made well before anyone boards a flight.

Consolidate trips. We added our Amsterdam site visits onto an already-scheduled annual meeting we attend in Barcelona, reducing two international round trips to one. Planners and attendees can apply the same logic: combine a conference with pre- or post-event site visits, client meetings, or destination research rather than booking separate trips. Amsterdam’s easy-to-reach destination makes this achievable. 

Choose sustainable aviation fuel. EJP Events contributes annually to SAF through Alaska Airlines’ CHOOOSE-powered program, which lets travelers purchase SAF credits based on estimated flight emissions and earn elite-qualifying miles in the process. CHOOOSE is the climate technology platform behind SAF programs at multiple carriers and airports, including Alaska, Southwest, and several international airlines. United Airlines has expanded SAF use across six domestic hubs and voluntarily operates with SAF at Amsterdam Schiphol. For organizations that want to invest in SAF regardless of which carrier their attendees fly, the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), a joint initiative of RMI and Environmental Defense Fund, enables corporate buyers to purchase verified SAF certificates to address Scope 3 business travel emissions.

Offset remaining carbon through verifiable credits. EJP Events recommends an avoidance-plus-removal approach: Terrapass for baseline emissions avoidance through verified projects (landfill gas capture, wind energy, farm methane destruction), and biochar credits for durable carbon removal. The distinction is important, because avoidance credits prevent emissions that would have occurred; while removal credits pull existing carbon out of the atmosphere. Planners should look for third-party verified programs with transparent project registries. Credit quality varies widely, so do your research.

A planner who consolidates trips, funds SAF, and offsets the remainder has addressed the largest single source of event-related emissions.

People and Planet First as a Framework for MICE

Clients are asking about sustainability in RFPs. Attendees notice how events are produced. Destinations are competing on values, as well as amenities.

The People and Planet First framework identifies enterprises that exist to address social and environmental problems. For organizations that want their meetings spend to support those causes, it works as a practical filter: you can search verified organizations in the People and Planet First directory. People and Planet First is the global standard and verification badge; Good Market Global is the software infrastructure and digital directory that powers it. [1, 2] EJP Events is a member of the Good Market Global directory and is working toward People and Planet First verification.

The same standard applies to where a meeting happens. The Netherlands has built its infrastructure, tourism strategy, and national identity around sustainability. When we bring 200 or 2,000 people to a city, we invest in that place: its economy, its infrastructure, and its community. A meeting in Amsterdam is an investment in sustainability as well.

Summary for Planners

• Access: Direct flights from major hubs; high-speed rail to London, Paris, Brussels, and Germany; Schiphol Airport 15 minutes from city center
• Venues: Canal houses to convention centers, Michelin-starred hotel properties, widespread green certifications
• Sustainability: Eco-certified hotels, renewable-powered transit, world-leading water management, rising GDS Index ranking
• National Support: Convention bureau planning assistance, pre-conference financing up to €90,000, attendance guarantees
• Walkability: Compact, navigable city; delegates can easily explore independently
• Culture: World-class arts, dining, and experiences beyond the agenda
• Values: Amsterdam aligns with People and Planet First principles at every level, from water management to venue certification to national tourism policy

Emee Pumarega, CMP, is the founder of EJP Events, a Portland-based event planning company and Good Market Global member specializing in corporate meetings, conferences, and association events. Shawn Granton is a member of the EJP Events team. With over two decades of experience and a commitment to cultural competency and sustainability, EJP Events operates under the philosophy that True Hospitality Welcomes Everyone. For venue sourcing, site visits, or event planning support in European and domestic destinations, visit ejpevents.com.