Global event, local legacy: Sleek and Event Cycle Turn Lisbon Event Assets into a £32K Social Legacy.

Sleek, an experienced event delivery partner, recently organised a Global Retailer Conference, an exclusive, high-standard event that gathered the client's global network of retailers. Managing an event of this scale presents a critical challenge: the bespoke assets (custom graphics, complex wood structures, and exclusive bespoke fabrics), which are often too valuable to discard, yet too tailored for traditional recycling routes. For the 2025 Lisbon edition of this conference, Sleek’s mandate was clear: embody the client's global sustainability commitment by leaving a lasting social legacy in the host city.

To do this Sleek partnered with Event Cycle to turn that ambition into action. The brief: make sure that the exceptional materials created for the conference didn't end their life at derig.

The Event Cycle team began with an in-depth local research project, contacting 469 charities across the Lisbon area to map specific material needs. By understanding exactly what each organisation could use, a tailored redistribution plan was created that ensured every item would find a suitable second home. 

Once the conference concluded, Event Cycle coordinated the entire donation process on the ground in Lisbon, managing logistics and charity distribution. Every donated asset stayed local, including:

• 47.85 linear meters of wooden panelling and fluted acrylic walling, as well as an elaborate wooden structure 

• 247 m² of event graphics

• 81 m² of bespoke made wavy curtain. 

  
  

The Results: Quantifiable Social and Environmental Value

The hands-on approach ensured 100% of all donated assets landed with charities, community groups, schools and social enterprises within Lisbon, resulting in:

• Total Social Impact of £32,168.06: Fair market value of items donated 

• Carbon Saved 2,806.39 kgCO2e: Carbon emissions prevented from being created in landfill. 

• 7 Charities Supported: All located in and around Lisbon.

  
  

The Legacy: Four Stories of Local Change

A New Home for Stray Animals: The Street Animals Association (Associação Animais de Rua) received the wooden panelling and wooden structures to use in the renovation and decoration of their new headquarters in the Lisbon district, supporting their mission to protect and care for animals in need.

Empowering the LGBTI+ Community: ILGA Portugal received the exclusive ‘wavy’ curtains to replace worn-out fixtures at their LGBTI+ Community Centre. The curtains will also be used to divide spaces during cultural events like Arraial Lisboa Pride.

Supporting Entrepreneurs and Immigrant Communities: The Lusophony Culture and Citizenship Association (ALCC) received wooden walls and frames, metal cable system, acrylic walling and veneer walling. Partnering with Instituto Brasil, they are using the materials to structure and organise exhibition fairs and socio-cultural events, directly supporting small entrepreneurs in the Brazilian and wider immigrant communities.

Creative Upcycling for Good: ReCreate Upcycling Design, a local Lisbon studio, took the 247 m² of event graphics and repurposing them into 560 durable tote bags. These were donated to other local charities including SOS Children's Villages Portugal, Animalife, Sociedade Protectora Dos Animais, and Chapitô Company, extending the impact of the graphics donation.

Driving a Sustainable Legacy

By building sustainability into the event planning process, Sleek proved that a global conference can generate far more than brand engagement. It can strengthen local communities, extend material lifespans, and contribute to a more circular economy too.

This is what sustainable luxury looks like in practice: global presence, local purpose, and a legacy that lasts long after the event lights go out.

Find sustainable event solutions with a lasting social legacy with Event Cycle.

Get in touch: hello@eventcycle.org