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Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has extended its significant achievements, spurring strong event demand and boosting industry-leading sustainability and standards.

The combination dramatically benefits the region Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre serves – economically, environmentally, and socially.

Te Pae attracted over 80,000 visitors to attend more than 220 events in 2024, with a strong pipeline of bookings for 2025, 2026 and beyond.

The convention centre is also making a broad contribution to Christchurch and the wider region – from promoting local businesses to increasing awareness of New Zealand as a destination. According to the organisation’s delegate surveys, over 80% of international convention attendees intend to return to New Zealand for a holiday over the next five years.

Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre General Manager Ross Steele says the organisation takes the community’s investment in developing the purpose-built convention centre very seriously.

Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre General Manager Ross Steele

“We recognise how significant our role is, both as a showcase for the region and as driver of economic development,” says Ross Steele. “We also see it as our responsibility to provide an international-standard platform for local businesses and organisations – from agri-tech to space exploration, and health sciences to education – to reach a national and international audience.”

Steele says Te Pae Christchurch also understands the importance of leadership in the international events industry, especially regarding key issues like sustainability.

“That approach informs every part of our decision making, enabling us to demonstrate real leadership on issues that are vitally important to conference organisers, decision-makers and delegates, as well as our community,” Steele says.

As Steele mentioned, Te Pae Christchurch is currently understood to be the only convention centre in the world to be a certified Toitū Net Carbon Zero venue, recently renewed for the second year running. To learn more about what Toitū Net Carbon Zero represents, see the end of this article. It’s impressive!

Te Pae Christchurch takes proactive measures to reduce its environmental impact, reflected in its achievements of Toitū Environmark Gold Certification and Qualmark Gold Sustainable Tourism Accreditation.

Meeting these standards reflects considerable environmental improvements across the operation.

The convention centre saw a 12% overall reduction in carbon emissions in 2024, including a 20% decrease in power consumption and a 35% decrease in transport emissions. The organisation offset scope 1 and 2 emissions and measured scope three emissions – beyond what was required to achieve the standards. The focus on sustainability is also reflected throughout the organisation, with a broad range of initiatives designed to reduce waste. These include replacing plastic milk bottles with kegs – saving over 2,400 plastic bottles from going to waste, and using an eWater system for natural sanitisation and dehydration of food waste to create soil food for community gardens.

Belinda Mathers, Chief Science and Advisory Officer at Toitū Envirocare, says, “Te Pae Christchurch sets an impressive example of climate leadership in the hospitality industry to reduce their emissions and environmental impact. They’re not afraid to try new ways of operating, and it’s this innovative approach and willingness to share their journey that sets them apart. The efforts by organisations such as Te Pae Christchurch is critical for New Zealand to meet its climate targets and make a positive difference.”

The venue has also focused on continuous standards improvement, with the achievement of Gold Certification in the AIPC Quality Standards program in December 2024, putting Te Pae Christchurch among a select group of only 30 convention centres worldwide.

Mr Steele says the organisation looks forward to demonstrating its achievements to the broader industry when Te Pae Christchurch hosts the Professional Conference Organisers Association (PCOA) conference in December.

“From the quality of our award-winning building to the outstanding flavours, sights and sounds of our dynamic region, we’re looking forward to providing the industry with a taste of what our team and our wider community have worked so hard to achieve over the past three years.”

Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre can host up to 2000 delegates for various national and international events. It features world-class purpose-built facilities, including a 1364-seat auditorium, 2800 square metres of exhibition space and 24 meeting rooms.

* For Toitū’s Climate Positive, Net Carbon Zero and Carbon Reduce certification programmes provide independent verification and validation of greenhouse gas emissions measurements, management and reduction plans, and offsets following international standards. Toitū’s Enviromark certifications are designed to reduce environmental impact and enhance operational efficiency. Find out more here.