Meetings & Incentives Worldwide’s Donna Collins Wins BTN Group’s 2025 Business Travel Sustainability Award for Sustainability Champion
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sara O’Neil or Veronica Ferguson
Marketing and Public Relations
soneil@meetings-incentives.com
vferguson@meetings-incentives.com
Caledonia, Wisconsin (April 22, 2025) – Donna Collins, Sustainability Champion for global event agency Meetings & Incentives Worldwide, Inc. (M&IW), is the winner of the BTN Group’s 2025 Business Travel Sustainability Award for Sustainability Champion. Established in 2023, the awards celebrate the organizations and individuals that prioritize sustainable practices aimed at reducing the environmental impact of corporate travel and events. Winners are chosen by an independent panel of more than 40 travel managers and consultants.
“[Donna] demonstrates strategic leadership grounded in real-world results… [making her] not just a leader in sustainability, but a true champion and changemaker.”
–Business Travel Sustainability Awards Judges
“Donna Collins is celebrated for her deeply personal, impactful, and purpose-driven approach to advancing sustainability within the meetings and incentives space,” said the judges. “Drawing on 25 years of industry experience and returning from retirement to lead sustainability efforts at M&IW, Donna has launched and scaled initiatives that go beyond carbon reduction to address food waste, water conservation, and community impact… [She] demonstrates strategic leadership grounded in real-world results… [making] her not just a leader in sustainability, but a true champion and changemaker in the industry.”
Collins was one of five finalists in the Sustainability Champion category. BTN notes that judges were especially moved by her “ability to connect emotionally while delivering measurable change—balancing storytelling, data, and action in a way that felt both attainable and inspiring.” Her work resonated on a personal level, with one judge remarking, “We need more Donnas.”
“I am honored and grateful to receive this recognition,” said Collins. “I have always maintained that if I can help even just one person make a positive impact on the environment, then I consider that a success. Having my work recognized in this way inspires me to keep striving to make a difference and leave the world a better place.”
The full list of winners of the BTN Group’s 2025 Business Travel Sustainability Awards is available here.
About M&IW Sustainability Champion Donna Collins
Collins took on the role of Sustainability Champion in 2023 after being a Sr. Customer Success Manager at M&IW for seven years. After retiring from her CSM role in 2022, she knew her work wasn’t done.
“In order to move the needle on the scale of sustainability, we first have to put the needle on the scale, one event at a time.”
–Donna Collins, Sustainability Champion, M&IW
“I’ve always been interested in living sustainably,” said Collins. “During my brief retirement, that interest turned into a passion. My heart was telling me to leave the world a better place for our grandchildren. With my experience in the events industry and knowing the industry’s potential to make a difference, it was the natural conclusion to return to that space and to M&IW.”
While a commitment to sustainability isn’t new to M&IW, the company had never had a role dedicated to it prior to Collins.
“From day one, I’ve maintained that in order to move the needle on the scale of sustainability, we first have to put the needle on the scale, one event at a time,” said Collins. “To do that, I’ve adopted the philosophy of meeting everyone where they’re at to make sustainability approachable and, well, sustainable!”
In her role, Collins educates and collaborates with M&IW’s customers, employees, and supplier partners. Notably, she established M&IW’s partnerships with sustainability-focused suppliers Copia, a technology-enabled surplus redistribution service, and PURPOSE Net Zero, an event emissions measurement tool. She is also responsible for earning M&IW a bronze medal for the company’s EcoVadis Sustainability Rating and is actively taking corrective actions to improve future ratings.
“We still have a long way to go in making events and business travel more sustainable, but I’m encouraged by the steps we’ve taken so far,” said Collins. “I constantly find myself going back to a quote from one of our sustainability partners: ‘We don’t need a handful of people doing sustainability perfect. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.’
“That’s what I try to accomplish by meeting everyone where they’re at,” Collins continued. “Instead of being defeated by everything I don’t know or can’t solve right away, I welcome those opportunities to learn something new. If everyone took this stance of, ‘I just haven’t learned that yet,’ we would remove the pressure of instant perfection and move forward, first with small steps and then by leaps and bounds.”
Learn more about Collins and her approach to sustainable event planning here.
What People Are Saying
Collins first applied for the BTN Group’s 2025 Business Travel Sustainability Award on the recommendation of an M&IW customer who has partnered with M&IW on multiple programs.
“Working with Donna has been critical to advancing our Sustainable Events initiative,” said the customer. “She’s done a fantastic job supporting us as we put sustainability at the front-end of our event lifecycle by using her deep industry insights to guide us on a refresh of our RFP focused on sustainable venues and services and connecting us to other corporate events teams to share sustainable best practices.”
“[Donna is] an invaluable asset to our company, our customers, and our planet.”
–Jean Johnson, Chief People Officer, M&IW
M&IW’s executive leadership team has similar words of praise.
“During her time as Sustainability Champion, Donna has accomplished more than I could have imagined,” said Jean Johnson, CMP, Chief People Officer, M&IW. “I’m so proud of her for winning this award, but I also can’t say I’m surprised! She’s an invaluable asset to our company, our customers, and our planet.”
“This award is so well deserved,” agreed Tina Madden, CEO, M&IW. “I always envisioned M&IW as a leader in event sustainability, and Donna has brought that vision to life. And she’s just getting started! I can’t wait to see what else she accomplishes and the difference she’ll continue to make.”
Learn More from Donna Collins
On May 7 at 11:00 a.m. CT, Collins is participating in a live event hosted by M&IW, Event Sustainability: Facts, Fiction, & Future. She will be joined by Paige Lowe, Vice President of Customer Success, Copia, and Marley Finnegan, Founder, PURPOSE.
During this free event, this experienced panel will share actionable recommendations and thought-provoking insights to help event owners, planners, and suppliers make a difference throughout their programs. Attendees will leave with new ideas and a fresh outlook on sustainable event planning and strategy. More information is available here. Registration can be completed here.
Collins also regularly contributes to blog posts published by M&IW. Her most recent contributions include:
- Four Steps to Make Event Sustainability a Reality
- Sustainable Events on a Budget: 8 Best Practices
- Reducing Food Waste at Events: A Sustainability Success Story
To view all of M&IW’s sustainability-focused blog posts, click here.
About Meetings & Incentives Worldwide (M&IW)
M&IW is a women-owned event agency specializing in planning meetings, conferences, and incentives of all scales worldwide. We have 350+ employees and operate events in over 90 countries.
We provide customizable event solutions ranging from end-to-end to a la carte, with a focus on integrating neuroscience and sustainability principles in events. We also develop strategies across events to provide visibility, efficiency, and savings.
M&IW is a third generation, privately held, certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) in business for more than 55 years. We serve industries such as life sciences, technology, financial services, manufacturing, insurance, and more.
To learn more, visit meetings-incentives.com.
M&IW’s Sustainable Responsibility Impact Statement
M&IW is passionate about the environment and the people and communities we live, work, and do business in. We understand that companies like ours are expected to lead with purpose and responsibility, and we are committed to creating lasting positive change for our planet, people, and communities.
- People: Empower all people who deliver and attend our programs to thrive at work, at home, and in their communities.
- Planet: Enable our customers and partners to impact the future through our expanded services.
- Communities: Improve the vitality and resilience of our local communities.
We are focused on leveraging our existing partnerships and building new relationships that will support our efforts to make Sustainable Responsibility a standard in our industry.
To learn more about M&IW’s approach to sustainability, visit meetings-incentives.com/event-sustainability.