AWS Summit Sydney is one of Australia’s largest tech events, a space where individuals and organisations come together to explore the latest in cloud computing and AI from Amazon Web Services (AWS).
In 2025, Imagination was proud to deliver our fifth AWS Summit Sydney. This year, our focus extended well beyond the event itself. Guided by our Recycle, Reuse or Rehire methodology, we designed every element with sustainability and end-of-life considerations at its core.
Designing for impact beyond the event
Wherever possible, we prioritised hirable assets and materials that could be recycled, broken down, or adapted for future use. Even bespoke design elements – the details that made Summit’s look and feel so distinctive – were created with reuse in mind.
The results were significant: around 70% of custom elements from the Summit were repurposed across schools, creative hubs, and arts organisations, ensuring the event’s impact carried on long after the doors closed.
Working with a dedicated sustainability consultant, we were able to divert a large volume of materials from landfill and redirect them into the hands of communities who could put them to meaningful use.
Extending the summit’s legacy
From structural pieces transformed into student workshop resources to scenic flats and set designs reimagined for theatre productions, Summit assets have now found new life across education, performance, and community projects.
This practical, community-first approach proves that bold, inspiring brand experiences don’t have to cost the earth, and they can give back to it in tangible, lasting ways.
Where assets found a new home
- Dural Musical Society: Perspex plinths, modernisation walls and plinths repurposed for productions of Footloose and Romeo & Juliet.
- Hijinx Theatre Company: Walls, flats and set pieces reused in the summer production of Bathory Begins.
- Strathfield Musical Society: Over 100 fabric hanging banners transformed into sets, costumes, and theatre borders for Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.
- PLC High School: A retail stand conveyor belt, astroturf and purple carpet reimagined for Charlie & The Chocolate Factory.
- Sydney Fringe Festival: Perspex panels given new life in a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz.
- Wild Heart Creatives Studio: Archways, columns, walls and astroturf for High School Musical II, supporting young and emerging artists aged 10-25.
- University of Wollongong: A reception desk, newsroom desk and plinths, revitalising the Journalism Department’s student newsroom after 15 years of use.
- The Studio Sydney Group: Purple carpet repurposed for creative shoots and back-of-house spaces.
- Darlinghurst Public School: A range of sports equipment supporting student activities.
A lasting legacy
The AWS Summit Sydney 2025 proved that large-scale events can deliver more than inspiration in the moment – they can leave behind a meaningful legacy. By designing sustainably and redistributing creatively, we extended the life of Summit assets while supporting education, the arts, and community development.
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