We have already understood what sustainable events are, why we do them and why we educate others to do them too. Likewise, we have already absolved that the event industry is a vast, even surprisingly big polluter.
That’s why we won’t talk about what sustainable events are and the why behind them. We will give you ten simple tips on how to organize them:
Assess the effect of your event on the environment.
To make your event as sustainable as possible, it is essential to ask yourself which area of your event is the most problematic. The simplest way to do this is to go through all nine categories of sustainable events and think about which is the biggest problem for you. Is transportation your biggest problem? Or a large amount of plastic and paper that remains after your event. Or is it the amount of food that will be wasted? Once you have mastered the answer to this question, you will know what it would be best to focus on to contribute the most to sustainability.
Choose a sustainable supplier
We have repeated many times that it is easiest to organize a sustainable event if you do it from the beginning of creating the concept. That’s why you give yourself more effort and find sustainable suppliers. Do you like working with your current suppliers and don’t want to research new ones? Even better! Encourage your existing suppliers to change. Together you can achieve great things.
Throw away all plastic at the event
By now, we all have become aware of the damage that single-use plastics do. The problem is not only in the damage it does after it is produced and after we have used it, but also in the production itself. Why not try to make a sustainable event without using single-use plastic? It may be a little more difficult at first, but your pride will be even more tremendous in the end.
Throw away all paper at the event
Although paper is often used instead of plastic, why not ditch both? Is it scary for you? That’s good. It means that you go outside your comfort zone, and that’s where the magic happens. Not sure how to ban visitors from paper? Place recycling bins. Not sure how you will succeed? Create QR codes that will contain absolutely all information about your event.
Choose sustainable catering
Sustainable catering is not only based on a vegetarian diet. It also uses local foods and seasonal foods, but also creates menus that promote the region where the event takes place. What better way to introduce visitors to local dishes than to serve them at your event? Don’t forget about the leftovers, either. Why throw them away when visitors can take them for later or donate them?
Support sustainable transport to and from your event
It’s not that you can only contribute to an event’s sustainability by ensuring that everything about it is sustainable. What matters is what you do before and after the event. You encourage your participants to consider how they travel to and from your event. Think about a location close to public transport, focus on visitors within a short drive of your location, and organize a hybrid event…
Technology instead of print
When organizing conferences, perhaps your first impulse is to set up branding through banners, fabric walls, penguins and similar prints. Forget about it. Play around with production and come up with something completely different but digital. Something that is not common but is sustainable.
Using LED lighting
LED lighting is not new. It’s widespread, sustainable, and there’s no reason not to use it.
Get out into the open
The most sustainable location you can use is the outdoor space. Take advantage of natural light, where you don’t have to use air conditioning, heating, or other electrical devices.
Reduce water consumption
A statistic that strikes us repeatedly is that less than 1% of the water on Earth is water that can be consumed. By using less water at the event, you indirectly reduce the use of fossil fuels. To reduce water consumption at your event, do not distribute plastic bottles. Provide locations where guests can pour their water into the bottles they took from home or hand them out at the event.
