Planning an Event Make It Sustainable With These 6 Simple Tips - Guest Blog by Erich Lawson of Northern California Compactors Inc
Planning an Event? Make It Sustainable With These 6 Simple Tips
With innumerable businesses shifting their focus on sustainable practices, the event industry is also experiencing a surge in the demand for green events. This is mainly because sustainable events offer two major advantages - minimal carbon footprint and cost-effectiveness.
Planning a green event isn’t a herculean task. You just need to identify the major impact areas which ensure maximum outcomes with minimal efforts. Take a look at these 6 simple tips which are sure to help you plan a sustainable event with great outcomes:
1. Choose the Venue Smartly
While selecting venues, give priority to those which are at a walking distance from the hotel which will accommodate your guests. The short distance means your guests can walk to the venue. You can also arrange shared rides to curb pollution as much as possible. This technique is especially effective in case of events which expect large number of attendees.
2. Go Paperless
Use an online registration and check-in system for the event. This will also be more convenient for your guests as they can register and check-in at their leisure and they will surely appreciate the gesture. Research and find an event app which helps you manage, organize, notify and update. This will simplify the entire communication channel and will eliminate the need for papers. Ask your volunteers to use survey and polling apps so that they can collect useful information without creating paper trash. You can also ask for a feedback from your guests through emails.
3. Eliminate Swag Bags
Swag bags mostly contain promotional materials which can usually be replaced with the digital versions in today’s technological era. Try to create a digital swag bag instead for the attendees. You can offer them memberships for online magazines or apps which you think might be useful to them.
4. Encourage Refillable Water Bottles
Numerous venues have adopted the rule - no bottled water unless asked by the guests. Instead, they provide refillable water bottles or request guests to bring their own refillable bottles. You can also adopt this rule for your event to eliminate plastic waste.
5. Manage Waste
You should have a solid waste management plan for your event. Your staff, contractors, vendors and sponsors should be well aware of your waste management goals. Volunteers should have a clear idea of their responsibilities. This will help streamline your efforts for managing waste and ensure successful outcomes.
Also, proper infrastructure should be provided to deal with the waste. For instance, you can use properly labeled bins for recyclable and non-recyclable waste and place them in a way so that they are visible and easily accessible to the guests. You should also make your waste management goals clear to your guests. This will help them utilize the infrastructure provided for the same in a better way.
6. Consider the Sustainability Factor of Food
Locally sourced food is the best way to ensure that the food for your event doesn’t come with the tag of heavy carbon footprint. Talk to the caterers and know about their green practices. Share your sustainability goals with them so that both of you can work together to make the event eco-friendly. Both you and your caterer can follow the practices mentioned below:
Be accurate about the number of guests to avoid wastage of food
Choose reusable dishware, linen, cutlery and tablecloths and steer clear of the disposable stuff
Go for bulk dispensers for sugar, salt, pepper and other condiments
Ensure that the food waste is composted
Donate the food leftovers to organizations for food rescue or food-to-animals
With the type of technological support available today, it’s really simple to integrate sustainable practices in your event. The ways listed above will further simplify your task. So go ahead and incorporate them while planning your next event. Your efforts can create a ripple of awareness regarding sustainability among your guests, sponsors, vendors and contractors who may pass it on further so that more events become sustainable.
Author Bio
Erich Lawson is passionate about saving environment by effective recycling. He has written a wide array of articles on how modern recycling equipments can be used by industries to reduce monthly garbage bills and increase recycling revenue. You can learn more about environment savings techniques by visiting Northern California Compactors, Inc blog