As we know from planning thousands of meetings and events, gathering large numbers of people in a single place can create a great deal of waste and contribute to carbon emissions, thereby adversely impacting the environment. However, professionals in the meetings, events, and travel industries can make conscious decisions every day, at every event, to make sure we are doing the all that we can to plan environmentally friendly events. Here are some things to consider when planning your next event.
Swag
Sure, I’m guilty of loving swag and promotional items, but truth be told, I toss a lot of what I get. Instead of gifting useless items at your next event, consider providing something that promotes sustainability! Like a notepad made out of recycled paper or a S’well bottle with your logo on it.
Combat waste
We’ve all experienced the excessive amounts of paper thrusted at us as we walk into an event space. We’ve received binders full of agendas, maps, programs, etc. However, those binders represent a huge waste of resources.
The best solution for this? Incorporate a mobile app at your next event. Having all event information on the app reduces the need for paper binders – and the less paper we use, the better for our environment.
Avoid excessive travel emissions
Planning an event in a faraway exotic destination is always a crowd-pleaser. However, setting your events at such locations means most attendees are probably taking a long flight to reach the destination. Due to their extended flight lengths, long plane rides can cause higher emissions.
Focus on event venues and locations that are more centrally located to your base. If your event attendees are coming from different directions, finding a centrally located location can cut down on the travel-related emissions.
Lessen your event’s carbon footprint
Attendees tend to take individual cars to travel around the host city. Incorporate ride-sharing at your event promotes environmental sustainability, as well as additional networking opportunities for attendees!
Many larger events utilize shuttles at their events to cut down on carbon emissions – but meetings and events of all sizes can (and should!) do this. Having 60 people in a single vehicle is far better than having 60 individual cars – with all of their respective carbon outputs.
How are you making your next event more sustainable? What have you seen from events in the past? Let us know by leaving us a comment below!
