6 Tips for Sustainable Events

Posted April 22nd, 2019 at 9:45 pmNo Comments Yet

Sustainable events don’t have to be boring! Sure, planning for eco-consciousness isn’t on every client’s radar. But, why single in on the events industry?

one guest makes a small car’s worth of trash each event

About 70% is organic waste — compost — and recyclables. But, 21% of those recyclables never get donated. That’s because many don’t realize that you can recycle carpet, padding and booth waste… which accounts for almost 7%. Keep in mind, all that doesn’t even factor in the air and car travel required to get there.

Simple Steps for a Sustainable Event

But, here’s the thing. With just a few simple steps, you can reduce your event’s carbon and landfill contribution by almost a third! We put together a list of tweaks that allow for any event attendee to enjoy the convenience and experience they expect — while reducing their carbon footprint.

Venue

Venues are usually one of the largest chunks of your budget. But you still have bargaining power. Here’s how to have an honest conversation about what you want to achieve on a sustainability level:

• Share equipment and associated set-up cost with events preceding and following yours.
• Pick a venue with existing views and values on sustainability.

Menus

Chances are that you’re going to be serving food of some sort. Even if your event is small and simple, menus are a great opportunity to impact your sustainability:

• Ensure your guests aren’t served so much food that staff ends up scraping most of each plate into the trash bin.
• Source local, organic options to reduce your carbon footprint while promoting healthier living.
• Use digital menus instead of printed ones to cut down on paper waste and the errors that lead to tossed meals.

Florals

Flowers pack a powerful punch, but aren’t particularly sustainable — especially with the majority being tossed at the end of each event. Instead of discarding florals in the trash when table decor is being cleared, consider:

• Opting for living décor — potted flowers and plants — which allows for a floral or green showcase while being long-lasting and sustainable.
• Gifting your floral arrangements as prizes, part of an auction, competition, or favor as an incentive at the end of your event as.

Energy

Use green sources to power some, if not all of your event can show attendees you care as well as introduce the reliability of alternative energy to a new audience. A few options include:

• Solar panels can be integrated into furniture as well as temporarily installed for longer events. Or, just look for a green venue that’s already upgraded to renewable energy.
• The exercise bikes used in attendee powered lounges promote healthy living while providing a clean energy source.
• Take part in a carbon offset program to balance out the impact of attendees traveling to and from your location.

Transportation

Transportation is the biggest contribution to an event’s footprint as a whole. It’s important to consider sustainable transport to offset any of the longer journeys to keep your impact to a minimum:

• Hold your convention in a walkable neighborhood if at all possible.
• Rent food, furnishings, and props locally to avoid the emissions created by shipping over long distances.
• Offer a shuttle service to encourage attendees to carpool. This allows them to save on parking spaces as well as cutting emissions.

Packaging

If it’s not necessary, don’t use it! Unwrap yourselves. Avoid single-use packaging and go for biodegradable options instead. Or, if the packaging is really necessary, opt for eco-friendly options that decompose quickly to create minimal impact on the environment instead of the standard, plastic-coated gift bags.

Be part of an original FW installation

We should all reduce, reuse and recycle. So, for the entire week starting on April 22nd, Fresh Wata will be collecting glass bottles to create a new product.

Tell your FW Event Producer that you want to make your next event or exhibit Climate Positive and reduce more than your CO2 Footprint. Drop off yours at 3905 W Diablo Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89118 and stay tuned as our designers unveil new products made from your contributions

Tags:   event,   event decor,   event design,   event planning,   event production,   green events