Cutting the carbon footprint of your event

Climate change has never been far from the headlines in recent months. Now Britain has become the first major nation to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to almost zero by 2050.

To reach this tough target, all business sectors need to get on board – so, as event organisers, how can we play our part?

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking about how you can reduce the carbon footprint of your next event.

Plan ahead – it is vital to factor in environmental sustainability for every aspect of your event from the very start.

Get everyone involved – educate and inspire your staff about what you are doing, and make sure all your suppliers and vendors are happy to work with you towards the ‘carbon neutral’ goal.

Travel – this is usually the single biggest contributor to carbon emissions generated by any event. So:

ask yourself if remote participation via a virtual/online event is a viable alternative
choose a venue in a central location for attendees, with good public transport links
consider options such as a fuel-efficient shuttle bus for your participants
encourage your guests to car share or use public transport by offering incentives such as ticket discounts.

Food and drink – often overlooked, this too has quite an impact on the relative sustainability of an event. Think about:

using fresh, seasonal, organic, locally sourced food
cutting down meat (particularly beef) options
reducing food waste by asking people to pre-order their meals/refreshments
making arrangements for surplus food and drink to be donated to a homeless shelter
ensuring any other leftovers are composted.

Venue – as well as being as central and accessible as possible, choose one with excellent green credentials including efficient use of renewable energy and good recycling processes.

Packaging – often unnecessary, but a serious cause of environmental damage. So stick with the ‘reduce, re-use or recycle’ mantra. Hence:

use traditional, re-useable crockery, glasses and cutlery
ban single-use plastic such as water bottles or straws
if packaging is absolutely necessary, look at recycled biodegradable alternatives such as paper or cardboard.

Paperless – reduce the need for printed material by opting for online registration, digital check-in and mobile phone-friendly apps detailing the event’s programme of activities.

Giveaways – seriously consider the impact of potential ‘freebies’. Rather than a branded plastic key-ring or dubious desk accessory (after all, how many of these end up in the office bin?), try offering discount apps or truly useful online resources.

Fun – explore the ice-breaking, eco-friendly opportunities of people-powered activities such as a smoothie-making bicycle in the break-out lounge area.

Offset – having done your best to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas your event has generated, you can also work with a specialist charity or other agency to compensate for your carbon emissions by supporting various schemes which will make an equivalent reduction in carbon dioxide globally.

Assess – after all your good work, make sure you evaluate the environmental impact of your event. Then use social media and other online channels to let attendees know how well you all did, boosting your brand and reputation as a socially responsible business.

It’s worth remembering that resources, of course, cost money – so saving our collective resources also means saving money for you and your client.

To attain the magic zero-emissions target and save our planet for future generations, we all need to play our part, so be imaginative and make the most of the opportunities out there to do your bit.