How Event Planners Can Design More Sustainable Conferences

Written by Researchbite | Updated on: November 15, 2022

How Event Planners Can Design More Sustainable Conferences

Let's see how we can make our conferences more sustainable for the environment.

Introduction

Any large-scale gathering may have an adverse effect on the environment, including the air, land, water, resources, and people. Of course, this extends beyond where the event takes place. However, by including sustainability planning in their preparation, event organizers may not only reduce any possible harmful effects but, given the number of stakeholders engaged. Influence change by leaving a lasting legacy and, ideally, motivating people to participate in living more sustainably. We should thus compel the planners to incorporate sustainability into their planning process.

Sustainable event planning may benefit the key players, the environment, and the environment itself. Planning a sustainable event begins well before the actual event and continues after it is over. If you incorporate sustainability into your event, start early and prepare your approach well in advance. Any ambitious event that aims to be sustainable may fail due to inadequate planning. Your event is a great chance to spread knowledge about sustainability and sustainable events among your attendees, employees and coworkers, service providers, the local community, the more significant events community, and the broader public. By setting a good example, you encourage others to make ethical choices and incorporate social and environmental changes into their own activities and organizations.

Do Events And Conferences Have Impact On The Environment?

The following are the primary environmental problems caused by event planning:

  • Events use a lot of energy on-site, create a lot of garbage on-site, and produce an excessive quantity of rubbish that ends up in landfills
  • Transportation to and from the event consumes power and emits greenhouse gasses;
  • Events consume a lot of paper, which harms our forest ecosystems;
  • Events utilize environmentally damaging chemical cleaning products and detergents;
  • Events may generate a lot of noise pollution.

Need For Designing More Sustainable Conferences

Sustainable events may significantly reduce their adverse environmental effects. This lessens garbage production, assures efficient waste management, uses less water and electricity, and lessens air, noise, and light pollution. The use of public and shared transportation, for example, encourages safe, healthy, and sustainable mobility. The selected catering companies are also required to minimize packaging, use reusable tableware and dishes, prioritize the use of bulk dispensers and jars for food and beverages, and promote local, seasonal organic produce or Fair Trade. In addition to preserving the environment, sustainable events focus on enhancing the local environment. By recruiting the same number of men and women and concurrently translating them into sign language, they work to promote inclusion and equal opportunity. They also support the employment of local firms and barrier-free access for people with limited mobility.

Essential prerequisites from the start include enhancing communication and transparency with interest groups and increasing awareness of these activities. This entails proactive outreach and communication with stakeholders, including shareholders, suppliers, and employees, through various channels, such as the corporate website, to inform them about the sustainable event. It also entails learning through surveys what attendees expect from a meeting of this nature and why. Planning wisely and avoiding leaving anyone behind requires getting feedback.

Since a sustainable event requires work and dedication that should be shared with society, communication is equally important. To benefit from all of the environmental, social, and economic best practices that have been implemented and for them to be aware of the benefit that it implies for the planet overall. Experts say the companies that organize this type of event and meetings must convey these values to those who attend and participate in them. It's crucial to understand that circumstances can and need to be sustainable.

Simple Strategies For Event Planners To Develop More Sustainable Conferences

Implement a Successful Waste Management System

An average eventgoer produces 4.17 pounds of rubbish each day, 85% of which is claimed to be in landfills. Therefore, an efficient waste management system, which is made up of the following crucial components, is necessary to divert trash away from landfills and to satisfy the requirements of a circular economy:

  • Recycling of waste: is possible for materials including plastic, glass, metal, and food. Bring recycling containers on-site to sort these materials properly. This will make it possible to classify garbage in an organized manner and begin the recycling process. In addition, recycling reduces the number of raw materials, energy, water, and chemicals needed to create new goods.
  • Waste reduction: Your first line of defense should be a waste reduction, which necessitates precise forecasting. If historical data is available, consider using it to inform your predictions of the number of supplies required to perform your event.
  • Use eco-friendly products instead: Invest in eco-friendly paper and supplies like cutlery, plates, and glasses.

Select Eco-Friendly Locations And Cut Down On Food Waste

Meeting spaces continuously look for new methods to carry out environmental projects, and many now include:

  • There are recycling stations in every meeting room.
  • Water dispensers with filters
  • Technology and lighting controlled by critical cards
  • Intelligent room temperature controllers
  • Guidelines for reusable towels and linens
  • Sustainable toiletries (available in bulk dispensers) Moreover, all bathrooms use recycled toilet paper.

Landscaped venues that are favorable to the environment are more popular. For example, using drought-tolerant plants and trees helps reduce watering to a minimum. In addition, greenery and flowerbeds promote biodiversity.

By just making modifications in this one area, which can account for 20% to 60% of the total event waste, you can significantly improve the sustainability of your conference. For example, at your meeting, you may prevent food waste in the following ways:

  • Getting participants to place food orders during registration
  • Avoiding individually wrapped food and beverages
  • Emphasizing vegetarian and vegan choices (they have fewer emissions than meat)
  • Selecting a caterer who donates, composts, or uses anaerobic digestion to dispose of leftover food
  • Buying locally to cut down on emissions from transportation

Reduce On-Site Energy Consumption

A green tariff or purchasing a Renewable Energy Certificate are two ways to start supporting the market for renewable energy. You may even install your own on-site renewable energy source if you have the means to do so. Second, you must determine how much power the occasion will need. Heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and lighting equipment account for 44% and 28% of the energy a facility uses when hosting an event. If you are the building's owner, you should concentrate on the areas that generate the most significant waste by installing energy-saving measures. Such as converting to low-energy LED lighting and using HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems that consume less energy.

If you rent out spaces to host your events, seek LEED-certified structures. A reputable framework that guarantees buildings are safe, effective, and low-carbon structures are the LEED Certification system.

Virtual Events Are More Beneficial For Social Inclusion And Environmental Conservation

A study team led by engineers examined many science conferences that initially turned virtual during the early months of the epidemic for their work titled Conference demographics and footprint transformed by virtual platforms. According to the study, each individual conference attendee's carbon footprint in 2019 was expected to be equal to that of 7,000 virtual participants. (You read that correctly. We nearly slid out of our seats.)

They also compared the social and financial expenses of in-person conferences to those of virtual ones and discovered that the latter had significantly increased the number of participants. More people who couldn't previously attend these events could do so because of decreased expenses and shortened time and travel requirements. In addition, women, early-career researchers, and scientists from underrepresented institutions and nations increased their engagement significantly.

Over the past two years, our industry has undoubtedly learned a lot about how broad the impact of a virtual event can be. Not just concerning audience size and geographic location but also regarding accessibility and diversity. The truth is that everyone has to feel included and welcome if you want to draw in and keep a diverse group of researchers in your field. Furthermore, you must be more purposeful in building settings that cultivate tolerance for and understanding of varied opinions to avoid ignoring the danger of mistakenly excluding or altogether excluding influential voices from your community.

Use Of Eco Sustainable Transportation

With 27% of all greenhouse gas emissions coming from the transportation industry, it is the most significant emitter. When seen from an economic angle, transportation expenses have significantly grown during the past 12 months. In order to protect the environment and increase your company's bottom line, it makes sense to adopt environmentally friendly transportation. You can only do so much since emissions from transportation to and from the event are unavoidable. Once you've initially taken steps to reduce these emissions, consider carbon offset plans to minimize the residual GHG emissions. If you want to make sure the offsets you buy reduce carbon emissions, you should invest in programs that have been approved and thoroughly examined.

Avoid Using Paper

Try to avoid using paper wherever you can. Make sure your venue is aware of your policy, and from the beginning, communicate with all stakeholders (including visitors and suppliers) online. Going paperless is among the simplest methods to improve the sustainability of your conference. Instead, think about using digital presentation displays, downloadable resources, and e-tickets.

You may reduce the amount of paper you need for your event while reducing the production-related resources and transportation-related emissions that would be generated.

Avoid using disposables:

  • Make a custom website or app for the event with all the pertinent meeting details.
  • Offer e-tickets
  • Use erasable or digital whiteboards.
  • Use name badges made of washable and recyclable materials.
  • Create reusable banners

By organizing green meetings, you'll support environmental protection and motivate attendees to adopt a sustainable lifestyle. The more we can accomplish as a group, the better. For the event invites, think about employing digital QR codes. These codes can point event participants to the appropriate website to register for the event online. Or, if you're organizing an exhibition, make a mobile-accessible online PDF brochure for visitors. Additionally, keep in mind becoming digital as you arrange your event. Utilize online communication and document storage services to reduce printing and paper waste.

Use Biodegradable, Non-Toxic Detergents And Cleaning Supplies

Many commercial chemical cleaning solutions include hazardous, fossil fuel-derived compounds that can wash into waterways, polluting our ecosystem. Following their persistence in the environment, some of these substances may find their way into food systems and endanger human health. In addition, some items contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which, when released into the environment, cause harm to the ozone layer. However, there are healthier options that you may utilize for both you and the environment. Look for cleaning products with a bio-based certification. These goods employ enzymes and plant-based components rather than materials obtained from fossil fuels. Although such items don't necessarily protect the environment, those that do so with just slight harm are permitted to do so.

Conclusion

When preparing a sustainable event, several factors must be considered, including location, transport, housing, food and beverages, and even technology, because they all influence the environment in different ways. And this can prove to be rather tricky. This article examines eight fundamental actions that may significantly improve how environmentally friendly events are. By creating a secure environment, sustainable development adapts to safeguard the environment and its natural resources. Planning sustainable events and implementing eco-friendly techniques are crucial steps in this process. The success and sustainability of event planners' arrange events depend on a well-defined strategy. They ought to think about putting up ethical and sustainable projects and establishing goals to maintain their activities on schedule. A practical manual on defining and evaluating sustainable event goals is available on the venue-sourcing and events platform to assist with this. Appropriate assistance and an understanding of the significance of event planners' actions should be implemented to mitigate the immediate environmental effects brought on by organizing an event. Environmentally friendly events boost morale, foster innovation, enhance a company's reputation, and make employees feel good. Repeat business and higher ROI frequently result from being green and concentrating on sustainability.

References

  • https://www.exordo.com/blog/meetings-that-matter-event-planning-with-purpose/
  • https://www.mapfre.com/en/insights/sustainability/sustainable-events-organized

         

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