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What is a Sustainable Event?
Sustainable event planning refers to the practice of organising and managing events in a way that minimises negative impacts on the environment and promotes social responsibility. This requires considering the event’s effects on the economy, society, and environment at every level of planning, from choosing the event site to developing the event experience and assessing the event’s success after it has already occurred. Sustainable event design seeks to create a memorable event experience while reducing waste and resource consumption, promoting social equity and diversity, and positively impacting the environment. Organisers must ensure the event is financially sustainable and economically beneficial to the surrounding area to be considered sustainable.
Steps To Sustainable Event Planning
Over the years, the events industry has had a tremendous impact on the environment. From printing bundles of glossy schedules to giving out bottled water to participants, organising events somehow doesn’t align with sustainability. In the past couple of years, an exciting shift has taken place—the events industry is now placing an increased focus on organising sustainable events.
If you are planning your next event, it is necessary to consider the environment. You are in the right place if you are wondering how to plan a sustainable event. To help you get started, we have provided sustainable event ideas and useful tips for planning a green event.
1. Think Green
Planning a green event does not need to be complicated, especially if you plan. You can start by improving different areas within the event production process, such as venues, waste management, and overall production. As an organiser of sustainable events, you should think outside the box and ask the right questions.
Are there ways to minimise the impact of your event? What are these ways? What steps do you need to take to start the process of going green? Before enhancing the event’s efforts toward sustainability, have a look at your event. Then, work out the impact and try to incorporate ways to minimise it. Organising Go Green events not only helps to reduce the environmental impact but also helps to promote sustainability.
2. Design the Plan
To take your event to the next level, you need best practices in sustainable event planning and set realistic sustainability goals. Start by analysing the different areas within the event process. Then, come up with a plan that shows your goals and how to tackle them. Do this diligently to make sure you choose the right person to see it through. Keep in mind that going green is a commitment. If you want to see the outcome of your efforts, sustainability should encompass your entire event culture.
3. Start Simple, Go Paperless
While this is a simple move, organizing an environmentally friendly event is a powerful way to reduce an event’s impact on the environment. So, opt for paperless processes when organising an event.
You can cut down on the amount of paper you will be using by incorporating online registrations and ticketing systems. When communicating details of the sustainable event, you can create an app or set up a webpage rather than printing out programs or other information booklets. In that way, you are sending information clearly and quickly while being mindful of the environment.
Try to involve your audience in this simple yet bold move. Explain to them what you are doing and why and ask them to support you.
4. Select the Right Venue
When organising sustainable events, you need to be meticulous in choosing the right venue and location. Depending on the number of people present in the event, you can find ways to cut down your carbon footprint. So, make sure to consider both attendees and staff.
Look for a venue that has a sustainable or environmental policy of its own. These venues will be more likely to cooperate with your sustainable event and your sustainability goals. Do your research on the venue’s sustainability policies, including their use of energy, recycling facilities, water efficiency, as well as in-house suppliers.
5. Create a Sustainable Waste Disposal Method
One of the most important considerations for your sustainability efforts is event waste. After every attendee has left, see if there is a lot of rubbish lying around every corner of the site. This can be damaging to the environment and may lead to complaints from the owner of the venue. An eco-friendly waste disposal method is absolutely necessary for successful sustainable event management.
If there is no sustainable waste management system in place, you can hire a separate recycling company to pick up your rubbish. Most sustainable event-planning companies think this through. You can also dot bins around the venue, encouraging attendees and staff to recycle and reduce waste.
6. Work on the Event Production
The advent of technology has provided you with plenty of ways to save on power, make a more sustainable event, and minimise your carbon footprint. Try to ask your event production team how you can use less energy at your event.
7. Power Up Your Event Engagement with Smart Energy Products
One way to make your event sustainable, and at the same time enjoyable, is through smart energy floors or wewatt pedal power. These energy floors and Wewatt bikes capture kinetic energy from dancing, jumping, walking, or pedalling on the bikes. Through these interactions, you can create a fun and memorable experience for the audience & you can customise the branding, software, or gamification.
Post-Event Assessment and Reporting
Post-event evaluation and reporting are essential components of sustainable event planning because they allow organisers to review the event’s performance and pinpoint areas for improvement. Here are some important factors to think about:
Assessing Sustainability Performance
Conduct a sustainability evaluation to examine the event’s sustainability performance, including waste diversion rates, energy and water usage, the impact of transportation, and social responsibility results; this may be used to pinpoint both the event’s strong points and its room for development.
Analysing Attendee Feedback
Gather feedback from participants on their experiences at the event, including their opinions of the efforts to promote sustainability. This can assist organisers in measuring the impact of sustainable event practises on the guest experience and suggest areas for development.
Reporting Sustainability Metrics
Share sustainability metrics from the events with all relevant parties, such as sponsors, attendees, and community partners, about the trash diversion rates, energy usage, and transportation effect. This can show the event’s dedication to sustainability and encourage participation in future events.
Sharing best practices and lessons learned
Finally, market your success to the world to make a positive change. Let people know the changes you are making to help reduce the impact on the environment. Change starts with you and only takes one to make a positive impact. So, encourage them, especially the events industry, to embrace sustainability. This may encourage the adoption of sustainable techniques throughout the industry and help create a community of sustainable event planners.
The decisions of sustainable practices that we make today will greatly affect the future of the planet. So, as an industry that can make a difference, you should invite everyone to come together in taking good care of our planet. From here on out, go for green, sustainable events.
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