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.
Combat waste
I’ve been to hundreds of events where, upon checking in, I’ve received binders full of agendas, maps, programs, etc. However, those binders represent a huge waste of resources – paper, ink, energy spent printing, and the event planner’s time – which isn’t ideal for our Earth. 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. A mobile app is more than just a replacement for programs, printouts and handouts – a mobile app keeps your attendees engaged far more than they would be with a piece of paper, because they’re used to gathering information via their phone.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. Following these simple best practices will not only help the environment, but also lead to cost savings and a better attendee experience! It is up to each one of us to take steps that can help our planet every single day.
