If your business or organisation is hosting an event it can be challenging to navigate how to do this sustainably. There’s no denying that the sort of event you might like to host has the potential to be very environmentally damaging. In fact, a three-day conference, for 1,000 attendees, can generate up to 5670 kg of discarded waste (Read here). Similarly,  a three-day 800-person conference has a carbon footprint of 455 tons of CO2 (Read here). There are many ways to make an event more sustainable, here are some of them. 

Hosting an event virtually is a good way to reduce its environmental impact. Along with the reduced emissions from travel, virtual events negate the use of energy for lights, heating and other electrical needs. Virtual events also have the added benefit of being unlimited by venue capacity, so your event can reach more people than ever. 

If holding your event virtually is not an option for you, there are some considerations that are useful when thinking about the sustainability credentials of your chosen venue. For example, venues with high BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology) scores have proven their commitment to environmentally responsible practices, including being built with sustainable resources, being energy efficient, and managing waste effectively. Alternatively, it may be useful to check any potential venue’s sustainability goals or policy and ensure they are making demonstrable steps towards their targets. You could also request the venue’s environmental impact report or carbon footprint reports.

The same logic applies to other hired services for the event, such as catering. Vetting any catering service to ensure they won’t be bringing single use plastics to your event is an easy way to reduce waste produced and boost your event’s sustainability credentials. Food waste is also something important to consider. Does the venue you are hiring provide a food waste collection service? Can you choose food that is made to order rather than buffet style to prevent over-ordering and subsequent food waste? What can you do with any food waste that you do have? There are some great options such as olio, where you can offer food for free collection that would’ve otherwise been binned. You might want to opt for a caterer that sells locally sourced food, reducing the carbon footprint of your event even further. 

It is also useful to think about how people will get to your event. Using public transport should be encouraged and options should be communicated to attendees before the event. Other sustainable choices such as car sharing or cycling should also be promoted to attendees. You may want to consider public transport links when choosing a venue to ensure as many people can reach the event via public transport as possible. You could even offer incentives such as a reduced admission fee if attendees choose to arrive by public transport, car share, or bike.

Promotional merchandise might be something that goes hand and hand with events for your business or organisation. If this is the case, we’ve put together a guide on how to navigate promotional merchandising and the planet (Read here). 

Finally, we recommend capturing some metrics of your event so you can gauge its environmental impact. This can act as a way to showcase the fantastic work you’ve put in to make your event sustainable, or as a benchmark to improve on for your next event. We recommend capturing the amount of waste produced at your event by checking bins and waste streams. We would also recommend surveying attendees to find out how they travelled to and from your event. Maybe you can aim for a higher number of attendees arriving by bus or train next year? Finally, it could be useful to audit the number of goods at your event that were procured locally. Whether this be food, merchandise, or decor, this is a great way to showcase your support for local businesses as well as your commitment to reducing your carbon footprint. 

Final Thoughts

Even small changes can have a big impact when multiplied across attendees and events. By putting sustainability at the heart of your business events, you’re not only protecting the environment, you’re setting a positive example for your industry and future generations.