Pride yourself on running a “green” company, but not sure how to make your corporate events fit your philosophy?
Event planning can be a minefield for the sustainably minded, what with the prevalence of disposable tableware and the necessity of travel for attendees. With the implementation of certain strategies and tools, however, delivering an eco-friendly corporate event is entirely feasible — and a lot less difficult than you might imagine!
Read on for our tips for making your next event sustainable, successful and stress-free.
Choose your venue wisely
If your event is to be held in a city — and, increasingly, even if it isn’t — there’s a good chance you’ll be able to find a venue that takes sustainability as seriously as your company does. Many venues are now proudly professing their own green credentials, which they’ve gained through initiatives like adopting eco-friendly lighting and making recycling easy for visitors.
The location of your venue is also an important consideration. Can attendees easily reach it via public transportation? Is it located in an especially walkable neighbourhood? Encouraging your delegates to travel to your function by sustainable means — and making it easy for them to do so — will go a long way in upping the sustainability of your event.
Reconsider your food and drinks offerings
Catering is a crucial part of the event planning process, and it’s often the source of a large amount of the carbon footprint of corporate functions. After all, it’s incredibly challenging to make sure that dozens or potentially hundreds of people are satisfied and well-fed without creating an excessive amount of food and packaging waste.
One way to make your event greener right out of the gate is by choosing a largely plant-based and local menu, which will drastically reduce your carbon footprint. Check out this chart to see the carbon footprint of various common ingredients; you’ll notice, for example, that the greenhouse gas emissions of beef total 60kg per kilogram of product, compared to 0.4kg of emissions per kg of root vegetables.
The beverages you serve — alcoholic or otherwise — can also be a major source of emissions, given the often-disposable containers they come in and the large number of travel miles imported products rack up.
At Meetini, we help companies meet their green goals for events with our range of zero waste spirits and cocktails. Both are available in reusable glass bottles, but we also offer our spirits — crafted by our expert mixologists, using only the best organic ingredients — in refillable barrels. Our bar carts-for-hire, which are available in the form of electric cargo bicycles, are carbon neutral to operate and ideal for outdoor events.
Ditch the disposable materials
Avoiding the use of polystyrene and single-use plastic is easier than ever thanks to the abundance of sustainable packing options now available. Compostable straws, cups, plates and utensils are an easy-to-find alternative to plastic and Styrofoam, and come at only a marginally higher price. At Meetini, we’ve found that using these eco-friendly materials has not only satisfied our own sustainability goals, but has also been very well received by customers and clients.
Beyond dishware and drinkware, another area for improvement is promotional materials: why not go digital, rather than handing out paper that’s likely to end up in the bin?
Let delegates know how they can support your mission
You can’t control the actions of your delegates, but you can certainly help them make sustainable choices by informing them about your initiatives before the event. Share your philosophy with all invitees, and then encourage them to honour it by bringing their own water bottle and coffee thermos, carpool or travel to the event by train if possible, bring their own tupperware containers to store any food they don’t eat, or consider opting for digital business cards over the paper variety. Inform delegates of all recycling points, water fountains and public transportation links — anything that could make it easier for them to “go green”.
Reducing our waste and emissions is a goal that can only be achieved through teamwork and cooperation on a massive scale, and by sharing with your delegates how they can help make your event a little more eco-friendly, you’ll be doing a favour for yourself, for them and for the environment as a whole.