Assuring Your Event Matches its Environmental Mission
Too often there are business events that deign to be eco-friendly but by dint of their very organization end up producing excess carbon over not having the event at all. What a Catch-22! You deeply intend to raise legitimate awareness, but the act of doing so hurts the very thing you’re trying to protect! How do you get around that? Consider these tips.
1. Provide Transportation to and From the Event
If everybody is traveling on their own, then they’ll be producing carbon emissions. Unless they walk or ride bikes from where they live to where the event is, a successful, large event will result in people driving to and from somewhere they wouldn’t otherwise—especially if you get a big celebrity to fly in, like Leonardo DiCaprio.
Here’s a way around that: handle the transportation for your guests. You can do it any number of ways. You can include the expense of transportation in the admission cost, get a high-profile figure to “donate” travel options, or just foot the bill yourself. Whatever works best, go that direction. But provide travel for guests and you’ll do much to reduce carbon emissions.
2. Strategically Secure the Right Venue
You want a venue that closely matches the expected traffic your event will produce. Said venue should be of a kind that has no trouble sustainably disposing of the mess that develops from guests eating, drinking, dancing, and talking in a single area for several hours.
Look into how varying venues handle refuse, and find one that has an ecologically friendly design behind its facility. Alternatively, the event can be hosted in a public space outside, and guests can clean up after it; though the feasibility of such a gathering will depend on a number of factors.
Considering the aftermath of the protest at the pipelines in North Dakota several years back, it’s best to have things managed and carefully planned in advance. Expect a mess, and expect to clean it up properly.
3. Put Flora Everywhere
The event needs to feel in harmony with the environment, and one of the absolute best ways to do that is through décor.
As a prom or wedding often includes floral arrangements in terms of decor, your eco-friendly event should include all manner of healthy green and blooming plants. At the following link, you can find some pretty cool ideas to dress-up flowers for your event.
4. Curate the Menu
The menu should similarly be composed of items that have a low footprint on the environment in terms of acquisition and preparation. Natural fruits, vegetables, protein solutions, and sauces which don’t hurt flora or fauna locally should be carefully curated for your guests.
It’s fine to draw attention to this reality from the stage as well; especially if you’re courting donors and have a good chef.
5. Go Paperless
Invitations and validation at the door should be handled digitally for best results. Social media and email can be used to organize the event, and this way you save money using the postal system. Where there is necessary paper, like for napkins, get recycled options that can be sustainably disposed of after the fact.
Putting the Right Foot Forward
Going paperless, curating the menu, decorating with plants, strategically securing the best venue, and providing travel for guests represent five clear ways you can make your eco-friendly business event match the core values that prompted you to organize it in the first place.
