Making your events environmentally friendly helps your guests navigate their personal preferences, shifts behaviour, and showcases leadership. Even better, you don’t have to bend over backwards to do it. Follow this simple checklist when planning an event to reduce its environmental impact as much as possible.
Provide local, healthy choices
- Ask guests about dietary restrictions if registering.
- Always provide vegetarian and vegan options.
- Ask caterer to source local food where possible.
- Ask caterer for Fairtrade or other certified coffee/tea.
- Ask caterer for eco-certified (organic, humanely processed) meat products.
- Order appropriate quantities to reduce food waste.
Strive for a zero-waste event
- Always have, at minimum, recycling next to every garbage bin.
- Collect organic waste where possible. Make waste signs specific to what you serve.
- Ask caterers to use jugs and ceramics instead of disposable beverages and creamers.
- Encourage attendees to bring reusable bottles/mugs.
Trim down printing and supply impacts
- Make your agenda and packages digital to limit printing.
- Provide overview brochure with relevant links.
- Provide only useful or reusable giveaways. Ask guests to return name tags for future events.
- Use digital check in for large events (i.e. Ticketfi, Eventbrite).
Provide green travel options
- Plan event in area well serviced by trails and transit.
- Advertise how to get to the event by transit, biking, and walking.
- Encourage carpooling for out-of-town travelers.
- Consider webcast options for long-distance travelers.
- Consider asking attendees how they arrived and offsetting travel emissions.
Don't forget to tell people about it
- People can be resistant to change. Advertising a Green Event before the day-of can help get attendees on-board and encourage them to participate.
- Remind people about Green Event features in the introduction and closing of the event.