Top tips for sustainable events
With the events industry reeling from the impacts of Covid-19 and audiences uncertain about the future of their social landscape, it’s easy to forget that the climate crisis hasn’t gone anywhere.
But it’s not all doom and gloom! The events industry is made up of innovative and passionate experts and while we work on what a thriving events industry will look like in a post-pandemic world, we’re reflecting on how to keep sustainability at the heart of your event, whatever the future looks like.
Find an expert
If going green is going to be more than a box ticking exercise and move beyond optics, look to an expert to make sure you’re doing the actual greenest thing, not just something that you think looks green. We’ve always had sustainability and low impact at the forefront of our events, but it was learning from the experts at Zero Waste Events that made us realise how quickly the best advice evolves and changes, and the breadth of options available to us to truly move towards a zero waste event.
Measure and be ambitious
Committing to plastic free? Looking to substantially reduce your waste? Be honest and transparent about your starting point. It might shock you to realise the full scale of waste you’re creating. but starting with a thorough inventory will make your successes and progress all the more impressive and quantifiable. Don’t be scared to dig into the reality of your impact, that’s how you make real change.
Get under the skin of your audience
Bringing people along with you on your journey towards sustainability is key to having a real, lasting environmental impact. And audiences are aligned with the move towards sustainability; more often than not they now demand it and they want your ambitions to be visible and transparent. So have the conversation with them. Dig down into their experience, pre, during and post event. For instance going plastic free may be impactful, but if you’re overlooking how everyone’s making the journey to your event, your missing vital opportunities to make real change. The shift towards e-ticketing is an easy step to take,but are people still printing their tickets out at home because they’re not sure your scanners will work? Are people not bringing their reusable water bottles because they’re not sure they’ll be allowed to take them in? Keep the conversation open and you can learn as much from your audience as they can learn from you.
Collaborate, create and challenge
We love a hefty challenge in the events industry. A challenge is a chance to create, and meaningful collaboration the first step to success. I’ve been struck again and again that it’s the people who are most open and generous in the industry who are most successful, something unique and worth nurturing in our wonderful industry. Share your successes but it’s as important to share your failures. Transparent and open conversations with people at every stage of your event, from suppliers and performers to team members and partners, foster a sense of ownership of your event and its ethos. And is a chance to remember that there’s always someone who knows something and has experience that you don’t. Let’s learn and evolve together
Go online
Once the reality of Covid-19 sunk in, events and festivals of all sizes were asking themselves two questions; could this be a drive through, or could this work online? Events professionals are creative problem solvers, we see a problem, we’re instantly looking for five solutions. But for some events the move online can be more than just a way to keep an event alive and in an audience’s mind, and it can be the place it thrives. Whether it’s opening up the possibility of global talent, a global audience, increasing accessibility or reducing costs, the move online can be exciting and an opportunity to evolve, rather than just a stop gap. Plus the environment will be very happy if you’re not building a small city and busing in people from across the country for a long weekend!
Go local
If you can’t go online, there’s always the chance to go local. Sourcing local suppliers, staff, performers and partners has multidimensional impacts, reducing the impact of transportation, adding depth to the event’s local economic impact and supporting the development of regional events professionals. A thriving local events economy reduces freelancers’ need to travel for fulfilling work and frees people up to think beyond the need to find the next job to allow them the space and time to look at the sustainability and impact of their work.
A green economy and and events industry that embraces and thrives within it is vital. Why not put yourself at the heart of the change?
