B Corp month - coordinating a sustainable event

So, what is a sustainable event?

A sustainable event is one that considers the environment and works to reduce the negative impacts that would otherwise be seen. Sustainable events adopt eco-friendly practices such as recycling and saving water and incorporate these to reduce the event's carbon footprint.

It is also important to consider how your event could have a positive social and economic impact on the local community. Some of the tools and processes you can use to ensure your event is as sustainable as possible are set out below

When your organisation organises a sustainable event, you are putting your words and values into action: making a firm commitment to equal opportunities, inclusion, and environmental protection.

You can both minimise potential negative impacts on the environment and provide the opportunity to influence, change and hopefully inspire your attendees to live more sustainably and encourage them to conduct their own events in a greener and more inclusive way.

Go paperless

Using tools like Eventbrite for registration and ticketing, rather than printing out tickets and attendee lists, can help to create an environmentally sound and productive sustainable event. It can reduce congestion at the start of the event, ease compliance requirements, and make your follow-up easier.

Embrace variety

By thinking carefully about the people who will speak and attend your event, you’ll ensure more diversity of thought and expression. By making clear that the event is inclusive, you can also generate ideas from a wider set of stakeholders.

Choose an eco-friendly venue and suppliers

It’s important to select a venue and supplier that align with your values and your sustainability goals. Such goals may include a good in-house recycling policy or a commitment to being a Living Wage employer.

Encourage environmentally friendly transportation to and from your event

You can have a positive impact by thinking about your guests as well as your own actions. Consider how you can encourage environmentally friendly and sustainable forms of transport for all guests in attendance. You can do this by ensuring your venue is at close proximity to a major train station, or by organising a taxi/car share scheme to improve efficiency.

Serve organic, locally sourced produce

The benefits of choosing organic, locally sourced produce are many – often it results in better, fresher food, but it’s also less carbon-intensive. You could consider a meat-free menu, as this also reduces your event’s levels of carbon emissions.

9.5 million tons of UK food waste ends up in landfill sites each year, where it rots and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. By donating leftover food to food banks or other charities, you can help to reduce this waste.

Go virtual

Even though some of us might still have bad memories of the pandemic, virtual events are a fantastic way to bring guests together while cutting travel and accommodation costs, energy usage and food waste.