12 Aug 3 Tips on Organising a Sustainable Conference
Sustainability is becoming an important talking point across industries, so event management companies in the UK are also becoming more aware that they need to consider the environment when planning their events.
However, putting together a successful event that reaches its goals, remains under budget, and is sustainable is not an easy feat.
But the conference organisers who can pull it off are in high demand, so the effort is definitely worth it.
To help you get started on putting together your own sustainable conference, let’s go through some of the most essential tips you should consider.
Hire Local
One of the simplest and easiest ways to reduce your carbon footprint is to hire people that are in close proximity to your event’s location.
Unless you’re organising your event in a very remote location (which may not be the most sustainable choice in the first place), chances are that there are plenty of talented and capable caterers, entertainers, speakers, and anyone else you might need.
You can always consult local conference organisers who will likely have a rolodex of vendors and services providers that you can use.
Minimise the Use of Plastic and Paper
If there’s one way that events are at fault for harming the environment, it’s the amount of paper and plastic that is produced, often without any justifiable reason.
So, if you want to make your event more sustainable, you should make it a point to minimise the amount of paper and plastic that you use during and prior to your event.
For instance, you could cut down on the need for paper by communicating with your team and doing all the planning online – instead of printing a stack of documents for plans and preparations, have everything sent through email.
Another thing you could do is to take your marketing on the web as well – instead of printing hundreds of flyers, you could use apps and beacon technology to keep your guests informed and engaged while significantly reducing the amount of paper that’s necessary.
Finally, you should minimise the number of plastic cups and dishes that are required, opting for bio-degradable utensils and dishes that can be easily recycled.
Use LED Lights
Finally, since your event will likely require quite a lot of lighting, you should at least make sure that the lightbulbs are as efficient as possible.
With the help of LED lights, your event can use just a fraction of the electricity that it would need otherwise, which can not only help cut costs for the venue (and, in turn, you), but also make your event much eco-friendlier.
When looking for venues, make it a priority that they use LED lighting, as that will not only help your current event but will show more sites that there’s a growing need for environmentally-conscious venues.
As more event management companies in the UK become aware of the importance of sustainable event planning, organising events that don’t harm the environment will only become easier, so it’s important to push for that on all fronts.