For any organisation, whether you’re hosting an art exhibition, career fair, networking event or a university open day, your goal is to provide attendees with a unique experience. Going green and taking the environment into consideration when planning environmentally sustainable events has never had so many benefits, while being both fun and easy to do.
Leading by example, being green starts with organisers and organisations attending your event…
Imagine you’re at an event, upon entering you receive a brochure featuring the timeline and agenda of the day. Throughout the day there will be multiple occasions when food, drinks, paper, pens and other products are handed out. By the time the event is over, people are refusing such freebies because they already have several free pens, notebooks and other promotional swag items that everyone gives out. Event organisers spend a lot of money and resources on these promo items.
Why not try to be different?
Hosting a green event is not only about cutting down on waste, but also thinking creatively, using innovation and solving problems to create long term, cost effective solutions and make the consumer experience even better.
We have listed below some of the many reasons hosting environmentally sustainable events can lead to climate-friendly success.
Start the change, lead by example
The beautiful side of climate change is that usually when people switch to a more climate aware perception, they don’t go back. Taking the first step is usually the hardest, like with many things in life it’s easier to practice old and harmful patterns. Luckily, there are small changes we can make without having to eliminate all of our bad behaviours. Lead by example! Engage workers, vendors and attendees to take climate aware action by attending your event.
Inspire climate awareness
Most people nowadays have concerns about the climate crisis. However, many haven’t taken action and feel like saving the planet is not their responsibility. What influence can one person make? You might be surprised what a small change can do to impact the perception of many. Organisations that are hosting sustainable events have the power to show people that not only can it be done easily but the economical benefits make it well worth it.
Think long-term
Many people assume that eco-friendly products are expensive compared to the plastic alternatives. With plastic no longer being the favourable option, new eco-friendly inventions are a success among consumers. Hosting environmentally sustainable events might cost slightly more and requires some creative planning. However if you take upon the challenge the benefits are many for your organisation, attendees and the planet.
Cut down on waste
Hosting an event without it looking like the last day of Tomorrowland should be the goal of every event organiser. Given the amount of visitors, exhibitors and workers there is going to be a lot of food, drinks, flyers and promotional products moving around. Attending an event means that visitors are gonna move on quickly from stall to stall, with no time going on a scavenger hunt for the right recycling bin. Making an event more green doesn’t have to mean that there will be no items allowed instead it should be seen as an opportunity. There are lots of alternatives for eco-friendly event products from edible straws to bamboo pens.
Reduce carbon footprint
Environmental consideration is being adopted by many brands and there are many benefits from shifting to an environmentally friendly branding strategy that has likely not passed any organisation. We are also starting to see a shift amongst big brands, we thought will never change, perhaps it’s a way to secure more customers or the fact that there won’t be any at all when we give up on our planet. However if these giant corporations can change their behaviour, so can we!
Vendors and food providers operating at your event can use eco-friendly promotional products to cut down on their environmental footprint. We’ve listed some of their benefits in this blog post. If you want to know why reusable branded products are the next wave, check out this other blog post!
Spread the message
Hosting a sustainable event is a great opportunity to spread the message about environmental awareness. Inform your attendees about how your event was organised, what action you took to protect the planet and how others can do it too. Event organisers can spread this information to attendees and vendors and provide instructions about how they can be environmentally friendly at the event. Exhibitors and attendees can easily break their damaging habits if the organiser leads by example, these changes are easy to make.
Find new partners
Small companies and startups often rush into new partnerships, sharing the same values and goals is important when going into business with another company. Companies that think sustainably are often invested in the future and have long term ideas for how they can improve their business model to produce less waste, save resources and cut down on shipping, energy, transportation and manufacturing costs. Attending eco-friendly events are great for finding like minded organisations to partner up with.
Gain publicity and brand awareness
Whatever reason you have for wanting to host a green event, let your attendees know about it beforehand. Not only can you gather a larger crowd but from having the word spread on media channels, you’ll gain promotion for your event. You’ll be one of the first events in your city to do this, you might even make the 6 o’clock news! 😲
Hosting a green event is surely beneficial to the planet but also for your brand reputation, you will no doubt receive positive feedback and great publicity.
Sure you want people attending your event to have a fun and memorable time, even better if they want to share it with others. No promo item is more instagrammable than eco-friendly swag, such as recycled notebooks, reusable coffee cups and bamboo cutlery. An event organiser can set up a social media campaign, fundraising for charity visitors can follow the progress and their contribution. Example, 5% of all ticket revenue goes to Oceana.
Social media is believed to be one of the main motivators for consumers to purchase eco-friendly products, you have a great opportunity to inspire others!
People prefer environmentally sustainable events
Most people would choose eco-friendly products over traditional counterparts. Whether the target group of your event is companies, families, students or employees, hosting environmentally sustainable events means visitors can learn about new companies, participate in workshops, try food and drinks and accept promotional items without causing harm to the environment.
Once people switch to a more climate aware perception they don’t go back. Event organisers have the opportunity to lead by example and be that bit of inspiration that a company or individual needed, one person will inspire another. Event organisers have the power to inspire everyone!
If you are still wondering how to make an event green, this article features 7 simple ways to make an environmentally sustainable event.
Taking care of the environment is rewarding and the planet will thank you for it! Going green shouldn’t be a painful struggle but rather an experimental journey, there are so many small changes each of us can make to give back at least a portion of all the beautiful things we get.
So, there you have it! 10 reasons why hosting an environmentally sustainable events are good for business, and for the planet.
If you’re looking for ideas for different sustainable products to giveaway during your event, have a look here at our products, or give us a shout. We plant a minimum of 10 trees for every order you place with us! 🌳
