Sustainability is no longer an option for business. It has become a necessity for every industry. It is because of the growing concern among people about the negative impact of corporate activities on the environment. The event industry is also now focusing on sustainable event management.
Major events often put a huge pressure on the environment with a large amount of plastic waste, excessive consumption of electricity, lights, speakers, and more. The entire process of organizing an event starting from setting up the stage to performing post-event activities hurts the environment in many ways and to avoid this sustainable event practices are required.
So what is sustainable event management? Why is it important?
Read this article thoroughly to get all your queries related to sustainable event management.
What is sustainable event management?
The term “sustainable event management” is used to define the steps that event planners and organizers take to create environment-friendly events and to reduce the damage caused to the environment due to such events.
In simple words, sustainable event management is the process of making events greener.
When we are talking about sustainable event management, there has to be a mention of ISO20121 which is explained in the next segment.
What is ISO20121?
ISO stands for International Standards Organization whereas 20121 defines an internationally supported list of criteria that an event has to fulfill to achieve the ISO20121 certification. This helps event managers determine if their event is fully sustainable or not.
The voluntary international standard for sustainable event management was introduced by the International Organization for Standardization, The main objective behind setting the standard is to help event planners maintain sustainable event practices throughout the process.
Why should events be sustainable?
Modern events need to be sustainable not only because of our responsibility towards the environment but also it is beneficial for businesses.
Find out the benefits of sustainable event management that make it essential for modern event planners to adopt the new and green concept.
- Reduces environmental damage: Sustainable event management helps reduce waste by using methods like recycling things, carefully using energy with the right instruments, using green transportation for guests, and more.
- Builds a good brand image: when you create an environment-friendly sustainable event, it impresses people to a great extent which ultimately builds a good brand image.
- Economical: It encourages local vendors and traders which ultimately helps strengthen the local economy making sustainable events an economically favorable one.
- Increasing attendee satisfaction: sustainable events are created based on the human aspect which aims to make an event accessible to all sections of people. Besides, when an event is created keeping the environment in mind it reflects the positive attitude of the brand which highly impresses the attendees.
Sustainable event management ideas
There is no hard and fast rule for organizing a sustainable event. Event organizer can adopt various methods in their event to make them environment-friendly.
1. Waste management
Having an effective waste management strategy is one of the most important aspects of a sustainable event.
Consider the following things before planning a waste management strategy:
- Get an idea about the amount of waste that was diverted after each of your previous events.
- Do you donate the leftover waste?
- Select a venue that already has its own waste management policy.
It is essential to keep an eye on everything from the venue to the food items and the utensils in which food was served to maintain sustainability.
2. Sustainable venues
One of the biggest challenges that an event organizer faces is selecting the right venue. When it comes to sustainable events, choosing an environment-friendly venue is crucial.
Make sure the venue you choose has the following things:
- A sorting station. Verify if the venue has the appropriate sorting station for the type of waste your event is going to generate.
- Recycling centre.
- Purified water.
- Appliances that reduce energy consumption.
Even if your preferred venue has all the above-mentioned things, don’t forget to discuss the same with the venue owners.
3. Eco-friendly transportation
Making arrangements for eco-friendly transport is also a great sustainable event management idea that you can utilize for your upcoming events. Try to opt for eco-friendly transport like two-wheelers, pool cars, hybrid taxis, and buses. It is better to encourage your attendees to share rides to save fuel. Giving your attendees the option to join your event virtually to make it even more convenient and sustainable.
4. Virtual events
Virtual events are also a type of sustainable event where you can not only save the environment but also make it easy for attendees to join from wherever they want. They are comparatively easy to conduct. If you have a WordPress website you have a lot of plugin options to run virtual events successfully.
We recommend WP Event Manager for all types of event management needs. For virtual events, you can try the virtual add-ons of WP Event Manager.
5. Go paperless
Modern events are managed digitally. This helps save a lot of paper and hassle as well. To manage your events online, you need to have a dedicated events website. Using WordPress as your CMS is a good option here as it offers a lot of plugin options. If you have a WordPress website you can use the WP Event Manager plugin and its add-ons.
Starting from managing registrations that involve a lot of paperwork if done manually to ticket sales it takes care of everything that you need to manage your events digitally.
6. Reduce water and energy wastage
This highly depends on the type of venue you choose. Try to finalize a venue that has smart energy consumption techniques to track energy usage.
You can look for the following things in your event venue:
- A technology that enables lights to turn on when it is required.
- Key-enabled rooms.
- Digital thermostats
- Eco-friendly toilets.
Wrapping up
Sustainable event management requires proper planning and strategies to be successful. We hope that the above mentioned sustainable event management ideas will help you conduct a successful and eco-friendly event.
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