Making events more sustainable is a topic that is often on the minds of events professionals, A Greener Future and with COP26 coming to Glasgow later this year, we chatted to event profs from all sides of the industry to discuss the future of green events and how they keep events sustainable.
SUSTAINABILITY THE MARKETING AGENCY
“More than an experience, an event must tell a story and its concept must be in line with the organiser’s principles. Therefore, leaving aside themes such as sustainability and public health can generate negative repercussions for everyone involved. However, it is possible to put different goals together as a single concept. Although health and hygiene measures require disposable materials, the organiser can adhere to recyclable products without the use of plastic, choose to use suppliers on a circular economy, or use the event as a way to support a social cause. It’s very important to remember that sustainability is not all about ecology. Encouraging the use of durable products for personal use and reinforcing hygiene processes with ecologically sustainable products are also ways to strengthen the message.” -Mariana Honorato, Marketing and Communications Manager at event marketing agency Goho.
THE VENUE
“More sustainable, no apology sums up our total commitment, and even during the last 18 months we have introduced new initiatives to make our venues and the events we host more sustainable. A further measure of that is that we recently achieved Platinum standard in Greengage’s Eco-Smart scheme, a step up from Gold which we were awarded a year ago. We’ve also reached Gold standard in the Green Tourism Awards and the International Association of Conference Centres’ scheme.”
“Among our initiatives making events more sustainable, we cut our use of single-use plastics by 42% by the end of last year. The resort was ‘zero to landfill’ for the sixth consecutive year and is now using 100% renewable energy, which has helped to reduce its carbon footprint by more than 60%. Projects are also underway to remove all fossil fuels from the site. There is now a total of 26 electric car charger points on the site. Self-check-in kiosks have reduced check- in paperwork by 21,000 pieces of A4 paper annually and apps for ordering food and drink will save 130,000 pieces of paper a year too. Putting in-room information online instead of in folders has further increased these savings.” -Louisa Watson, Director of Marketing at Wyboston Lakes Resort
THE VENUE FINDER
“Since the pandemic, sustainability has come into sharp focus within the industry. Virtual events became a ‘normalised’ part of the mix and they’re arguably here to stay. As we begin to cautiously emerge from lockdown restrictions, clients are really questioning what will remain on the agenda post-pandemic and what will continue to show up online in their schedule. Inevitably this will have a great impact on sustainability and event carbon footprints as a whole.” -Chloe Hutchinson, Director and Founder of Kontact Events.
THE EVENTS AGENCY
“While sustainability has definitely taken a plunge in the priority list during the ongoing pandemic and its inherent need for PPE and single-use items, I strongly believe it will bounce back and soon be back at the top of every event planner’s must-do list.
We can’t deny the environmental impact of meetings and events and regardless of whether our clients are asking for it, we as planners/consulting agencies must take responsibility and should be leading the way.
At WRG, a division of The Creative Engagement Group, we’re proud to have sustainability working groups actively reviewing everything from wellbeing and diversity, equality, and inclusion, to environmental sustainability, both within our organisation and in our client offering.
As a founding member of isla – the non-profit organisation for a sustainable future for events – WRG’s focus when it comes to event sustainability is in line with theirs: zero waste, renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions. When sourcing venues and suppliers we’re looking for partners who have equally ambitious sustainability goals and can offer smart solutions for making our events more sustainable without reducing the safety, service or delegate experience.” -Sofia Asknert, Project Manager Logistics at WRG events agency
