5 Tips for Sustainable Events
Sustainability at Events
Sustainable events management isn’t always the easiest thing to achieve - let’s be honest, you don’t always put the words “sustainability” and “events” in the same category. But the truth is that there are lots of ways to make your event more sustainable.
In 2022, sustainability and carbon-neutrality are more important than ever, and this is no exception for the events industry, an industry that is well renowned for being wasteful. We’ve seen some great sustainable event ideas in action including recyclable event badges, contactless agendas and much more.
Take a look at our top 5 tips to promote sustainability at your event.
Recyclable Badges and Compostable Conference Badges
More now than ever, our clients are looking for the most sustainable way to provide badges at their events. And with most of our badge types now being either recyclable or compostable, we’re always up for promoting sustainable options.
Sustainable Badges no longer need to be plastic-focused. Gone are the days of plastic credit-card style badges or piles upon piles of plastic wallets. We’ve worked with our suppliers to design sustainable badges that are either recyclable or compostable, depending on the type of events and the style of badge that you’re looking for.
Want to go one step further? Consider if you even need a badge for your event – we’re finding that more and more events are now going badgeless.
Recyclable expo badges
Fully recyclable and compatible with our self-service kiosks, fully recyclable expo badges are big and bold, whilst being 100% recyclable. Perfect for exhibitions or conferences with large numbers of people.
Compostable conference badges
Our credit-card style badges look and feel the same as your standard plastic badges. The difference? Our sustainable badges are totally compostable once the pin has been removed. A great option for smaller, smarter conferences or meetings.
2. Contactless Info Points and Digital Agendas
At events of old, the sheer number of paper agendas or programmes piled up was off the scale. Most guests who pick up a paper agenda will inevitably throw it away. And the ones that aren’t even picked up will also be dumped, due to their lack of longevity once the event has ended.
If one (slightly) positive thing has come out of the pandemic, it’s the use of qr codes and contactless info points. They’ve been hard to miss over the past couple of years, and their use has become subtly engrained in our daily lives.
And this doesn’t need to stop at events. Instead of using paper agendas, we’re seeing so many more clients using either an app or a website for their programmes. There’s also been a huge rise in contactless info points, small QR codes that are dotted around the event. Guests need simply scan the code and a full breakdown of the events, timings, directions and much more is available.
And the best thing is that you can design these info points to be fully compatible with your branding. Not only can we continue to promote sustainability in events management – but we can look fab while we’re doing it.
3. Digital tickets and QR codes
A huge part of our pre-event responsibilities include sending out invitations and tickets to attendees.
Digital tickets are a great way to continue promoting event sustainability. In the past, attendees may be asked to bring a print-out as proof of attendance, or may feel the need to print out a barcode and bring it along with them.
With e tickets and QR mailings, the need for print outs is totally eradicated. Once the attendee has registered, either through us or another registration provider, we can arrange for a QR mailing to be sent out to each guest. This email will act as their e ticket. All they need to do is present their QR code to a member of staff at the registration desk (or to one of our self-service kiosks) and they’re good to go. No paper, no mess, no waste.
4. Going Hybrid
The largest contributor to event waste is people. The amount of waste that we accumulate covers a wide span of areas, from food waste to plastic waste as a result of merchandise, to the various ways we use to travel to and from events.
The solution? Offering a hybrid counterpart to your in-person event. Hybrid events are great for giving people the choice to attend in-person or virtually, allowing more flexibility around people’s lives and schedules and continuing to push sustainability in our sector.
We’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of people who choose to attend an event virtually as opposed to in-person. Virtual attendance is a great way for people to have all -areas access to the event, without having to leave the comfort of their own homes. And in doing so, fewer people will be using transport to attend the event. No need to collect any event merchandise which is likely to be discarded shortly after. Less catering will be needed at the event, and subsequently less potential for cutlery or utensil waste.
5. Sustainable Event Technology
Innovative event technology, especially the use of mobile technology, has made event sustainability easier than ever. Digital and light technologies are a huge contributor in promoting sustainability at events, moving away from heavy-duty tech, and subsequently reducing our carbon footprint.
We’ve moved a significant amount of our technology onto lighter pieces of technology with smaller cases to minimise our transportation requirements and overall carbon footprint impact. The use of mobile engagement also has a huge impact on the way that guests internalise events. So much more content is available on devices now, making the event more interactive and eco-friendly.
QR scanning, contactless info points, recyclable badging and live streaming all rely on modern, streamlined technology. The result is a registration system that doesn’t rely on heavy duty technology. Instead, a sustainable set of devices that continue to work towards event sustainability.
Our Conclusion
We’re confident that sustainability at events will continue to increase as our perspective on waste continues to change.
We hope our sustainable event ideas have given you something to think about, and if you’d like to collaborate with us at your next event, please do get in touch today.
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Event Connections provide exceptional event registration and delegate management services to event, conference and exhibition organisers.
