Sustainable strategies for your events

Conferences, festivals, sports and PR events all require elements that could have a significant impact on the environment. However, the events industry has the potential to mitigate these issues. Whilst working with a range of clients requiring various experience needs, we’ve adapted some key strategies to embed sustainability without sacrificing the event’s overall impact. Through reusable materials, transport and logistic changes and carbon tracking, you can offset your event emissions significantly…

When building your experience, consider how each element can be delivered without impacting the environment. You’ll need to establish a plan of reducing, reusing and recycling each aspect of your build, taking into consideration where the materials are coming from, and going to, in the process. Stage structures, stands and tech equipment are all reusable and can be rented to avoid waste and buying more materials. At Deloitte’s Shared Services Conference, sponsors who were showcasing their offerings in the exhibition space were given strict instructions on sustainable practices and reusing materials to reduce reprinting. Pull-up banners and single-use signage were banned for the 21 sponsors, instead using projection, gobos, digital and LED signage to cut down materials and reduce power consumption. By planning ahead, we made a significant difference in the event’s environmental impact, even filtering down to other partners in the process.

To adopt your reduce, reuse and recycle mindset, you’ll need to think beyond the event in the long run. The SSC sponsor stands for instance, were built with a minimum 3-year shelf life, with recyclable, interchangeable graphics that could be used year-on-year. Think about your event longevity - is it part of an event series or an annual experience? Can the materials be stored and reused or broken down and reconstructed? Anything branded, such as lanyards, signage or swag can all be collected and donated for future events or go to the offices of the same organisation. Just make sure you ban single-use or plastic swag items!

Another great way of reducing your CO2 emissions is to use locally sourced suppliers and materials. From tech, to set design, furniture and food, you’ll want to use local businesses to reduce the transportation of goods. For National Grid to launch their Viking Link, we used marquees, toilets, signage and air-conditioning through solely East Midland-based businesses, meaning they didn’t have to travel long distances to reach the site in Lincolnshire. Not only did this mean lower emissions, but also meant we gave back to the local community through the use of independent businesses.

When considering food suppliers, partner with sustainable caterers who prioritise organic and plant-based food. Using locally sourced food will reduce transportation emissions significantly. Any food leftover can be recycled and sent to local food banks and help those in need.

Not only do you need to consider the transportation of goods, but also the transportation of your attendees to and from the event. When booking venues think about distance - is it far from local transport links? Does it have on-site or nearby hotels if the event is across multiple days? Minimise travel and you’ll reduce your emissions. Another efficient way to do this is by refining your guestlist to include only key individuals. Fewer people means less transport. When delegates do have to travel, use electric vehicles, car-sharing or organised transport that means you can limit the number of vehicles. When necessary, we tend to use biofuel vehicles for our experiences!

These changes to your sustainability strategy won’t be possible if you’re not tracking your progress. By closely monitoring each aspect of your events, you’ll ensure that you’re reducing emissions and moving towards your goals. Monitoring transportation, materials, and catering will show the active positive changes you’re making and you'll be able to take these learnings forward when planning future events.

At Audience, we align our sustainability goals with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, a number of call-to-actions that provide a blueprint for improving health, education, equality, economic growth and sustainability. Tracking our emissions allows us to see how we’re meeting these goals and where we can adapt to reach them.

When it comes to actually tracking our emissions, we partner with organisations such as MyClimate who can calculate each element's offset and our overall carbon footprint. They will show you where to reduce and allow you to implement more strategy changes to further your offset. Make sure you communicate your strategy commitments to all your clients, partners and attendees. Inspire them to adopt the same eco-friendly practices during the event and beyond - it’s a team effort!

The events industry has substantial potential to reduce its environmental impact through sustainable strategies. By focusing on reducing, reusing, and recycling materials, utilising local suppliers to cut transportation emissions, and closely tracking carbon offsets, events can be organised with significantly lower carbon footprints.