What is Event Sustainability?
Sustainability, going green, carbon footprints are some general words that I’m sure you’ve probably heard a lot about recently with what – half of Australia on fire, changes to rising sea levels and stronger, more intense hurricanes each year. But what does that have to do with events?
Similarly to our own day-to-day lives, each event has a direct impact on the environment. Let’s take a soft drink aluminum can at a festival for example. That raw material first has to be extracted, then the materials are used to produce the can in a factory, next it’s shipped to the organizers on-site, sold to the attendees and finally disposed of either in trash or recycled. Each step of the process has negative impacts via pollution during extraction, use of energy and harsh chemicals leaking into our groundwater in production, the release of carbon into the atmosphere from trucks during shipment and if recycled, more energy is used to break it down. If it ends up in the trash, then it only adds to our growing landfills. And this is just one single can!
Now imagine the same journey but rather than a small can, raw materials are used to produce a soda fountain and tanks that can be reused and refilled with water and carbon dioxide. Although the processes are the same, the end result is different. It is a circular economy rather than a linear one. This is why we need event sustainability.
Event sustainability is incorporating socially and environmentally responsible decisions into each stage of the event planning process. From the geographic location you select, your venue, the food and beverage as well as the décor to bring your event vision to life. It also means taking into consideration the life cycle of each product and item used in an event from start to finish. The goal is to make better choices that will have less impact on the surrounding community and environment as a whole. It is impossible to have zero impact, but we can absolutely minimize it.
No matter your availability or budget, there are always ways to make your event more sustainable. If you need more support, you can check out our Event Sustainability Consulting Services or Contact Us directly and let’s chat through your event needs!
[…] however your clients might not. It all begins with awareness, and it is our duty to inform them of What Event Sustainability is, Why Does it Matter and what alternatives are available. Another obstacle that we typically face […]
I love that you used the journey of an aluminum can to explain the bigger picture. Keep up the great work, Romina!
Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.