Vancouver-based Shawna McKinley has been described as an event sustainability solutionary. She spoke on the ‘Future of Sustainability’ at the Event Manager Blog’s virtual conference ‘The Future of the Event Industry’ on 31 July 2020, where she acknowledged that sustainable event practices make an event planners job more complicated – especially now when new COVID-19 health and safety requirements need to be factored in.
These tips can have the biggest impact in reducing your event’s carbon footprint, with the least amount of effort.
So, to make an event planner’s job simpler, she has identified the following strategies as the ones to prioritise. These tips can have the biggest impact in reducing your event’s carbon footprint, with the least amount of effort. They are listed in order of impact, with the most impactful strategy as tip #1.
#4 Be vigilant about waste
The pandemic has seen an increase in disposable items, which means event waste volumes will be increasing too. McKinley suggests that we need to be creative in finding ways to safely reduce what waste we can.
She recommends that you do your homework and make sure that, whatever you decide on, it will not compromise the health and safety of your guests. Keep in mind that you will need to share the rationale for what you are doing with your guests, so they can be reassured that you are not exposing them to any unnecessary risks.
#3 Look at the food you serve
What we serve is more important than where it is from, says McKinley. She advises that you serve more seafood and chicken, and increase the amount of plant-based dishes on the menu. Doing this can help you reduce your onsite carbon footprint by as much as 20%.
Serve more seafood and chicken, and increase the amount of plant-based dishes on the menu. Doing this can help you reduce your onsite carbon footprint by as much as 20%.
#2 Choose a sustainable venue
Selecting a venue or hotel that has sustainable credentials means that your event will immediately have the basics taken care of without you having to do a thing. (What could be better?!) For example, a sustainable venue will likely be energy efficient, water-wise and have a responsible waste management system. Your event’s carbon footprint will be reduced across all these facets.
Finding sustainable venues and hotels is also easy. McKinley advises you look for those that have been certified or rated by an independent, recognised body. For example, in South Africa, Green Building Council certification gives you peace of mind that the design and construction of the building is environmentally sustainable, while Heritage rating and certification means the venue or hotel has undergone a thorough eco-audit.
#1 Reduce airlift
Airlift – or the amount of air travel that your attendees need to undertake to attend your event – is the single biggest contributor to the carbon footprint of your event. Reducing this has the greatest impact on reducing your event’s carbon footprint.
Airlift is the single biggest contributor to the carbon footprint of your event. Reducing this has the greatest impact on reducing your event’s carbon footprint.
There are many ways to reduce airlift. From the pandemic, we have seen virtual events take off. These have zero airlift, making them one of the most sustainable ways to host an event. However, as lockdowns are lifted, humans around the world are going to want to host and attend in-person events again, and you can still look for ways to reduce airlift.
Hybrid events are one option, allowing some delegates to attend in-person while others can do so virtually. This can also be done with multiple venues in different cities (or hybrid hubs) hosting the same event at the same time, connecting to each other (and online guests) virtually. This was the format that the recent SAACI ‘Proof of concept’ event used.
Another way to reduce airlift is to choose a destination that is close to where most of your delegates are coming from. For example, if you are holding an event for the finance sector, Johannesburg is probably where most of your attendees will be based.
Booking direct flights is another creative way to reduce airmiles, and a strategy that the South Africa National Convention Bureau used to minimise the travel-related carbon footprint of its hosted buyers for the Meetings Africa shows.
