For the fourteenth consecutive year, the World Recycling Day promotes strong values and tries to bring people together around major issues. We can never repeat it enough, but the future of our beautiful planet depends greatly on our recycling behaviour. The objective of this 2018 Recycling Day is to remind us of the importance of this and above all, try to change people’s attitudes. The event industry is obviously affected by the crisis and this is particularly important to Eventdrive. It is therefore time to act by implementing these few very simple actions for an eco-friendly event. Follow our 5 tips and you’ll become recycling experts!
Join the Eco-Event Collective
The question of environmental protection is not new in the event industry. It is for this reason that the 7 main professional associations have created a group called Eco-Event. Their objective is to raise awareness, but also to support the event industry in an eco-responsible approach. To achieve this, the collective has set up a sustainable development charter that applies only to the event sector. If you want to get involved, but don’t really know how to do it, it may be the right solution! Reading the charter is a good start and will allow you to set your objectives, while benefiting from implicit support. Ecology is the future of events, believe us!
Think Eco-Design and Raise Awareness Among Your Participants
Implementing sustainable development actions is a good thing. Knowing how to transmit them to your participants is better! It’s very well to use recycled paper and switch to electronic documents, but if your guests forget what recycling is when they get home, your efforts will have been useless.
The organization of an event involves the participation of several stakeholders, and all of them are likely to create waste. It is therefore important to think about sustainable development from the beginning of your event and above all, communicate with your partners about the actions that have been set up. Among the possibilities, you can choose to use only electronic media or select environmentally friendly materials such as recycled paper. At the venue of your event, which you have obviously carefully selected because of its environmental characteristics, you will encourage recycling. To do this, simply place selective waste sorting bins that are easily accessible by your participants. Finally, you can also promote sustainable development by offering a carpooling service, both for your guests and your teams. It is not only the participants who have to go to the event location. 😉
To combine marketing and sustainable development, you can also enter into a partnership with the public transport company of the city that is hosting your event and thus offer discounts. Who says ecology doesn’t make people happy?
Focus on Virtual Eco-Friendly Events
You were already told about it in a previous article, but virtual events are becoming more and more popular. In addition to being particularly original, they seem to perfectly meet the requirements of sustainable development. The use of new technologies allows you to combine innovation and ecology.
How to set it up? By using different tools that make virtual reality their specialty: 3D animations, online chat, audio and video conferencing, the possibilities are endless! The latest trend is the organization of virtual fairs. The objective remains the same, i.e. the exchange of professional contacts, but is done differently. Do your participants have a question? They can use the chat. They want some brochures? All they have to do is click on download and in less than a second, everything is available. And to buy something, it works like a classic online store. The environmental benefits of this type of event are excellent, as CO2 emissions are limited (no need to travel to the fair location) and the use of paper for tickets or brochures is no longer necessary. Not bad, is it?
Use the ISO 20121 Standard for an Eco-Friendly Event
You have certainly heard about ISO standards that regulate industries. But did you know that there is a specific one for the event industry? According to the International Organization for Standardization, the ISO 20121 standard is “a concrete tool for planning events in such a way that they contribute to the three dimensions—economic, environmental and social—of sustainable development”.
All of this sounds very serious, but the objective is very simple: learn how to plan an event using the best solutions in terms of sustainable development. By following the guidelines described in ISO 20121, you can implement more efficient practices and eliminate unnecessary costs. Isn’t that the goal of any good event planner?
Don’t Forget Waste Treatment After Your Event
We can never repeat it enough, but an event happens before, during and after! Even if your goal was “zero waste,” you are unlikely to achieve it the first time. Remember to collect all the waste produced during your event. If you have correctly set up your selective waste sorting system, your work is already half done! Ask local waste pickup companies and let them work. After all, everyone has their own job 🙂 It would be a pity to do worse than better after all the efforts made! Finally, draw a constructive assessment of your event. Determine the amount of waste produced, establish your carbon footprint and then calculate the savings achieved (or the costs). If the results do not reach your expectations, no worries: changing people’s minds takes time. You can only do better next time. 🙂
Sustainable development is a major issue that, unfortunately, too few people pay attention to. The simple fact that you have read this article (to the end) is a good start! So don’t hesitate any longer and take advantage of this recycling day to change your habits. Why don’t you start by installing selective waste sorting bins in the office? It may not seem like much to you, but it is a first step towards preserving our planet. 🙂