How to run a sustainable event

Published: Tue 5 Jul 2022

Less than 10 years ago, the average conference attendee was producing more than four pounds of waste and nearly 400 pounds of CO2 emissions a day, according to studies. The events industry has therefore had to seriously re-evaluate its contribution to environmental damage.

While positive strides continue to be made, more needs to be done. Sustainability is hugely important to event professionals right now and increasingly high on the agenda when planning events.

So, how do you host a sustainable event? We’ve shared our top tips.

Choose the right venue

The most comprehensive way you can make your event more sustainable is by choosing a sustainable event venue.

It can be a real minefield trying to choose a venue that doesn’t just perpetuate greenwashing.

So, look for venues that have a reputable accreditation for peace of mind.

Sustainable venues can have a number of initiatives in place to make your event eco-friendly

At Savoy Place, all events are powered by hydro, solar and wind as all electricity comes from renewable sources.

In addition, responsibly sourced catering, waste reduction schemes, and nearby public transport links are just some of the considerations to help make events greener.

Ensure your venue is energy efficient, choose a room with lots of natural daylight - or even an outdoor event space - to reduce the need for electric lighting and save energy.

You can request vegetarian or vegan catering to make your menu more sustainable and check your venue’s policies on single-use plastics, recycling, and food waste.

Furthermore, if you want to remove your event’s carbon footprint entirely, consider taking part in a carbon offset scheme, where you pay a cost per tonne of CO₂ produced to charities working to counteract the effect of greenhouse gases.

Go hybrid

If your event allows it, consider going hybrid rather than a full in-person event. This reduces the need for far-flung delegates to travel long distances, reducing the carbon emissions from travel.

As your live capacity will be smaller, this also reduces factors such as room size, water and energy usage, and catering, meaning that your event will be more efficient and produce less waste.

If your venue has built-in hybrid capabilities, you can seamlessly transition to a hybrid event to give your virtual delegates the same high-quality experience.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Waste can be a huge problem at events. To reduce the need for disposable products such as paper flyers or vinyl banners, consider going digital where possible, utilising your venue’s AV capabilities for digital signage and using an app for important event information rather than a printed programme.

Also, rather than opting for disposable cups or other items, supply reusable glasses and bottles or encourage guests to bring their own refillable cups to prevent single-use plastic waste.

Encourage your delegates to recycle with carefully labelled bins – which your sustainable venue should already have in place.

At Savoy Place, we also further minimise landfill waste by incinerating non-recyclables to be used for energy.

Source recycled materials for your event such as straws, paper or even toilet roll, and try to source locally where possible to reduce the number of miles that your food or other products have to travel.