wondering how to make a sustainable event in your hospitality business? To make it easy for you, we will give you the necessary tools through this post, which is designed for entrepreneurs in the gastronomic sector who want to leave a friendlier footprint on the planet.
Green events are a proposal that seeks to minimise the consumption of resources to better preserve the ecosystem. Many entrepreneurs in the hospitality sector have already joined this cause and now it is time to contribute.
Therefore, we invite you to read on to find out how to create a sustainable event. Let’s go for it!
Table of Contents
4 reasons to organise a sustainable event
In the following we will evaluate the reasons for organising an event eco-friendly.
1. Environmental
Sustainable events contribute considerably to the conservation of the planet. This is because their development reduces the use of energy and drinking water resources, as well as waste.
In this way, they promote the three R’s policies that were designed to protect the environment and ensure a better quality of life. We are talking about a better planet for today’s generation as well as the next generation
2. Social
Such celebrations support local entrepreneurship. This means that it contributes to the growth of the local economy, generating more interest from tourists and more opportunities for residents.
In addition, sustainable events do not pollute or damage the ecosystem where they take place. On the contrary, these areas are exposed to the eyes of conscientious guests to enhance tourism, rather than harm it.
3. Economic
Sustainable events aim to generate an economic benefit to the locality where they take place. They do this by supporting local entrepreneurship and through tourism exposure of the areas.
This means that they prioritise local products and suppliers for their organisation. Thus, they not only serve as a source of employment, but also generate greater opportunities for local small businesses.
4. Individuals
As an extra benefit, we would like to add the benefits that the hotelier finds when doing a sustainable event. It is important to mention that the image of your brand will be renewed and customers will be more inclined to consume your services.
Remember, nowadays, the image of your company must be kept impeccable in order to sell and stay in the competition. And what better way to do this than by showing concern for environmental conservation
how to make a sustainable event or green meeting?
There are several factors to keep in mind when organising a sustainable event. The idea is to have a positive impact on the ecosystem and to raise awareness among your guests so that they continue to implement similar measures in their daily lives
Read on to learn more about our check list of a sustainable event
1. Apply the “3R rule”
Make sure to reduce, recycle and reuse (the 3R rule) as much as you can to make your event truly sustainable. For example, start by ordering a quantity of food according to the number of guests so that no food goes to waste
The same goes for water and electricity resources, try not to waste. Otherwise, your event will not meet the minimum requirements to be considered sustainable and will be just another one of the bunch.
2. Take advantage of sunlight
Saving electricity is an eco-friendly measure that should be on your list of new priorities. And the best way to save energy is to make the most of the sunlight
how to make a sustainable event by saving light? We recommend holding your event in a nice, open area and at a good time. So that you can count on natural lighting, i.e. the sun provides good lighting, but without being disturbing for the guests.
3. Encourage the use of eco-friendly eco-friendly
Events have a knack for attracting large numbers of people eager to have a different kind of time. Therefore, it is your responsibility to ensure that transport to and from the event does not contribute to air pollution.
We recommend that you encourage the use of bicycles as the main means of transport to and from the event. Other options are to encourage the use of public transport or to hold your event in a central location so that guests can reach the event on foot without much effort.
4. Serve organic and local food
It is important that your event menu offers options made from local and organically produced food. It’s all about taking care of the smallest detail to make a real contribution to the planet.
We also advise you to reduce the consumption of meat products at your event. Remember that the exploitation of the livestock industry contributes to the greenhouse effect, a natural phenomenon that directly affects the planet.
5. Take care of the environment
Make sure that your event does not affect the environment where you plan to hold it, as this would have a tremendous impact on the habitat. For example, make sure you do not leave waste on the ground so as not to affect the flora and fauna
Avoid using fire in open areas, as this reduces the likelihood of a forest fire. We also advise you to play music at a moderate volume to avoid noise pollution in the environment.
6. Use biodegradable tableware
For your next event we advise you to use biodegradable tableware. This is because their ecological properties allow them to be less aggressive with the planet than traditional tableware, for example.
The best thing is that you will find a wide range of options on the market that vary in colour, size and manufacturing materials. This means that you can find biodegradable tableware to suit the concept of your sustainable event
7. Use LED lighting
In case you want to make your event sustainable in the evening hours, you can resort to LED lighting. This is appropriate for the occasion, as they are designed to save energy and thus leave a friendly impact on the planet.
LED lights can be found in different formats, models and prices. This will allow you to search further, until you find the model that suits the specifications of your event
8. Train your employees
You need to create awareness in the whole team that will help you run your sustainable event. It doesn’t make sense if your employees don’t feel committed to the cause and are doing it out of obligation.
Especially because conscientious guests can sense when a person is not interested in the issue. At that point, the credibility of your brand can be affected and that is something you have to allow
9. Don’t print
We recommend using technology to reduce the use of paper. That is, instead of printing a large number of invitations, make them digital and send them via email or social media.
We also advise you to use compostable napkins. They degrade very quickly and become a nutritious compost that you can use to beautify the green areas of your hospitality business
10. Communicate and raise awareness
Finally, you can give an awareness-raising talk to guests who are less involved in the issue. Remember that not everyone will have the same level of interest, but it’s up to your event to make them more interested.
The idea is to communicate good environmental practices and what objectives you plan to achieve by raising awareness. Also, if the event turns out to be very good, it will be the added value to motivate something positive in them
what kind of audience goes to an eco-event?
This is one of the most common questions asked by hospitality entrepreneurs and the answer is simple, green events are attended by all types of spectators!
Of course, it is common that the majority of the audience is made up of eco-conscious people. I.e. owners of green foundations, independent environmentalists and other conscientious hoteliers invited by you
But, we can’t deny that many will attend out of interest or because they want to start adopting these practices. That’s why your event should be designed for all types of audiences so that everyone is more likely to have a good experience
join the green wave!
As you may have noticed, there are many steps you can take to make your event sustainable. Moreover, if you take a good look at all the information we gave you in the previous lines, you will notice that it is not even that difficult.
Making a green event is not only good for the planet, but it is also beneficial for your business. Your regular customers will start to like your brand more and will want to buy from you more regularly
And it’s even your chance to show your competitors that you can adapt to new market demands successfully
In case you know of other measures on how to make an event sustainable, don’t hesitate to share them with us – we wish you all the best on this new eco path!
