“The future will be either green or not at all” quoted Bob Brown – a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist.
According to scientific researches, if we do not change our habits to be more environmentally friendly; there are no good days waiting above. People needed to respond back to what message “earth” is trying to deliver, people need to think in a sustainable point of view and by people we mean, schools, homes, and business in all industries.
And coming to one of the leading industries of business “Events Management Industry”, as it is safe to say that the events industry has a significant share in the business global market. In 2021, only the business events generated more than $1.07 trillion globally, it’s definitely a huge sector of business! And as event planners are the architects of gathering people to engage with each other, improve themselves, share and teach, since 2020 event managers tend to go for greener events a bit little more than the previous years and became more conscious about significant details that can lead to a healthier environment by implementing a greener approach to their events, this was more than enough for the events industries to take the decision of turning to greener events. According to EMB (Environmental Management Bureau), in April 2020, 50% of event industry leaders had to move their events online, with the majority opting for smaller-scale events with streamed sessions, virtual attendee engagement and networking as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
And with the impact of this pandemic going away, one thing did not! Running an event online is undeniably greener and more sustainable than any in a physical venue, the environmental benefits of hosting online events became very viral that the industry leaders did not let it go by the passing of time. And in other greener perspective, upon various surveys, researches stated that plastics had been less of a focus in 2021 than the previous three years, but is still on the agenda, with 10% of events choosing reusable materials for the first time in 2021. Various brands committed to a reduced carbon footprint and reduced waste; they made delegates assure that they are doing their bit for the environment too!
So, what steps you can talk to turn your event into a greener version?
- Go online: Encourage virtual participation, stick to the hybrid format and create physical activities in a smaller scale
- Recycle: Use biodegradable products and generic designs for easier reuse
- Be paper smart: Move whatever information that can be to online version
- Limit the waste: Adapt quantities to number of confirmed participants and donate with the leftovers
- Spread the world: Announce that you’re going green, raise the awareness on this topic by being a role model.
The last pandemic widened the sites of many of the business leaders, especially the event managers, they started thinking outside the box and took a stronger stance on the environmental impacts of running physical environmental-friendly events, believing how could this demonstrate suitability values that well allow them to take bigger market share and have remarkable impact on the world. Retooling, replanning and taking a more considered and sustainable approach to delivering greener events could in fact is a game-changer now.