Running a ‘Green’ conference

Conferences, events and exhibitions can consume massive quantities of energy, water and produce large amounts of waste and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Basic Standards

This guide offers basic standards for a sustainable event whether you’re an event manager, a venue or an exhibitor. The remainder of the guide looks at the following areas for a successful sustainable event:

• Conference Location
• Transport
• Waste Management
• Sustainable Food
• Printed Materials
• Managing your Carbon Emissions

This Greener Events Checklist can help you plan your event.

Conference Location

Before you get started, you need to ask yourself one question: “Do I need to bring people together in one venue? Can the event be convened by video conferencing or by a conference call instead?”

If a conference call won’t work for you then picking the right venue can be crucial to the success of your event. Making sure that you create the right atmosphere and provide the relevant facilities can be the difference between success and failure, but did you know that it could also be crucial to the environmental impact of the event as well?

There are 3 key factors to bear in mind:

• The venue’s environmental policy:
  Does the venue operate an environmental management system or have an environmental sustainability policy? Examples include ISO 14001 or EMAS.
• The venue’s location:
  Is the venue conveniently located for public transport and local amenities? Picking a venue that has accessible links to
  public transport reduces the need for delegates to travel by car and reduces CO2 emissions.
• Accessibility:
  Is the venue accessible for disabled people? Does it include options so that all cultures are included, such as a Prayer Room? Are there childcare facilities?

Transport

Choosing a venue with accessible routes for public transport, bicycle parks and pedestrian access is a key aspect of a greener event. Out of town venues with poor access to public transport links can negatively impact the environment, as delegates will be more likely to bring their cars.

As with all aspects of any event, it’s important to make it as easy as possible for the delegate to make the right environmental decision. There are two main transport issues to think about when organising your conference:

• Information given to delegates and exhibitors:
  Attendees need to know how they can get to the venue using public transport, whether there are facilities to safely park a bike, or if there are safe pedestrian routes. You can help by making sure that clear information is provided on your website, in publicity materials and as part of any contact you have with the delegate before the event.
• Providing transport:
  When you provide transport for your delegates or VIPs consider the more environmentally friendly options. Use hybrid vehicles, buses powered by alternative fuels or encourage car sharing.

Waste Management

Dealing with the waste resulting from your event is not just about recycling; the best way of dealing with waste is not to create any in the first place!

Reduce

Determine what materials are required and then think about ways in which you can reduce them.

Here are some ‘reduce’ tips:

• Make sure that you use glasses, cutlery and crockery and that plastic cups, plates, knives and forks are off the event shopping list
• Avoid food served in individual wrappers like sugar sachets or individually wrapped sandwiches
• Only provide handouts on request
• Try to limit handouts and if you do need to use them, make sure they’re printed double-sided.

Reuse

Some items can only be used once and then have to be thrown away. By increasing the number of items that are reusable, we reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill.

Here are some ‘reuse’ tips:

• Hire as many of the materials and products needed for your event as possible rather than buying new.
• If name badges are required, use reusable plastic holders and recycled paper inserts – and make sure that participants return them on their way out.
• Put the delegate pack in a reusable holder -what about a Jute Bag or durable recycled folder? This way, the delegate will be left with a lasting memory of your event
• If you’re providing freebies, think about offering sustainable and reusable ones, like bioplastic or recycled plastic pens. For example visit www.yo-promotions.co.uk for their ‘eco-friendly product range.

Recycle

If you can’t reuse your waste, check that it is easily recyclable. Work with your venue to arrange collection of as many recyclables as possible.

Encourage delegates and exhibitors to recycle:

• if possible make sure you have lots of recycling bins, with clear signage and in convenient locations.
• advise your delegates that your event will be as sustainable as possible and ask them to contribute by recycling their waste.

Recover

If waste has to be disposed it is best to recover any value from it if possible before it is placed in a landfill site.

Repair

Rather than throwing materials away, check to see if they can be repaired cheaply and easily. This can save both money and waste.

Sustainable Food

Agriculture and food now account for nearly 30 per cent of goods transported on our roads. Who’d have thought that food could have such a massive impact on our environment? But it’s not just the distance that food travels from field to plate;
the food we buy can have a massive impact on our health and the local economy too.

When you’re organising catering for your event you need to think about buying and providing sustainable food. Sustainable food means:

• Supporting the local economy by buying food as locally as possible
• Eating food in season
• Sustainable farming, involving high environmental standards and reduced energy consumption, using less intensive farming methods and fewer chemicals
• Promoting animal welfare and valuing nature and biodiversity
• Fair prices, Fairtrade and ethical employment in the UK and overseas
• Having access to healthy food

You’ll need to work with your caterers to understand what you want from sustainable food at your event.

Printed Materials

The best way to minimise the amount of paper required is to send your event information electronically. Check that the delegate pack contains only necessary information and provide a checklist of extra materials that delegates can have emailed to them after the event.

How do you make sure that those essential printed materials have as little environmental impact as possible? Here are some best practice guidelines:

• Your printed materials should be produced on recycled and / or naturally derived materials
• Paper and card should be 100% post-consumer recycled
• Minimise white space and observe contrast and colour schemes that promote a high standard of accessibility
• Designs should aim to conserve paper resources, by using techniques such as lightweighting, double-sided printing and shaping products to minimise offcuts
• Printing should use vegetable inks
• All materials produced should include environmental information regarding materials and production, as it’s important that your participants know that you take environmentally friendly credentials seriously.

Managing Carbon Dioxide Emissions

The advice in this guidance should help you to reduce CO2 emissions. You could source your energy from renewal sources (go to www.uswitch.com to find out about green tariffs). However, your event still likely to lead to CO2 emissions. You can offset these by, for example, paying to plant trees to offset the CO2 produced. This is called carbon offsetting.

Carbon Offsetting

Carbon offsetting should only be used to clean up what’s left after you’ve encouraged delegates to use public transport, found an energy efficient venue that uses renewable power sources and minimised the waste arising from the event.

There are a number of businesses that can help you offset your carbon emissions by funding projects that invest in:

• Renewable energy
• Energy efficiency
• Forest restoration

A selection of these companies include:

• CO2 Balance www.co2balance.com
• The Carbon Neutral Company www.carbonneutral.com
• The Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management www.eccm.uk.com
• Climate Care www.co2.org

For further information about carbon offsetting visit the DEFRA site.