Sustainability is not just a buzzword, but an ever-green topic that will be talked about for a long time. Recently, social media users took the Amazon Rainforest fires to the center stage, with millions of people showing their outrage on various platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. On 21st September 2019, more than 1,700 people gathered at Hong Lim Park for Singapore’s first-ever Climate Rally. It is without a doubt that people are more aware of the severity of our environmental situation and starting to feel a sense of urgency to protect the environment.
What does this mean for event planners? We have to ride the wave of change and make our events sustainable.
Sustainable events means that you are making changes to your event to avoid the depletion of natural resources. The goal is to help maintain the environmental or at minimum ecological balance.
You may ask: Why should I care about event sustainability? The answer is simple. It is likely that your audience cares, therefore, you should too because people are becoming more environmentally conscious and you would not want to be criticised for being an unethical organiser. This would damage your reputation and people may not return to your next event.
Although many people are picking up the importance of sustainability, many events are still not caught up. It is considered best business practice to make your events sustainable, at all stages of operations, and this could be a unique selling point over your competitors.
However, you should care for about sustainability not just because of your audience. Sure, a sustainable event may boost your reputation and attract more people. However, even if the people don’t give a dime about sustainability, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care too.
The “ great time we had today ” can leave an aftermath of problems for tomorrow. When people get together, particularly in large numbers, they can put a strain on local resources such as water and energy, and create significant waste, or tensions related to culture or sheer proximity with neighbouring communities.
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Your audience may be there to listen the conference or seminar but is not necessarily interested in sustainability. However, if you make a conscious effort to make each aspect of your event sustainable and communicating these efforts to your audience, you will also educate your audience by the end of your event. Events have the power to change the way people think and act. That’s the responsibility that event managers should all take.
Start integrating sustainable practices in your next event and you could become a front runner for sustainability, where you will set a benchmark for your competitors to follow.
At EventNook, we provide sustainable and efficient solutions for your next event, such as our smart mobile QR check-in kiosk and instant onsite badge printing where we print eco-friendly and tear-resistant badges. Make the change for sustainability now!
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