What is Sustainable Event Management: A Complete Guide

Though maintaining sustainability in every industry appears to be a trend, the best part is that it is increasing. It is because of the growing concern among people about the negative impact of corporate activities on the environment. The event industry is also now focusing on sustainable event management.

Major events often put a huge pressure on the environment with a large amount of plastic waste, excessive consumption of electricity, lights, speakers, and more. The entire process of organizing an event, starting from setting up the stage to performing post-event activities, hurts the environment in many ways, and to avoid this, sustainable event practices are required. 

So, what is sustainable event management? Why is it important? Read this article thoroughly to get answers to all your queries related to sustainable event management.

What is sustainable event management?

The term “sustainable event management” is used to define the steps that event planners and organizers take to create environment-friendly events and to reduce the damage caused to the environment due to such events.

In simple words, sustainable event management is the process of making events greener. 

When we are talking about sustainable event management, there has to be a mention of ISO20121 which is explained in the next segment.

What is ISO20121?

ISO stands for International Standards Organization whereas 20121 defines an internationally supported list of criteria that an event has to fulfill to achieve the ISO20121 certification. This helps event managers determine if their event is fully sustainable or not.

The voluntary international standard for sustainable event management was introduced by the International Organization for Standardization, The main objective behind setting the standard is to help event planners maintain sustainable event practices throughout the process.

Why should events be sustainable?

Modern events need to be sustainable not only because of our responsibility towards the environment but also because it is beneficial for businesses.

Find out the benefits of sustainable event management that make it essential for modern event planners to adopt the new and green concept.

1. Reduces environmental damage: Sustainable event management helps reduce waste by using methods like recycling things, carefully using energy with the right instruments, using green transportation for guests, and more. 
2. Builds a good brand image: When you create an environment-friendly sustainable event, it impresses people to a great extent which ultimately builds a good brand image. 
3. Economical: It encourages local vendors and traders, which helps strengthen the local economy, making sustainable events an economically favorable option for event planners. 
4. Increasing attendee satisfaction: Sustainable events are created based on the human aspect which aims to make an event accessible to all sections of people. Besides, when an event is created keeping the environment in mind it reflects the positive attitude of the brand which highly impresses the attendees.

Sustainable event management ideas

There is no hard and fast rule for organizing a sustainable event. Event organizer can adopt various methods in their events to make them environment-friendly. Here are some useful sustainable event management ideas that you could use to practice sustainable event management.

1. Waste management

Having an effective waste management strategy is one of the most important aspects of a sustainable event.

Consider the following things before planning a waste management strategy:

• Get an idea about the amount of waste that was diverted after each of your previous events. 
• Do you donate the leftover waste? 
• Select a venue that already has its own waste management policy.

It is essential to keep an eye on everything from the venue to the food items and the utensils in which food was served to the attendees maintain sustainability.

2. Sustainable venues

One of the biggest challenges that an event organizer faces is selecting the right venue. When it comes to sustainable events, choosing an environment-friendly venue is crucial.

Make sure the venue you choose has the following things:

• A sorting station. Verify if the venue has the appropriate sorting station for the type of waste your event is going to generate. 
• Recycling center.
• Purified water. 
• Appliances that reduce energy consumption.

Even if your preferred venue has all the above-mentioned things, don't forget to discuss the same with the venue owners.

3. Eco-friendly transportation

Making arrangements for eco-friendly transport is also a great sustainable event management idea that you can utilize for your upcoming events. Try to opt for eco-friendly transport like two-wheelers, pool cars, hybrid taxis, and buses. It is better to encourage your attendees to share rides to save fuel. Giving your attendees the option to join your event virtually is another good idea to make it even more convenient and sustainable.

4. Virtual events

Virtual events are also a type of sustainable event where you can not only save the environment but also make it easy for attendees to join from wherever they want. They are comparatively easy to conduct. If you have a WordPress website you have a lot of plugin options to run virtual events successfully.

We recommend WP Event Manager for all types of event management needs. For virtual events, you can try the virtual add-ons of WP Event Manager.

5. Go paperless

Modern events are managed digitally. This helps save a lot of paper and hassle as well. To manage your events online, you need to have a dedicated events website. Using WordPress as your CMS is a good option here as it offers a lot of plugin options. If you have a WordPress website you can use the WP Event Manager plugin and its add-ons. 

Starting from managing registrations that involve a lot of paperwork if done manually to ticket sales it takes care of everything that you need to manage your events digitally.

6. Reduce water and energy wastage

This highly depends on the type of venue you choose. Try to finalize a venue that has smart energy consumption techniques to track energy usage.

You can look for the following things in your event venue:

• A technology that enables lights to turn on when it is required. 
• Key-enabled rooms. 
• Digital thermostats
• Eco-friendly toilets.

Selecting a venue with the above-mentioned facilities simplifies the work of reducing water and energy wastage in your events.

Best practices for sustainable event management

Before organizing a sustainable event, it is important for the event organizers to be fully aware of the concept and why it is important. We have discussed these areas of sustainable event planning and in this section, we will familiarize you with some best practices for sustainable events to make the process easier for you.

• Utilize natural light: If you could utilize natural light for your event, you can easily reduce electricity consumption. Considering the type and time of your event, you can choose a venue that has sufficient light and does not require artificial lights.
• Select a sustainable caterer: Choose a sustainable catering service. Ask catering service providers about the type of plates and other utensils that they will use for the event and determine if they are environment-friendly or not. 

• Use recycled materials: An event requires a lot of things to be arranged properly such as furniture, material for venue decorations and more. To create a fully sustainable event, it is better to use recycled products or products that could be recycled in the future. You can also opt for products with the FSC or PEFC certification. 

• Focus on transport logistics: It is often seen that while handling the transport logistics of an event, several unnecessary trips are made. If your ultimate goal is to create a sustainable event, you need to look for ways to avoid such unnecessary trips. 
• Look for nearby accommodation: In some events, making arrangements for guest accommodations is required. If you need to do that, make sure you search for accommodation that is close to your event venue so that your guests do not need to travel a lot to reach the place.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the four principles of sustainable event management?

The four principles of sustainable event management include the following:

• Waste management. 
• Smart purchasing. 
• Controlling carbon emission. 
• Handling supply chain.

What are the common mistakes to avoid in sustainable event management?

Some of the common mistakes that you need to avoid in conducting a sustainable event include:

• Lack of proper planning. 
• Not setting a budget. 
• Lack of communication. 
• No backup plan.

What are the challenges of sustainable event management?

• Lack of awareness. 
• No national guidance for sustainable event management. 
• Resistance to changes. 
• Completely avoiding plastics.

What does sustainability mean in event management?

Sustainability in event management means taking measures to curb food waste and adopting eco-friendly practices that helps fulfill social responsibility.

How to do a sustainable event?

To run a sustainable event, follow the below-mentioned tips: 

• Try to use natural light. 
• Hire eco-friendly caterers. 
• Choose accommodation for guests close to the event venue. 
• Recycle products. 
• Avoid unnecessary trips while handling logistics.

Wrapping up

Sustainable event management requires proper planning and strategies to be successful. We hope that the above mentioned sustainable event management ideas will help you conduct a successful and eco-friendly event.