7 tips for ‘greening’ your event

1.Our first tip is - call us!  But if you are going it alone:

2. Use LEDs
Lighting is one of the most obvious ways an event consumes energy and a growing number of technologies offer more earth-friendly solutions.

LED lights win raves for their convenience and low energy usage. An LED fixture of comparable brightness uses up to 80 percent less energy than its conventional counterpart. Another perk of LED lights is that the lights themselves come in all colours, so there’s no need to set up huge labour-intensive rigs for colour films.

Hassle Factor: None. Using them for an event is a simple request for most lighting companies.

Cost: LEDs are more expensive to produce, so hiring costs more. On the other hand, setup is much quicker and easier, so you could recoup most or all of the hire cost.

2. Rethink Your Cars
While hybrid cars such as the Toyota Prius are the best-known, there are a variety of alternative-fuel vehicles on the road, and a few forward-thinking car services are offering these vehicles. Green Tomato has a fleet of Priuses for customers traveling around London and beyond. Other companies such as Chauffeur-First offer their fleet of executive Lexus hybrid vehicles. London’s 20,000 black taxi fleet will also be expected to meet strict emissions standards by mid 2008, under the Mayor’s Taxi Emissions Strategy.

Hassle Factor: Outside of major cities, finding a green/er car service is tough. For smaller events, you might be better off renting a hybrid and hiring a driver, or be creative with local and appropriate options where earth-friendly transportation is a priority. But for guests or execs who have their hearts set on a stretch Hummer or a similarly gas-guzzling ride, there might not be much you can do.

Cost: These services are generally within the same price range as other services that provide more typical town cars.

3. Go Organic
Thanks in part to the meteoric rise of whole foods, it’s hard to find a person who isn’t acquainted with the idea of chemical- and additive-free food, and a growing number of companies are turning to sustainable and organic catering for internal as well as promotional events. London based Passion Organic who’s clients include the Body Shop and BP are just one of a growing number of specialist event caterers.

Hassle Factor: Finding an organic caterer can be a bit tricky. Otherwise it will just take you more time to negotiate with your regular caterer and agree an ethical and locally sourced menu for your event.

Cost: Organic food is more subject to the whims of nature than factory-farmed fare. Generally, as most of us already know, the cost is higher.

4. Skip the Polystyrene cups
Catering companies can rejoice as the philosophy of hiring china and glassware is already green. But when it comes to disposables, plastic and plastic-foam are so last century. Conventional disposable tableware is made from petroleum, a nonrenewable resource, which means you should avoid it. Meanwhile, plant-based tableware is biodegradable and made from plant-based materials: starches from corn, potatoes, or sugarcane, or fast-growing plants like bamboo. All of which can be composted.

Hassle Factor: Sourcing is still relatively tricky, although cups and plates are pretty straightforward through companies like Nvyro and Vegware.  Trying to get your caterer to change suppliers could be more tricky.

Cost: Generally, there’s a greater markup on plant-based utensils than plates compared with conventional plastics and plastic foam. Balance against using reusable china and any additional cost for labour.

5. Reduce Waste
Many green events have prominently displayed recycling containers next to regular rubbish bins, and a few have gone so far as to include composting containers. Carbon Zero events will soon be joined by Zero Waste events.
Items that would normally go to a landfill can be recycled or composted and a branded team of ‘Waste busters’ can be stationed by bins to ensure guests dispose of materials in the correct bins. These efforts are important because they give participants a very visible reminder of the behind-the-scenes work undertaken to keep the event green.

Hassle Factor: Even in London which has a relatively strong recycling program, it will be an ordeal to go the extra mile if you want to compost your leftovers and there are no facilities at your venue, or your caterer has nothing set up. It’s not a realistic option for every event – better to save waste at the choosing the caterer and menu stage than after. Food Safety and Hygene regulations mean that it’s also not a good idea to donate left over food.

Cost: This varies based on the venue and the nature of the waste removal. Additional cost for bin hire perhaps and some extra personnel.

6. Offset Emissions
Carbon offsetting is all a-buzz, but environmental experts are divided on its effectiveness. It’s problematic because you’re still actually consuming the energy and releasing greenhouse gases into the air – actions that can’t be reversed no matter how much you spend. An event should first take steps to reduce the energy it consumes before even considering offsets.

Shrink your footprint. Think tiny feet.

Hassle Factor: This is what WE are here for. As your event agency we will calculate the best possible estimate of emissions only after all effort has been made to reduce. Remember that planting trees is not nearly effective enough to be a viable investment, so just don’t go there.

Cost: Expect to pay less than a £1 per head for a typical reception or dinner with a locally based guest list. Paragon work with Climate Care to calculate offsets for an entire event.

7. Print Wisely
If you have to print at all.  For the not so tech-savvy, the availability and quality of recycled paper has gone up substantially and the end product can also be recycled. Another alternative is to go tree-free entirely with paper made from recovered cotton. When it comes to ink, soy-based inks are preferable to conventional inks, which are made from nonrenewable petroleum. But an even more earth-friendly option is using vegetable-based inks, since soybeans aren’t always grown in an eco-friendly manner. Ask upfront if your printer can provide one or the other, since eco-friendly inks aren’t yet as commonly available as recycled paper. Instead of heavy paper handouts use flashdrives or CDs or download maps and information onto mobile phones, PDAs or whatever othr gadgets are in play.

Hassle Factor: Using recycled paper is one of the more low-key ways to make an event more earth-friendly.

Cost: Depends on which route you want to take and the cost of designing and implementing on-line content can be a saving on cost of print.