How To Reduce Carbon Emissions At Your Event

In this current day and age, we are all looking to reduce our carbon footprint, and this doesn’t stop when it comes to hosting.

There are many ways to reduce the impact on the environment that your event will have, and this post will show you how. Here are some of the ways to reduce carbon emissions at your event.

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Top Tips For Reducing Carbon Emissions At Your Event

So let’s get into it. Here are our top tips for reducing carbon emissions at your event.

Use Renewable Energy

A lot of things use electricity at your event. From lights to music to screens to your sound system, if you could switch these things to renewable power, it would drastically lower the event’s carbon emissions.

There are many different types of renewable energy; wind, solar, hydro, biomass, geothermal, and more. When you choose clean power sources for your event, you make a huge difference in its sustainability.

You can either do this on your own or by enlisting the help of a green electricity supplier for your event. If there is anything that can be plugged in or turned on, it can potentially be powered by renewable energy sources.

If you did this for everything that needed a power source in your event, you would make a real, tangible difference.

Recycle More

Recycling is a great way to manage waste while reducing carbon emissions. It reduces pollutants and resource extraction while creating jobs.

It also reduces the amount of energy and carbon emissions that would otherwise have been used to create a new product.

Encourage and incentivize recycling at your event to make it more sustainable. You can set up collection points for recycling, where everything from clothes to plastics to electronics and even carpeting can be collected and recycled.

Also, think about your own actions and what happens to all the “stuff” you use. What happens to your sets, props, stages, panels, and so on after the event? Recycling and reusing them might actually save you money in the long run!

Environmentally Conscious Transport

One of the leading causes of air pollution in the world is transport. Many countries have started shifting to low-emission transportation and zero-emission vehicles, but this is something that may take several years before it becomes fully implemented all over the world.

Your event generates a lot of emissions from transport because attendees need to be transported to various venues or the main event.

You can encourage your attendees to travel using public transport to your event or provide facilities for attendees who wish to arrive by bike.

Events that are accessible via public transport are also more convenient for attendees, and you can also opt to have your attendees stay near the event venue to reduce travel emissions. Use direct flights and ride-sharing apps whenever possible as well.

Environmentally Conscious Lighting

Next up is the lighting you use. LED lights are great because they use 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs and last several times longer. Using LEDs, therefore, reduces your overall electricity consumption by a huge margin.

While more expensive to buy in the beginning, they pay for themselves in the long run through the savings you make as a result of their efficiency and reduced emissions.

They are also 100% recyclable and free of toxic chemicals, and you can use them in both extreme heat and extreme cold without any issues!

Limit Plastic Use

You can choose to limit plastic use at your event or replace all plastics with biodegradable alternatives. This will make your event more sustainable.

Instead of having water bottles, for example, you can have refill taps. Instead of having plastic plates or straws, you can use renewable alternatives.

Reduce Food Waste

Studies show that up to 33% of all the food that is raised or prepared in farms and factories does not make it to consumers.

This means there is a massive waste of resources like water, energy, seeds, land, fertilizer, and more, with an equal amount of greenhouse gases that have been needlessly generated.

This is why food waste is currently responsible for 8% of all global emissions. It is possible to reduce food waste in a major way at your event.

You can do this by making a proactive plan that will be followed throughout the event, working with caterers to help divert all extra food to composting and donation programs, and by paying attention to how food is handled before and during the event.

Finally, ask your caterers to help measure the cost impact as well as the wasted vs donated food to give you workable metrics that you can use to improve future events even further.

Clarify that this is one of your goals for all event attendees to ensure that everyone is on the same page right from the start.

Promote a Plant-Rich Diet

Today, there are more vegans in the world than at any other moment in history. Plant-based food sales are rising all over the world.

This can be attributed to any number of factors, but it is a good thing because animal agriculture has been taking a great toll on the environment for many years.

Animal agriculture produces 20% of all global emissions. The cattle industry alone produces 150 billion gallons of methane a day!

Your event can help mitigate this by providing a plant-based menu. Today, there are many delicious vegan products, including plant-based beef, plant-based milk, and vegan cheese. Many Chinese, Thai, Indian, and Middle Eastern cuisines can be turned into full vegan as well.

With more and more people taking up veganism, providing a plant-based menu at events is quickly becoming a norm. With its growing popularity, events that provide vegan menus are even getting more publicity and generating more goodwill than events that do not.

Composting

Composting is a great way to manage organic waste. It stops it from being decomposed in landfills without oxygen, which leads to the release of methane gas.

You can make your event more composting-friendly by simply having a compost collection bin.

Ask everyone to separate organic matter from other waste by using signage and clear labeling. This will encourage them to clean up after themselves as they go.

For example, you can have your caterers use compostable packaging and cutlery so that the packaging and the food waste can be thrown in the same bin. You can then take the contents of these bins to your local composting facilities.

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Final Thoughts

Climate change is happening all around us. If you are planning an event, there are several things that you can do to help.

Take a look at our sustainable event services.

The key is to understand the aspects of your event that have the highest carbon footprints and figure out alternatives or ways to reduce them.

We have also written a guide on how to make your event catering more sustainable.

With the tips outlined here, hopefully, this is a little easier for you to accomplish.

This is a guest blog. Jade Piper is a writer and mother based in Indianapolis. She is a keen environmentalist and in her spare time enjoys gardening, reading, and listening to music.