How to Plan and Host a Green Special Event

Special events can go a long way toward establishing a company’s brand name or boosting its credibility. Special events are a sure way to connect with the various publics to which every organization caters. Industry conventions allow companies large and small to network, show off their latest ideas, and appraise the competition.

But there’s one area in which special events fall short: the environmental side. Any special events coordinator worth his or her salt is well aware of the mess that all special events leave behind. Wherever people congregate, they leave litter behind. Add food to the mix—what’s a convention without food?—and the mess multiplies.

Today, more and more companies are become environmentally aware. They are trying to save energy, reduce duplication and recycle whenever possible. That means that the Special Events coordinator should do everything he or she can to plan as “green” an event as possible to go with the company’s environmental goals. (Remember, every effort to accomplish those goals, no matter how small, will eventually make its way into the annual report.)

The first rule of real estate is also the first rule to follow when figuring out where to stage a green event. If you are planning a convention from “soup to nuts,” you should start by researching the various venues that can accommodate your environmental goals.

1) Some convention centers or arenas already have a recycling program in place. If you are leasing one that does, your job will be that much easier. Just make sure that you mention your company’s environmental goals up front, and treat them as if they were the same as any other requirement for the event.

2) When you walk through the venue, take note of where the refuse and recycling receptacles are located. Are they clearly labeled? You should be able to see them from a distance. If you can’t, how can you expect the vendors you invite or the customers you expect to be able to see and use them?

If you are working in a green venue, does it cater? If it does, that’s another headache off your hands. Just make sure that they use linens, glass and china, or other reusable materials. Try to keep meals to finger foods that won’t produce much waste. (In other words, to keep your life simple, skip the chicken wings or make them boneless.)

Continue onto the second page to find out how informing your staff, venues, and vendors can help your green planning effort.