Events and Going Green

Green is the new black. Now more than ever there is a global impetus towards making events (in addition to life in general) greener. The motives behind this push can be altruistic, ulterior or both, but regardless of the case, events that rely on green energy, recyclable materials and carbon-neutral solutions will be the ones that rake in attendee numbers.

The Facts

Iceland’s Summer Solstice festival, which is taking place for the 5th time this year, recently announced that it would be sourcing all of its energy from Iceland’s geothermal supplies. In other words, the festival will be powered by 100% clean, green energy. On top of that, the festival will also be enforcing a total ban on plastic straws at the festival. The Summer Solstice festival is only the tip of the iceberg, however.

Events like Burning Man and Green Festival are more examples of events that are implementing green solutions and pushing for a more environmentally friendly approach towards events in general. How and why do they do it? Read on to find out. In this blog I will be covering:

• Why events should be going green;
• A few simple steps to making your event greener.

Why Go Green?

I usually aim to keep these blogs short so you can read them quickly. If I were to list all the reasons going green is important, you would get bored after the 5000th reason. Therefore, I’m sticking to the basics.

In short, if we screw up this planet, festivals, events, concerts and everything else are going to be a thing of the past. The events industry is just one aspect that will suffer if the condition of the planet continues to deteriorate. Businesses will cease to function, food and water supplies will dwindle…you know the rest. Now, I didn’t write this blog to be all doom and gloom — I’m merely stating these facts to make a point; ensuring the planet’s longevity has to be a collective, calculated effort. And a good place to promote and implement this is events, especially festivals.

Festivals require a tremendous amount of resources to function. Many events do, but festivals are in a league of their own. Transport, power, food, water, manpower, security, exhibitions, showers — these are all aspects of the modern festival that require resources, one way or another. On one side, many of these resources can be supplied with little environmental impact. On the other side, some cannot. This includes things such as food and drinks, both of which rely heavily on plastic.

There are various ways for festivals (and events) to go green, some of which I’ve highlighted below, but the reason for going green should be clear — everyone has to do their part for the planet, and events are an excellent place to generate awareness and provide examples.

The How to the Why

The thing is, going green isn’t all that challenging. It’s not immensely difficult to substitute plastic cups for cardboard ones, nor is it a huge challenge to urge staff to carpool to get to the festival.

With that in mind, I have listed a few ways that festivals and events can go green below. Some of them are based on my own experience, some on research.

• Substitute non-essential plastics with cardboard or recyclable alternatives. This one is a case of many small actions leading to a huge result. Unless you absolutely need plastic straws or cups, try to substitute them with an environmentally friendly alternative, such as cardboard.
• Opt for green energy suppliers. When choosing who you want to supply the power for the event, try to choose the green(est) supplier.
• Give people incentives to help clean up. Offering free drinks or discounts will help motivate attendees to clean up the festival/event terrain.
• Try not to waste food. Instead, donate whatever food you have left over to those in need.
• Location and transportation. When choosing a location, try to make sure that transportation to and from the location won’t leave too much of an impact on the environment. Try to choose a location that is accessible by public transport, bike or foot. If transportation by car is necessary, encourage attendees and employees to carpool.
• Go paperless. Whenever possible, try not to rely too much on paper. There are countless apps out there that eliminate the need for paper both before, during and after your event.
• Source locally. Whenever possible, try to source whatever you need from local sources.
• Encourage people to use reusable water bottles. The fewer single-use plastic bottles there are on-site, the less of an environmental impact your event will have. You can even give people the opportunity to buy branded, reusable bottles at your event.

Conclusion

The above suggestions are just some of the ways events and festivals can go green. There are literally countless more (yes, literally — not figuratively). But don’t take my word for it. If you’re organising an event and want to go green, a quick Google search will give you options for days.

We all have a duty to protect the planet, but we can only succeed together.