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A Guide to Sustainable Events and Incorporating Sustainable Practices into Your Next Event

Sustainable events are on the rise and as is their importance. Whilst incorporating sustainable practices into your next event can feel a little daunting, in reality it’s easier than you think! Here at First Event, we’ve been prioritising sustainability for a number of years and we’d love to share with you some of our suggestions.

It’s no surprise that the need to reduce carbon emissions is here to stay! There have been many companies globally making eco-friendly changes for the better; from sourcing local products to achieving a net-zero goal. Event planning can be difficult to do on an environmentally friendly level, but now it’s more achievable than ever, and here’s why…

There has been a very evident shift from in-person to virtual events, with virtual becoming a norm during and post-pandemic. Whilst initially used for convenience, virtual events offer dramatically lower carbon emissions than a standard event. Most notably in relation to the reduction of transport for guests, supplies, equipment and more. This in itself, is a huge leap towards integrating sustainability into your event planning!

In today’s world of events and communications, we are fortunate to have a wide variety of different virtual event programmes at our fingertips, such as Issu, Zoom, Teams, and more. Be sure to explore the world of tools available to you. These could totally revolutionise your next event and enhance delegate experience! At First Event, we are proud to offer totally bespoke event platforms to our clients. Each designed, tailored and developed to suit their event perfectly. Our aim by developing these websites or apps is to totally bridge the gap between the real and virtual event worlds for our clients.

As well as the fundamentals of an event, there is much that can be achieved in the detail too. We’re always conscious of printing any form of promotional content and encourage our clients to be too. We regularly opt for QR codes, which save on ink and paper and are therefore a far more environmentally friendly choice. Did you know you can create a QR code directing to your business website, LinkedIn profile and more? And, if you’re a regular event planner like us, strive to reuse any materials for your next event! This not only avoids waste, but protects your budget and is sustainable too. 

At our live events, where catering is provided, we always aim to source local ingredients from nearby suppliers and markets. Keeping track of the number of attendees is imperative for this (as well as every other part of the event planning process!). This will avoid food and drink waste and ensure you don’t have a surplus of crockery and cutlery.

We hope this short summary gives you some ideas for incorporating sustainability into your next event! However, if you’re still unsure, or would like to take event sustainability a step further, please get in touch with the First Event team today. We’d love to discuss your requirements and help you to achieve sustainability in your corporate events.