Just starting the conversation about carbon emissions is a great first step . Every event is at a different stage in their sustainability journey , and that ’ s ok . If you can set one or two sustainability-driven goals around each event , big or small , you are making progress , Sometimes events are hesitant to embrace any sustainability actions because it feels too daunting . They are worried it ’ s not enough or it seems too costly or complicated to start from scratch . We should give credit to events that have been willing to jump in and try to do something for the very first time .
Some ideas planners can play around with :
• Choose one or multiple plant-based meals for your event . Share the emissions avoided from this decision with your delegates ( and the recipes )
• Do a digital swag bag . Include E-books , playlists , digital art , subscriptions , or other nontangible items
• Make Social or Environmental Responsibility Initiatives part of the event plan . Make it a discussion item early-on with your host city
• Produce signage that can be used for multiple years or , if new signage is absolutely necessary , use recyclable signage alternatives
• Offer live streaming for international speakers that tend to have the highest travel emissions or consider a hybrid hub event model by leveraging the knowledge and expertise of the Hybrid City Alliance – that ’ s 24 members in 16 countries – of which Edmonton is a proud member
• Put venue sustainability performance on your RFP and build it into your venue selection criteria
• Consider doing an event emission baseline calculation , DMOs like Explore Edmonton can support on your event footprint calculations so you can better understand where your emissions are coming from and how you can do better .
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