ARE VIRTUAL EVENTS SUSTAINABLE ?
Cameron Roberts looks into the sustainability credentials of virtual events , from carbon footprints to the impact on supply chains
he push towards sustainable events has been married with the move to more digital-focused conferences . As the two are so aligned in their respective life cycles , the question now remains – are virtual events sustainable ?
There seem to be two distinct camps when it comes to this question : those who will espouse the virtues of not travelling or catering to attendees when going virtual ; and those who will highlight server usage and its impact on the planet .
The often overlooked aspect of sustainability is the impact that events have on communities and supply chains . Events cannot be counted as sustainable if they are not actively working to maintain the businesses that support the industry . How virtual events contribute to this goal will be the defining factor of their ESG credentials going forward .
I spoke to platform experts and organisers with experience in virtual events to shed some light on the true impact of virtual events .
Footprints Inescapably , when talking about sustainability , many will jump to an event ’ s carbon footprint , its energy usage , or the waste it produces . The effect that our industry has on the planet is something many organisers are looking to mitigate , with events such as COP26 actively working to reduce waste and reuse
Lionel Scurville Narmeen Kamran Ed Tranter Vanessa Lovatt materials where possible .
There ’ s no doubt that on the surface a virtual event has sustainability chops that are hard for its live counterparts to keep up with . Reducing travel is a big plus for organisers to use in aligning with green governance and initiatives .
Vanessa Lovatt , virtual event evangelist , spoke about some of the research she had been a party to . She said : “ What blew my mind , is that we found if you flip 25 % of your attendees online , it actually reduces your carbon footprint by between 67 and 71 %, which is a massive reduction for actually quite a small percentage of your attendees .
“ A lot of the emissions at events are to do with the travel . Our data is based on average journeys . The distance , and the density of the time between journeys that individuals are making to get to events , is a real contributing factor for carbon emissions . The impact of things like food and beverage is massive , much bigger than we anticipated .” www . conference-news . co . uk