subject: Here are 5 suggestions on how you can host a "greener" event [print this page] Here are 5 suggestions on how you can host a "greener" event
Hosting an environmentally friendly event is not only our responsibility as event organisers but also a great selling point for our attendees. With everyone talking about "going green" and reducing their environmental footprint, don't miss the boat on getting in on the action and offering an event that your environmentally conscious attendees will feel good about participating in. Here are 5 suggestions on how you can host a "greener" event...
Develop an environmental impact statement. Explain to your audience how you and your staff are working to create an event that will benefit the participant's well-being without any lasting impact on the environment. Better yet, hold your event to benefit an environmental cause such as global warming or water pollution. This would be a great opportunity to add a fundraising element to your event.
Move your marketing campaign online. Reduce your paper consumption and focus on email and search engine marketing solutions to reach out to your audience. Online marketing is relatively inexpensive compared to print marketing and success is more easily tracked through web analytics and click thru statistics.
Channel all communication with your attendees through email. Again, the idea is to cut down on paper consumption. Rather than send out registration confirmations through post, send an email confirmation instead. Many event management software offer email communication tools which will enable you to send out automatic confirmation and follow-up emails to your registrants. Communicating through email will also allow you to include a link back to your website that recipients can easily click to visit and stay up to date on the latest news and updates about your event.
Collect all participant data online. Collecting paper registration forms is not only expensive and environmentally un-friendly; it also adds more work and administrative costs considering you will need your staff to manually transfer participant data into your database. A good event registration software will automatically send all data collected on your online event registration form straight into your database.
Use recyclable materials or items that you can reuse in the following year's event. Add your environmental impact statement into your marketing materials along with information about the earth friendly materials you will use the day of the event. Try to reuse signs and other materials in the following year's event rather than throwing them away.
