Going Green – Planning a sustainable corporate event
Companies pipe on about sustainability but have no idea how to fulfil their goals. It’s time to walk the talk, starting with the king of waste generation in a company – corporate events.
Company dinners and welfare events will always be a delight – free food is usually the main reason why you’re there, perhaps the complimentary flutes of bubbly, and if Lady Luck is on your side, maybe you go home with a gift from the raffle.
But big events also generate a lot of waste. Extra food, plastic everywhere, wrapping paper, cheap decorations that are too much work to tidy and keep so it’s just thrown out.
Planning big parties are hard enough as is, let alone a sustainable one. Here are some tips to help you out.
Sooner rather than later
This is nothing new. Planning takes time, and there’s usually not nearly enough of it. Given that affordable, eco-friendly supplies are still scarce in Singapore, starting the planning stage early allows you a longer timeline to research and ask for quotes from different vendors or form partnerships with sustainable companies, without sweating too much about the deadline.
Starting the planning stage early also gives you the time to consider things like recycling bins, while usually not at internal parties, could be a good introduction to repurposing whatever wastes you cannot cut down on.
Near, far, wherever you are
Location is another big consideration for planning a sustainable event that people usually miss out.
People tend to forget that travelling from place to place releases carbon emissions since it doesn’t directly affect us, nor do we see any immediate changes or tangible results. Holding your event at your office might not be a terrible thing. You’re killing two birds with a stone – cutting cost on venue rental costs and cutting your carbon footprint in the process.
That’s not to say the company can’t go somewhere nice for a change of scenery. If that’s the choice, think about carpooling services, or even a bus to shuttle your teams. Dress it up, make it fancy, roll out a red carpet if you want – it’ll be a pretty interesting experience for your employees. It doesn’t seem like much but every bit counts.
Food, glorious food
But food waste is not. According to the Sustainable Conferencing Initiative started by The Company of Biologists, a non-profit organization run by scientists, 15 to 20% of food at an event becomes waste.
Planning early gives your workforce time to RSVP, notify you of any dietary requirements, any plus ones they are bringing along so you can decide the amount of food to cater in for the event. This helps to cut food wastage and costs.
But food can be tricky; portion sizes might be bigger, some people might not feel like eating, and you’ll still end up with food leftover. Giving food away to attendees could be high on the list of your solutions (remember to prepare eco-friendly takeaway ware), but food donation drives are something else to look into. If the food at your event has a shorter lifespan, composting is an option.
Capable, but not alone
Even with these tips, making your corporate event green is a giant undertaking, and more so if this is an additional project on top of your primary job. Offload with Concierge By Quest – give us a list of what you need, what you want to achieve, and we’ll handle it.
