How to host a sustainable event

All events have a carbon footprint. By making conscious choices on how you plan and deliver your event, you can significantly reduce its climate impact. At Lanarkshire Climate Action Festival we want to support you in making sustainable events the go-to choice for hosting events. Regardless of whether you are taking part in Lanarkshire Climate Action Festival or not, by following the checklist below you should be able to reduce the climate impact of your event.

Materials for the event

Most events will require some form of equipment, food or materials. Make a list of everything you will need to host the event. For example, this may include tables, gazebo, tools for participants, crockery etc. Now do the following:

✅ Figure out which items you already have and use these for the event.

✅ Borrow or rent equipment you don't have - perhaps through a local sharing library.

✅ Consider if you are able to mend or repurpose any broken items into something you need for the event.

✅ Before purchasing anything, ask yourself if this can be reused again or whether it would be a single-use purchase. If it is, try to find an alternative solution.

✅ If new items are needed, purchase items secondhand where possible.

✅ Where items can't be purchased secondhand such as with food choose local, sustainable suppliers. 

 

Promoting the event

For any event, we need attendees. In order for attendees to come along, they need to know the event is happening. Consider how you will promote the event.

✅ If you are getting any promotional materials created consider if these can be reused. For example if you are creating a banner for the event, keep the information generic so you can reuse it for other events.

✅ For flyers and posters, only print as many as you will need. For example, instead of simply guessing how many places you could put up a poster, reach out to local cafes, community noticeboards, places of worship etc. in advance to figure out if they accept posters. This will save you both money and resources.

 

How will people travel to your event?

The easier you make travelling sustainably to your event, the more likely people are to do it.

✅ Create a map or description on how to get to your event by walking, cycling or taking public transport.

✅ Let people know about bike parking at the venue. If there is no bike parking available, consider borrowing racks from your local council.

✅ For rural events which aren't always accessible by public transport or active travel encourage people to travel by car sharing.

 

Managing waste

If you've been smart about what has been purchased for the event, you can significantly reduce the amount of waste your event creates. However, attendees may bring along their own waste such as plastic bottles, food wrappers etc.

✅ In advance encourage people to bring reusable items for the event.

✅ Provide clear signage on bins to enable people to recycle their waste properly. 

 

If you would like more advice on how you can host more sustainable events, Lanarkshire Climate Action Hub is happy to help. Simply email the team on info@climateactionlanarkshire.net