Planning A Sustainable Corporate Event? Here Are Some Helpful Tips

Julie Starr • April 22, 2022



Sustainability and ‘going green’ aren’t fads. Today, many businesses are adopting eco-friendly party planning practices to ensure that they play a part in preserving the environment’s future. Although planning an environmentally-friendly party can be extremely overwhelming, the results pay off. Studies show that 87% of consumers tend to have a positive image of businesses that actively support environmental and social causes. Organizing a sustainable corporate event will let them see that you practice what you preach. That said, how can you achieve this? Here are some tips you can leverage for the best results. 

  • Use Digital Invitations

You should think green well before starting your corporate event by getting creative with your invites. If your business aims for a 100% green event, it makes more sense to ditch paper invitations and go digital. Fortunately, several user-friendly graphic design websites make it easy for you to create, send, and even track your guests’ responses. If you’re not completely sold on digital invites and would still prefer traditional invites, ensure that you use environmentally-friendly paper. These include recycled paper or paper made from plant-based materials like cotton. Other cool sustainable paper ideas are worth checking out. Concepts such as seed paper allow recipients to plant their invites once they have received them. When the paper degrades, its seeds grow into plants.

  • Serve an Eco-Friendly Menu

One of the biggest problems with many corporate events is the food wasted after the program ends. If you plan to serve food at your corporate event, ensure that you make it more eco-friendly without overspending. It would be best to serve only finger foods instead of plated meals. Finger foods require less dining ware and often result in less food waste. If your event is more formal and you need to serve plated meals, ensure that you use reusable dining ware instead of plastics. Single-use plastics are extremely hazardous to the environment, especially all water bodies. If you still want to use single-use dining ware, you can search for others made of bamboo or other plant-based materials.

When it comes to deciding what food should go on your menu, you can opt for plant-based and locally sourced meals. Purchasing locally helps you reduce the environmental costs of transportation, so keep this in mind. Plus, your guests would be treated to mouthwatering dishes. If there are any leftovers from your event, you can arrange with any charity organization that accepts cooked food. These leftovers will feed others in need to ensure that they don’t go to waste. 

  • Treat Your Guests with Sustainable Gifts

You can send your guests off with goodie bags filled with environmentally-friendly gifts at the end of the party. The goodie bag should be made out of green materials like muslin or cotton instead of plastic. Once you’ve got your gift bag sorted, you can fill it with eco-friendly gifts that your business can afford. These can be natural soaps, candles, and reusable office products. You can also gift them with custom printed notebooks made of recycled paper. These gifts will solidify your support for the green movement and help you stand out from your competition. 

Eco-friendly gifts are an excellent way to show gratitude to your guests for attending your event. That said, ensure that you have these gifts branded, as it helps increase awareness of your business and show others your dedication to ensuring a green and sustainable environment. You can check out other sustainable corporate gifts for your party guests. 

  • Use Sustainable Decorations

There’s no doubt that decorating for a party can be fun. The right décor can set the tone and mood for the entire party, and it is an excellent chance to show off your creativity. Regardless of how tempting it might be, you must reject single-use plastic decorations such as signs or streamers if you truly want to have a green corporate event. These décor pieces often end up in landfills and take several years to degrade. Instead, make use of potted plants to help liven up your venue. These plants can feature as a stunning centerpiece, and you can add an aromatic touch of scented plants like lavender. You can also use eco-friendly candles and lanterns, and solar LED lighting.

Throwing an environmentally-friendly corporate gathering might seem like a lot of work. But it has some amazing benefits, including being socially responsible towards the environment. You can set the pace for green events in your industry.

 

Simple Steps To Make Your Office Space More Eco-Friendly

By Julie Starr • October 7, 2024
Becoming more eco-friendly and running a greener business is a responsibility that business owners really need to think more about. The good news is that if you spend a lot of time in your office, there are plenty of ways to make it more eco-friendly without having to overhaul everything and start again (which isn’t just disruptive, but expensive too). So, if you’re ready to get started, here are some simple steps to make your office space more eco-friendly; read on to find out more. Use Energy-Efficient Lighting This idea is a simple one that you can do no matter what else might be on your list of tasks - it’s quick, easy, and really makes a difference; change your light bulbs to something more energy efficient. If you’re still using traditional fluorescent bulbs, it’s time to upgrade to LED which doesn’t just last longer, but also uses a lot less energy. They’re easy to install and they’ll help you cut down on your office’s energy usage almost instantly. If possible, you should make the most of natural light too, so think about rearranging your workspace to let in more sunlight, which saves energy and can boost your mood - it’s a win-win that you can do right away. Prioritize Air Quality The air you breathe matters, and keeping it clean can do wonders for your health and the planet. One way to improve air quality is by adding plants to your workspace because plants are natural air purifiers, and as a bonus, they’ll make your office feel more inviting. Another great idea is to make sure your office’s HVAC system is working efficiently, and having air duct cleaning done by professionals is an easy step you can take to improve air quality and ensure your heating and cooling systems aren’t wasting energy. Clean air ducts mean cleaner air, less strain on your system, and even lower energy bills, so it’s a simple but really effective thing to do. Switch To Reusable Products If your office is still stocking up on single-use plastic items, it’s time for a change - swap your disposable cups, utensils, and plates for reusable ones and you’ll be surprised at how much waste to eliminate. And what about encouraging people to bring their own mugs and water bottles to work? Give them tea, coffee, and water to refill everything with, and you’ll be doing your bit to help the planet and have less waste to deal with as well. And don’t stop with these things either - there are loads of reusable products that could be useful in your office. You could have refillable pens and ink cartridges for your printer, for example. Go Paperless Speaking of your printer, is that an office machine you actually need? If you were to go digital and aim for a paperless office , you might be able to do away with the printer, which means less money spent on ink and paper, and less energy used altogether. You should be able to set up a system where documents can be shared online and stored electronically, and there are plenty of tools around to help you do exactly that (and much more). If you don’t need to print something and you don’t need a physical copy of a document, don’t make one - just use the digital version instead and you’ll be a lot more eco-friendly.

3 Most Unsustainable Industries & What They're Doing To Be More Eco-Conscious

By Julie Starr • October 4, 2024
Sustainability often gets pushed on the common person. Joe Public is told to be more sustainable with their daily habits as the government pushes for more eco-friendly measures. This is all well and good - but does it really matter when 71% of greenhouse gas emissions come from just 100 companies around the world? Small business owners are desperate to prove their sustainability, but what are bigger companies in some of the most polluting industries doing to help? We’ve taken three of the least sustainable sectors on the planet and explored the unique ways they’re trying to cut down on emissions and be more eco-friendly. Mining Any industry revolving around drilling underground will not be very environmentally friendly! Mining causes a lot of pollution, but its unsustainability often comes from the way it damages local environments and ecosystems. So, what is this industry doing to change things? It’s largely focusing on more responsible mining practices to reduce waste and mitigate the impact on local environments. This is done through mining dust suppression systems to prevent airborne pollution, reforesting mining sites when they’re no longer in use, and recycling as many materials as possible. Is it perfect? No, but it’s a step in the right direction. Fossil Fuels Shock horror; the fossil fuels industry is the most damaging to our environment. Finding ways to change the scope of this sector is the key to ensuring a better future for all. Some companies in this industry are trying to do this through carbon capture and storage. This is a technique where CO2 emissions are captured before they’re released into the atmosphere and stored underground. Realistically, the main thing fossil fuel companies should be doing is pushing for more renewable energy sources. Many are doing this - though reports suggest they’re not investing as much as they should. If fossil fuel companies dumped more money into developing biofuels and other renewable sources, pollution from this industry would drop dramatically. Fashion The most unbelievable stat to take from this post is that the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of our global carbon footprint . That’s remarkable (and worrying), considering how most of us don’t view it as a “dangerous” industry. Fast fashion is the main problem; poorly-made goods are pumped out at a rapid rate, and consumers constantly buy new things. Fashion companies are trying their best to resolve this. Most big brands will now have sustainable lines using recyclable materials. Consumers also hold the key to solving this problem: stop buying new clothes all the time and wear yours for longer. Or buy pre-owned clothes to slow down the fashion production line. Companies can still do more as well: they are trying to adopt more eco-friendly production processes that use less water and energy. The moral of this post is that everyone can do their bit to fight for a more sustainable future. Keep this in mind for your small business . It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in; there will always be ways to promote eco-friendly practices.
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