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.

 

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.