event emissions, demystified
After 150+ hours of certifications from everything relative to sustainability standards on corporate emissions reporting frameworks to event waste audits - one thing became abundantly clear: there is a whole lot of content out about event sustainability tips/tricks/how to’s - but nothing which I found clear, simple and concise about how to approach event emissions (or frankly, what all they were?).
It took me a while to come to the realization that it was simple.
There are five main “event emissions factors,” as I call them, and here they are in order of typical impacts:
Travel. Travel emissions are said to account for anywhere from 70-90% of total event emissions. Does this mean that the other stuff is unimportant? NO WAY. This just means that the burning of fossil fuels in the planes, trains and automobiles to get to the goal of human connection certainly should not be ignored. (hint: we have a solution for this: www.purposenetzero.com)
Energy. The energy usage in your venue + hotel accommodations (electricity + heating/cooling has historically been powered by fossil fuels/i.e. gas, coal, etc.) is the second largest emissions factor at your event, typically speaking.
Sourcing. This is where things become quite variable depending on the style of the event, including the design, materials “needed” and the focus on circularity as a core event design principle.
Food. We like to address this as F3 because it’s multifaceted. F1: The first and most important factor around food is your food choices - yes, this means the beef and also generally speaking, the meat. A vegetarian meal can cut carbon emissions by 19x vs. a beef entree. F2: Sourcing distances. Beef, if that’s on the menu, can come from Wisconsin to Chicago or it can come from Brazil to Chicago. This is called a Foodprint and it’s the journey the food travels to attendees’ plate. This thinking applies to all aspects of sourcing and can have positive impacts when you focus your food sourcing locally. F3: Last but certainly NEVER least in our purview is food donation. Organic waste to landfill creates methane which is 20x more potent in the atmosphere than carbon. Plus, we can feed our local communities!
Waste. The first to be seen but one of the lower in impacts is waste diversion strategy. The truth? It probably has the most psychological impact on brand reputation and judgement of the event, however - so do not leave this overlooked. It’s essential to offer multi-stream waste diversion (compost, various recycling, landfill) and also to have extremely thorough signing, color-coding and assistance for guests to sort their waste accordingly. Remember: organic matter to landfill is 20x worse for the atmosphere so be sure that composting is budgeted as a must-do, at a minimum - and, as always ditch single use plastic!
Finally, the amazing impacts of things like volunteering and CSR activities can have potentially POSITIVE impacts for local communities and the environment - so don’t forget these as you consider your sustainable event strategy. Just be sure to include local community leaders in the conversation so you ensure you are providing them with something they are grateful for and not unintentionally burdened by.
For more comprehensive understanding of all of the above, including our full sustainable event strategy guidebook for events teams, connect with us: marley@eventsofpurpose.com
