Tips For Organizing A Green Meeting

Thinking of organizing a meeting? You can easily Go Green with organizing such events and reduce a lot of waste generated in the process. Human beings are social animals and need to meet/ hang out, be it a formal corporate event or a normal friendly “adda”. Think of how you can utilize such events or meetings and go green, not only by minimizing waste and conserving energy, but also educating your friends/ colleagues and encouraging them to adopt a greener lifestyle.

As the world has become more fast-paced over the years, there is a greater need for meetings and corporate events. But in the whole process, a lot of waste is generated particularly non-disposable plastic plates, cups, and water bottles. Not only that, we incidentally increase our carbon footprint by using taxis to commute/ distributing paper flyers and corporate gifts. Here you can read about the various options to Go Green with your giveaways.

Transportation and Accommodation

Believe me, but a lot of energy could be conserved if people followed a few basic steps while deciding upon their commutation and accommodation plans. For example, people could choose to travel by train or use public transport, or pooled/ EV taxis while commuting for such meetings. This could save a lot of unnecessary pollution. A good host could go a step ahead and arrange for metro passes for the attendees.

The participants should be encouraged to stay at hotels who are committed to sustainability like using solar panels for lighting or heating, or having rainwater harvesting in their hotels, etc.

Food & Drinks

Today, providing small mineral water bottles has become the norm. You will find these bottles everywhere in any given gathering, either formal or social. Can you imagine the amount of waste they generate, if not properly recycled? Try and reduce this wastage by encouraging your participants to carry a bottle of their own or refill one. Avoid plastic/ disposable plates and glasses and paper napkins. Try to provide freshly cooked meals instead of packaged foods and drinks. For social or a casual meeting, you could also try using solar cookers and solar barbeques.

Go Paperless

Yes, this is totally achievable. You can avoid using paper signages, distribution materials or brochures and event materials. Instead, opt for electric board signages and electronic materials. Ask your delegates to carry their laptops and refer to the soft copies or material provided online. If you have to use paper, try to minimize the use or go for recycled paper and material.

Conserve electricity

Kindly be extra cautious and switch off the power, electricity, fans, AC when exiting. It is mostly seen that participants simply walk out of the conference/ meeting rooms when the event is over, but nobody takes the responsibility to switch off the power. Make sure you do that the next time.

Last but not least, you could also connect with a regional offset company and promote them at the event. You could also organize social activities around these topics and raise awareness with a team of like-minded people. As a good host, you could provide these green guidelines in all your electronic communications to the respective participants.

Today, larger companies are thinking big like installing huge solar plants to go green. While this is an excellent step towards reducing their carbon footprint, small steps like the ones mentioned above would also go a great length to reduce pollution and conserve energy. Moreover, small organizations/ startups can also follow these guidelines to avoid wastage and involve a more sustainable approach to their meetings. I hope people could follow at least a few of these tips and help reduce their carbon footprint. A small step by us today could really make a big difference tomorrow. Once you start, it will soon become a natural habit for you.