Planners can avoid over-ordering and work with venues with a food rescue service that will resuse food waste, such as taking unused items to a community garden for composting. DepositPhotos.com

As organizations of all kinds continue to address issues around climate change, venues and meeting planners are doing their part to help event attendees be good to the planet.

“Sustainability” is a top buzzword in the meeting and event planning industry, and with good reason. According to The State of Climate Action in Business Travel, a 2023 study conducted by the Global Business Travel Association, sustainability is front and center for business travel programs. Financing these practices are the biggest challenge. The same study reported “higher costs” ranks as the top barrier cited by buyers and suppliers to decarbonize their programs and operations.

Although climate change is an urgent global concern being addressed on various levels and a top priority for the business travel sector, sustainability and practices around climate change is not yet a widely-adopted practice by the meeting and events industry.

“Every client is a little different. For some, it’s top of mind. Others are just dipping a toe in. And others are not aware it’s even a possibility of something they should be paying attention to,” says Kaelyn Query Caldwell, MBA, founder and chief everything officer of Kentucky Event Company in Lexington, KY.

Caldwell frequently educates clients about the importance of minimizing waste and being responsible global citizens. Then, when there is sufficient client buy-in, the discussion turns to what sustainable practices make the most sense for them.

“We’ll weave it into their events where we can. It’s not cheap to be sustainable — it’s an expensive practice,” she says. “Not every client is willing to dedicate the budget needed.”

For her repeat clients, Caldwell says, her team works these practices into their event little by little and expand where possible. It’s easier to start from the beginning with a new client or one that hasn’t started their planning yet. “When the budget is met and the details are taken care of, it’s tougher to include [sustainability] when everything is already in place,” she says.

Reducing or eliminating as much waste as possible has always been preferable; however, COVID caused organizations of all kinds to take a closer look at how they stage gatherings and determine where they can cut back.

“There’s been this ‘waste-free’ buzz for the last six-plus years, but with COVID and the supply chain issues so many of us experienced, people started paying much closer attention to what they’re spending and how they’re sourcing,” Caldwell says. She points out even the most eco-conscious event generates some amount of waste; now, there is just more awareness and organizations are more intentional in their planning.

“Events by nature are very wasteful,” Caldwell says. “It costs a little more money to produce a little- or no-waste event. Our company tracks the amount of food we’ve re-homed or been able to donate to shelters or local nonprofits, and the amount of aluminum we’ve been able to keep out of landfills is kind of mind-blowing.”

Even a mid-level company like hers has been able to keep a tremendous amount of waste out of local landfills. Intentional planning, engaged partners committed to recycling and reusing, and clients dedicated to being good environmental stewards make this possible.

Justine Broughal, managing partner of Greater Good Events and Together Events in Queens, NY, has more clients interested in implementing sustainable practices where possible.

“It’s definitely something people are looking for more now than they have in the past,” she says. There’s a range of what people are willing to do — anything from reducing waste to finding ways to get rid of the extra food at the end of an event, to booking a venue that’s LEED-certified, though there aren’t many of these venues. Part of Greater Good Events’ company philosophy is to work with clients who share their vision of meaningful impact and minimal waste, with a more holistic approach to sustainability.

“We follow the United Nations’ definition of ‘sustainability’— social, environmental and economic — to guide our work and vendor sourcing,” Broughal says. “We want to be thoughtful about the environmental and social impact [of what we do]. One thing is to have a set of values that you use in your everyday programming, and then our clients are interested in implementing these things in their events and conferences.”

Developing the right partnerships and working with vendors whose values and mission align with the companies’ vision is key when implementing sustainable practices at various levels.

A critical piece of executing a ‘sustainable’ event is making thoughtful choices.

“It’s important for companies to think about the values they use every day and bring them into their events,” Broughal says. “In the industry, it’s all about the partners you have — planning partners, catering partners and finding partners who share your values.”

Planners should include venue representatives in these conversations and draw on their knowledge and ideas. There may be more options than they might think. Older venues may not meet the criteria for LEED certification, but some implement other sustainability efforts.

Broughal mentions the Brooklyn Grange, an older structure that likely wouldn’t meet the LEED vendor certification standards, but boasts one of the leading rooftop farming and intensive green roofing businesses in the U.S. Event planners and local businesses have made liberal use of the crops grown on the Grange’s roof.

“They have high standards for the vendors they work with. The connection between vendor and caterer is really important — when they have a setup that’s friendly for caterers, that helps in sustainability efforts,” says Broughal.

When client and planner are on the same page, they should spread the word to all involved. “If you’re going to implement sustainable practices, clearly communicate it to everyone in the organization,” says Gazala Uradnik, founder of GFS Events in Seattle, WA. “For instance, if you’re not using plastic water bottles, make it clear that people can bring their own reusable bottles. It creates a ripple effect — let people know, and they’ll get on the train of wanting to be more sustainable.”

Small Measures Make a Big Impact

Even small steps can make a huge difference. Two of the biggest elements — venue and catering — are among the easiest “first steps” a planner can take toward a more environmentally friendly event.

“The connection between the venue and caterer is really important,” Broughal says. Talk to the catering manager about options. For instance, put together a plant-based menu. Broughal calls this a viable choice for a few reasons — namely, it’s typically cheaper than one consisting heavily of meat, and it’s easily adaptable for any dietary or food allergy concerns.

Food and beverage are among the biggest expenses for clients and largest source of waste at events. Venues have taken a closer look at economically- and environmentally-friendly ways to discard uneaten or unused food.

“Pay attention to over-ordering,” Caldwell says. “Pay attention to food rescue — some venues have a food rescue service. There are a lot of nonprofits who will work with venues. We’ve worked with community gardens who might take it for composting or to use in their gardens. Having that plan in place ahead of time is great.”

Broughal is fortunate to be based in New York City, where some organizations will accept food donations, or ‘rescue cuisine.’ “It has to be food that’s actually left over, was refrigerated and prepared using proper food safety practices,” she says.

Additionally, planners should look at earth-friendly alternatives to cutlery and linens. Rather than single-use plastic utensils, they should use reusable cutlery or items made from biodegradable materials. They should also opt out of using table linens, or find creative ways to dress a table with less décor or more earth-friendly elements.

Kerry Shanahan, fundraising and special events producer at GFS Events, says their team spends time finding ways to reduce food waste for their clients. “One company in our area will pick up meals not used within a certain window of time and give them to a homeless shelter. It reduced waste and filled a huge gap in our community,” she says.

Shanahan notes venues will toss unused or uneaten food out after only a few hours, so pickup time to get the unused meals to the shelter is essential.

“We try to make sure any meals not used are not tossed,” Uradnik says. “We’ve already signed waivers saying we’ll get rid of the food after events.” Shanahan adds it can be difficult to estimate the meal count due to more people registering later. By working closely with the vendors and caterers, GFS Events can keep a close eye on registrations and come up with a reasonable estimate of meals. “We do factor in a certain percentage of no-shows, so it’s something we factor in to save our clients some of that money and reduce some of the waste,” Shanahan says.

In the true spirit of partnerships, Caldwell says municipalities must be committed to any sustainability plans they have so venues can then fully execute theirs.

“The city has to have a plan in place for recycling and pickup. A venue can recycle all day long, but if the city doesn’t have a dedicated recycling program, it doesn’t matter,” she says. It comes down to planners developing protocols for an event and working with the venue to get rid of the waste afterward.

“We’ve worked with private refuse companies. We’ll work it into the total cost of the event. We try to work with a lot of vendors who are zero-waste or check that box of being green. We work with a lot of venues saying it’s ‘waste free,’ and we’ll tell them ‘here’s the plan, here’s what we’re doing,’” Caldwell says.

There are more venues developing sustainability practices, but there is still more work to be done on municipal levels. “The city I live in was working hard toward this. We have to get multiple businesses, venues and caterers on board with this in order to make a recycling or ‘going green’ plan happen,” Caldwell adds..

Reducing Costs and Amount of Waste

Look for areas where something can be eliminated, Broughal suggests. Swag is one example. “There are other ways to create meaningful experiences besides swag bags. Make thoughtful choices with it — ask yourself, ‘what’s the purpose of this?’”

She suggests one easy way to start “going green” is to have a plastic-free event across multiple areas, such as utensils, water bottles and swag. “It might prompt clients to think before they commit to a certain type of swag and ask themselves, ‘What’s the more sustainable option?’ I urge clients to ask themselves, ‘Where are the biggest areas where we can cut back — food, paper/signage?’ Invest in those areas and build on it,” Broughal says.

Caldwell, too, has urged clients to shift their focus when it comes to swag and freebies. “I try to encourage them to make sure any swag is a multi-use item — not something they may or may not use once, then toss it,” she says. “Or, it should be something made from recycled materials or can be used again.” More swag means higher shipping costs, as well. “Gifting is an easy spot to pay attention to — be really meaningful and mindful there,” Caldwell says.

Another big trend is digital marketing and less printed material. “One big thing we’re seeing is getting away from paper if at all possible,” Uradnik says. Thanks to COVID, people are very adept at scanning QR codes. Planners have embraced them. Attendees can scan it on their phones to access the event program, agenda, speaker bios, map of the venue, landing page to make donations and more. “It [QR codes] doesn’t happen at every event, but we are seeing more of it,” Uradnik says. With organizations keeping an eye on printing costs — as well as the items left behind on tables, floors and ultimately thrown away — many planners have turned to digital LED signage and marketing rather than printing hard copy materials.

“Printing is never going to go away entirely, but if you have to print something, do you need one for everyone?” Caldwell says. “Or, print on recycled paper. Invest in signage with no date so you can reuse it year after year.”

For planners looking to connect with other like-minded vendors, Caldwell has found Members United for Sustainable Events (MUSE) helpful. “They do a great job of connecting partners — caterers, event producers and production companies in the U.S. and adjacent — who have this joint mission of sustainable events.”

Besides networking and referrals, MUSE offers training and education to businesses about how they can be waste-free. “They’ve been a great resource for us and others,” Caldwell says. | AC&F |