Event Industry
The environmental impact
Any event we organize has an environmental impact – the question is, how big will it be? More often than not, the event industry is responsible for large amounts of waste, as well as a substantial use of resources, which make it not-so-eco-friendly.
If we hope to tackle environmental threats such as climate change or water scarcity, we need to be more mindful of how our events impact on the environment – and what we can do to decrease this impact.
Plastic waste
The event industry, especially when it comes to large events, has become overly reliant on single-use plastic. While it may seem more convenient to use cutlery, cups or plates that can be thrown away after the event, this is resulting in massive amounts of plastic being sent to the landfill.
While recycling may seem like a viable solution, the reality is that only 9% of all plastic gets recycled and many types of plastic can’t be recycled at all. Additionally, any materials contaminated with food can’t be successfully recycled, which means that to recycle plastic plates, cups or cutlery, they often need to be washed first – which is what the event industry is trying to avoid in the first place by using single-use products.
While other materials, such as paper or glass, are significantly more eco-friendly than plastic, they still create waste we need to be mindful of.
Food waste
One type of waste we frequently forget about, that’s commonly produced by the event industry, is food waste. As the focus is put on ensuring there is enough food for the event and none runs out, venues and event organizers are often left with a lot of food to dispose of after the event. Often, the food is headed straight for the landfill.
Wasting food doesn’t just waste the time, effort and resources used to make it – it also contributes to climate change. When food waste is disposed of in the landfill, it doesn’t decompose the way it would in a compost – instead, it releases methane, which is 84 times more potent in the short term than CO2.
Energy use
We often forget to consider the environmental impact of the venue used for an event. How energy-efficient is it? Where does its power come from? Do they have water-saving solutions in place?
The environmental impact of the venue feeds directly into the environmental impact of the event – and it’s much more difficult to host a sustainable event at an unsustainable venue.