Eco awareness is important in itself. But for small businesses and startups, it is also a great way to garner attention from the luxury market. Environmentally-conscious clients will notice when a small business goes the extra mile to help the environment.
Events, like exhibitions, trade shows and b2c conferences, are a great opportunity to spend time with and dazzle clients, while also showing that you run an eco-conscious company.
Here are our top tips for eco-friendly event planning to show your clients you care:
1. Use eco-friendly venues
Hosting your event at an eco-friendly spaces is a great way to show you care about the environment. Venues like Sussex Exchange make a point of providing an eco-friendly space for meetings and conferences.
By using environmentally-friendly alternatives, they reduce fossil fuel use and environmental damage. The Sussex Exchange conference venue was specifically designed to do this, using biomass boilers, thermal insulation, natural ventilation and by harvesting rainwater.
Thanks to the EU’s Future Cities project, an initiative launched to help develop liveable and climate-proof cities, more venues and buildings than ever are adapting to minimize future environmental harm and cope with climate change. Sites like Venue Finder can help you find a nearby eco-friendly venue to suit your needs.
Related: The Most Important Tips for Planning and Organising a Business Event
2. Work with sustainable suppliers
Sustainable suppliers of local food and recycled decorations can help you fill an eco-friendly venue with eco-friendly goods. Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming, has a page that can direct you to local sustainable food suppliers all over the country. So wherever your event is hosted, you’ll be able to stay sustainable.
Equally, the Marine Stewardship Council can direct you to local seafood suppliers and Big Barn offers suppliers and recipes to make your nibbles both sustainable and delicious.
For event decor, you can recycle everyday household items and use them as decorations, or you can browse the various online stores of intrepid recycler-decorators. Whichever route you go down, you are sure to earn the respect of the environmentally-conscious client.
3. Go paperless
Be more than just an e-marketer,make your information interactive. Paper is often used at events because it is cheap and easy to get rid of. However, paper usage accounts for significant waste and, in the modern world, is largely unnecessary.
If you have the availability, you can have tablets available with event details, as sign in sheets or to replace sign ups for your business. Alternatively, inform guests about event information by sharing attachments in the cloud for attendees to access on mobiles, tablets or phablets (almost tablet sized phones).
By taking these top tips on board, you will show your clients that truly care about the planet, and that you the company they need to work with if they do too.