With the number of in-person and hybrid events on the rise again, the topic of sustainability in events is at the top of planners’ minds. Live events have the ability to produce pounds of paper per person.
Event planners can implement sustainable practices at every stage of the event life cycle. Wondering how? The Cvent Client Success Team has seen Cvent customers utilizing Cvent technology in the planning, execution, and evaluation phases of the event life cycle. Whether you implement sustainable practices at just one phase of the process, like with online invitations and registrations, or at multiple phases of the event life cycle, keep reading to see how you can incorporate sustainable practices at your event.
Pre-Event
Hosting an eco-friendly event starts with the planning stage. Users can send invitations through the Cvent platform and bring invitees to an online registration form. This eliminates the need for paper invitations. Within the registration process, you can ask registration questions unique to your event as well as the travel plans of your attendees to gauge the environmental impact of your attendees traveling to your event.
At the Event
When executing the event itself, there are multiple practices you can put in place for a more sustainable event. This involves the welcome and check-in process, badges, sharing the agenda, program, or deliverables, as well as food and beverage.
Oftentimes attendees are welcomed to an event with a welcome gift or swag. You can utilize reusable bags filled with a reusable water bottle or reusable cups with your brand on them as a welcome gift. Not only is this a fun gift to your attendees, but this eliminates the need for disposable cups or plastic water bottles at the venue; make sure you have a water filling station and advertise this on signage and on your virtual venue map.
After being greeted at the event, event planners can utilize Cvent OnArrival tools to check in their attendees to their event and/or sessions. This eliminates the need for paper/pen attendance lists and paper tickets.
Upon check-in, event planners can utilize recyclable or bio-degradable badges to display the name of their attendees. Use our on-demand printing tool to eliminate potential waste from pre-printing badges for attendees that may not show up or that need to edit their names.
During the event, you can utilize the Attendee Hub Event App to display the agenda virtually rather than on paper programs. You can also utilize the Event App to highlight your venue floor plan. The Attendee Hub Website eliminates the need for paper handouts with the use of session documents. Attendees can log in to the Attendee Hub Website to download and view these documents rather than receiving paper versions.
Will you have an exhibit hall at your event? You can utilize Cvent’s LeadCapture tools to keep track of a lead’s contact information and conversation notes to eliminate the need for paper business cards.
Who doesn’t love the food at events? Event planners can strategize their food set up and limit the use of individually wrapped items. You can also talk to your venue about how to sustainably handle food waste.
Post-Event
At the end of the event, you can have a recycling bin for attendees to recycle their badges and another bin to collect the lanyards so the lanyards can be reused at your next event.
Utilize Cvent’s online Feedback Surveys to collect valuable metrics without distributing paper onsite.
Using Cvent’s technology allows you, as the planner, to manage your event in one platform. Your attendees can engage onsite in the Cvent Event App and have all the event information in one place.
This post was written by Bridget Greenwood, a Client Success Advisor at Cvent. Bridget is a Virginia Tech alum and enjoys exploring Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA on the weekends, traveling, and trying new recipes.
