Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Conferences, Events & Trade Shows

What does sustainability mean at conferences?

Sustainability means more conscious use of non-renewable materials and energy at conferences and conference organization processes. Conferences or significant events such as trade shows need large venues, countless printed materials, and a high volume of electricity and energy while relying on the transportation of many parties. Sustainability in conferences refers to being mindful and efficient while creating and arranging functions and relying less on non-renewable sources.

What is a sustainable event?

Many organizations are working toward adopting a more eco-friendly, sustainable approach in whatever they are doing. In today's world, sustainable events are far more than just a trend, rather, they have become a movement. ‘Sustainable event’ is an increasingly used term, especially after Covid 19, as the pandemic forced everybody to run their business through online channels. This brought great opportunity for online events and organizations. Since then, online alternatives have served as more sustainable event options in almost every aspect of life. There are various things to consider when it comes to an event's sustainability, including energy use, paper use, transportation and waste management.

What makes an event sustainable?

Reduced environmental impact is the crucial aspect of a sustainable event. Depending on the type of event, you can employ different strategies to make your event more sustainable. Although certain things can be done in almost every event to make it more sustainable. These include using a green location, less paper usage, waste disposal systems, eco-friendly event decor, and sustainable, local catering services.

How can conferences be more sustainable?

You can make any event, show, or conference sustainable. To start, you can opt for green venue options. If this is not possible for your event, hosting it virtually is another way to go. Depending on the type of event, a virtual event can reduce transport use. This way, your attendees don't have to travel to the physical venue, won't lose time on the way, won't use extra energy, and won’t create additional pollution for accessing the venue. Another way of organizing sustainable events is going paperless. Instead of printing marketing collateral, you can utilize technological methods like QR codes to reduce paper waste. Remember, most guests wouldn’t want to carry around printing booklets or documents. So going paperless is not only eco-friendly but also handy for everyone. Sustainable choices can also be made through transparent conversations with your attendees prior to the event. For example, you can have them communicate their food preferences and order only the necessary amount and type of food, creating less food waste. Sustainability might change from event to event, but the critical point here is to minimize the effect your event has on the environment.

What is the impact of sustainability on events?

It is known that an average of 1.16 kg of waste is sent to the landfill throughout a single event. If you combine this with the fact that more than half of the attendees travel by plane to reach the conferences, it is clear that the conference industry must take some action toward sustainability.

Why should my business care about sustainable conferences?

Conferences are significant and large-scale industry events in almost all sectors. By hosting a conference, you are showing your thought leadership in the given sector and making a connection with the industry people, academics, and sometimes even customers. This means a conference that your company is hosting is also your signature. How you handle the event becomes as important as what you are talking about during it. It’s important to match your actions with your targets and representations. Also, note that conference attendees are increasingly evaluating the events they attend not only by topic but also according to their sustainability. Due to this, offering your participants sustainable options is important to ensure that you can attract your target audience.

How can Intengine help my business with sustainable events?

Intengine is a place to keep yourself updated with worldwide sustainability and climate change conferences. You can either look for events in your area to attend, find out more about the sustainable event organization, or participate in sustainability events as a contributor, advertiser, and so on. No matter what you’re looking for, you can find out what is going on in your area through the Intengine's directory and get in touch with the events and organizations.