I like to think that I’m fairly environmentally friendly both in business and in my personal life. It’s a tricky goal as you constantly have to weigh up the options and make decisions on what is important to you and what you can live without.  What frustrates me immensely is when environmentally friendly options cause more stress and more cost but with a practical open approach I’m sure you can save money, help the planet and still make the most of your events.

Events and exhibitions are wasteful - there is no getting around that fact.  However, in today’s society I think that they’re still a useful part of the marketing mix - when done properly and with sensible ideals.  I’ve looked into the virtual exhibition spaces and these just don’t resonate with me.  Events and exhibitions are about using all your senses and a virtual space relegates you to one or two senses again.  There is no camaraderie, no real face time, and I believe no personality.  

So if you accept that events can be wasteful you then need to outline your objectives clearly and make sure that you minimise your footprint.  Take time to evaluate what you can do to make sure that you don’t waste time, money and resources. You could bring in a ‘green’ consultant but that’s more money on your budget and possibly some hard truths that will just make you realise how difficult your task is.  Alternatively, how about taking an hour to be objective, think around the issues and talk to your suppliers about what they can do to support your environmental credentials. How about bringing your events and marketing team together to brainstorm what you can do to reduce your impact on the environment.  In this way you are looking inside and out to find good solutions.

Meanwhile here’s a few thoughts:
- Do you really need to print heavy expensive brochures?  People love to collect information at events but how much of it is stored or even read and how much is thrown away as soon as they leave the event?  Think very seriously about this and if you have to print something make sure it’s using  recycled paper and used effectively rather than with a scattergun approach.  Why not put your press pack or company brochures on a CD or a branded USB key?
- Plan your event schedule at least year in advance and work with your suppliers to find modular materials that can be re-configured for each event with minimal wastage.  This is true for exhibition stand walling and flooring as well as for branding materials.
- How are you getting your staff to the event?  This isn’t only about environmental impact but also your own budget.  Do you really need flexible tickets?  Can your staff share cars/take trains or other public transport to get to the event? Can you put a no taxi rule onto exhibitions? Particularly in a city like Amsterdam the public transport is excellent and a much better solution to sitting in a traffic jam.
- Remember every little action, multiplied by the number of people doing it makes a huge impact.  Take small steps and aim for big leaps.