10 Tips for Ecofriendly Hosting: Green Your Event

Green your event, recycle

Participants of the DYSoC 2010, a green event organised by Delhi Greens at NMML.

With the green wave going strong, more and more people are adopting an Ecofriendly lifestyle. Innovating ways are being searched by many for keeping their ecological footprint low to help the Planet. One aspect of daily life which has a tendency to increase the footprint is the hosting of events, be it social gatherings, conferences, seminars or parties. There is therefore a lot of talk about making events green and consumption neutral.

We share with you the following green tips to help you green your events and help save our environment starting this New Year!

Choose event location wisely

Select an event venue which is convenient for guests to commute by public transport (Metro, Bus) or on foot. If the event venue is not your home/office, make sure you do some research in which parts of the city your guests are coming from and choose a location accordingly.

Send e-vites and choose e-promotion

Send invites using email/ SMS and save paper in the process. This will help save trees and keep the Planet green. Event promotion may also be carried out using New & Social media, radio broadcasts and placing ads in newspapers. Minimize the use of paper.

Ask for gifts wrapped in newspaper

If you are expecting your guests to bring you gifts 😉 , do remember to add a note in your e-vite asking them to not wrap gifts in plastic or shiny paper. Gifts can be wrapped in newspapers or used papers.

Decorate creatively, avoid plastic

Use recycled or reusable material for decoration purposes and avoid the use of plastic to a bare minimum. You can also promote ‘waste-to-wealth’ approach which is a source of revenue for certain grassroots organisation working on waste.

Be an Energy Efficient Star-Host

Keeping the lighting low and choosing a venue which has natural lighting helps save energy to a great extent. You can host events out in the sun during winters. Ensure projectors and other equipments are turned off when not required.

Inaugurate with planting a tree

Or by watering a plant. If your event is a landmark one, or is the beginning of a new phase of your life/ work, you can begin it by planting a tree. If the event is in the inside of a building, you can inaugurate it by watering a plant.

Provide water smartly

While you must ensure that water is available to the guests in required volume, it is equally important to ensure minimum wastage of water and that glasses are made available instead of plastic cups. These can be cleaned which also helps generating employment.

Organise food wisely

Order food only after getting a good idea of the quantity required. Try to arrange for organic food and avoid packed food material altogether. Ensure only locally available food material is provided to keep the event footprint low.

Recycle badges and conference kits

If your event requires to give kits and badges to the participants, make sure these are made from recycled paper and are collected after the event for reuse/recycling.

Give away plant saplings as return-gifts

What could be a better return-gift then to give a plant sapling which grows with time and reminds your guests about the event long after it has taken place. Spread the greens!

And an extra one

Educate and make your staff, helpers, organisers and guests aware about why you chose to make your event green, and sensitize them about the environmental crisis and the need to help the Planet in sustaining us and the generations to come! Go Green 2011!

The following were general Green-Your-Event tips for various events. Delhi Greens has hosted all its events till date in a similar green & sustainable manner. For details on greening specific events and consultation, please write to contact(at)delhigreens.org

DG Correspondent

DG Correspondents are staff and members comprising writers, researchers and contributors of the Delhi Greens Blog team. Support Delhi Greens by sponsoring a post with your donation. Click here to Donate to Delhi Greens. Remember, it is in giving, that we receive.

3 thoughts on “10 Tips for Ecofriendly Hosting: Green Your Event

  1. Oh My God !! beautiful Girls and pretty smile on face. lovely posting for Eco- Friendly . interesting details shared in the post and i like your 10 tips for eco friendly . great your idea

  2. Thank you so much for these great tips. Something else that’s related to green and eco-living principles is this video I saw on YouTube from GreenopolisTV. The video recaps the top ten great things you can do for the environment.

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