Sustainability is getting more and more important when planning an event or a meeting. Every little change can make a big difference in reduce the adverse effects events can cause to the environment.

Mila Shough, Conference Executive from Trinity Event Solutions, shares her 4 top tips for greener meetings:

Pick a Green Venue: Choosing an eco-friendly venue or hotel, with modern systems and technology will reduce your event’s carbon footprint. CSR policies and green initiatives are important when it comes to making the decision. A green venue I love is Silverstone Circuit – did you know they have solar panels that generate 13% of the venue's energy?

Locally sourced food: Transportation is one of the biggest contributors to air pollution. By choosing local food and drinks, you can reduce the emissions from transporting. Also, locally sourced foods are tastier and fresher.

Leftover food: We all know that there is always some leftover food after buffet lunches and refreshment breaks. Cutting out 100% food waste is close to impossible unfortunately, so where possible re-purpose excess food. Consider if left over fruit from lunch one day be used for breakfast smoothies the next morning. Or can untouched food be donated to local charities and initiatives? It may be beneficial to choose a venue which has partnership with local charities and donate the leftover food to them.

Sustainable activities: Take your team out for an outdoor activity. Organise planting trees or cleaning beaches. It’s even more beneficial to choose a local spot that theteam can walk or get the bus to. It can give an extra boost to event sustainability. A favourite destination of mine is Forest of Hearts, where delegates can do ‘Race to Net Zero’ and ‘Fruit Tree Guilds’ activities that help the charity, the planet, and also brings the team together.

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