How to Make Your Event Carbon Neutral
Events create positive momentum in industries and form personal relationships with colleagues. By hosting a carbon neutral event, attendees, investors, and other event stakeholders can feel better about attending and supporting an event that is operating in a responsible way. A carbon neutral event means that efforts have been made to measure, reduce, and offset emissions resulting from event activities.
Measure Your Event’s Carbon Footprint
Measuring the carbon footprint of an event can help event organizers identify opportunities to reduce emissions and operating costs. The process involves identifying emission sources related to event activities, establishing a clear boundary, and gathering activity data from event venues, delegates, vendors, caterers, and waste haulers. The carbon footprint of an event typically includes:
- Energy consumption
- Delegate travel
- Accommodation
- Food and beverage
- Waste
- Paper (marketing and publication materials)
Reduce Your Event’s Carbon Footprint
The second (and most important) step is to identify and implement solutions to reduce emissions. Green Event Guides are one of the many tools event organizers can use to create action plans and plan reductions from the beginning.
- Set and communicate clear sustainability goals
- Select energy-efficient venues
- Develop a zero-waste plan
- Create a low-carbon menu
- Offer low-carbon transportation
- Support local and Indigenous-owned businesses
Offset Emissions & Go Carbon Neutral
After emissions have been reduced as much as possible, offsets can be purchased equal to the remaining unavoidable emissions to become carbon neutral. To certify an event as carbon neutral, the carbon footprint should be reviewed by a third-party to ensure that emissions were calculated correctly, and that the appropriate number of offsets were purchased. Offset purchases help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy and fund projects such as wind farms, waste heat recovery, and reforestation projects that would not otherwise be financially possible. Support a carbon offset project that aligns with the mission of the organizing committee and go through validated offset providers to ensure that the offset project meets best practice standards.
Host A Carbon Neutral Event & Conference
Events have a significant opportunity to show leadership in decarbonization and responsible business practices and while also leaving a positive impact on the communities they visit. Synergy’s Carbon Neutral Events certification offer a way to take responsibility for the impact of your event by going carbon neutral and focusing on green event practices.
