Four Tips to Throw a Sustainable and Stylish Corporate Event
Being as sustainable as possible is a foundational belief at Bash Creative. No matter how small or large, your next event will have an impact on the condition of our planet, so now is the time to be diligent about making choices that respect it. The good news is that throwing a sustainable bash does not mean compromising style or functionality.
How to plan a sustainable event? Step one: Start where you are. Take an eco-inventory of key aspects of your event like waste management, food and drink, travel, and partners. See where you can improve and take note of what’s already working. Having a look at one aspect at a time helps make this process much more feasible.
Here are four tips for sustainable event management from experts that know how to get the job done!
Keeping guests hydrated with Boxed Water at a Bash event / Photo by Chloe Jackman
1. Eliminate single-use plastics.
Looking for a sustainable way to keep your guests hydrated? Ditch the plastic water bottles for boxed water, canned water or bring in filtered taps. At a recent event, we filled our venue with Flowater stations, containing the best tasting, healthiest water on the planet, sans the plastic bottles!
Commit to saying no to plastic cutlery and drinkware in favor of more planet-friendly vessels like glass or compostable cups and washable, bamboo or compostable cutlery. If straws are a must, there are bamboo or paper or compostable options that are really attractive - and no, they don’t all start to decompose mid-use.
Guests arrive sustainably via rideshare at a corporate Bash event / Photo by Chloe Jackman
2. Reduce your event’s carbon footprint.
One of the biggest, but perhaps most often overlooked, environmental culprits within event production is the carbon produced from air and ground travel getting guests and production equipment to and from the event, as well as all the energy it took to produce the event. To plan a sustainable event, this is a fundamental aspect to consider.
If you are planning a large event, consider setting up a rideshare option to transport your guests.
Another simple way to offset your carbon footprint is to offer more vegetarian dishes, as meat production is one of the largest producers of carbon emissions (huge applause to the 2020 Golden Globes showrunners for going completely vegan this year!) .
Finally, use your purchasing power to support sustainably grown and sourced food producers. Supporting local, small business is always in style!
Zero waste at a Bash non-profit fundraiser / photo by New Revolution Media
3. Manage event waste.
Our home of San Francisco is really leading the pack in this one, with amount of waste numbers far below all other US cities. In 2009, we became the first US city to implement a mandatory composting law in addition to our recycling mandate. In turn, SF diverts around 80% of waste to landfills, with other cities like NY diverting 21%.
Taking a tip from SF, make effective waste management a priority. Offer plenty of recycling and composting bins around your event. To better help guests properly dispose of waste, bins should have labels showing what items go where.
If you have leftover food and drink, donate them to a local shelter or nonprofit. Platforms like Goodr, make it easy to do the right thing when it comes to food waste - with metrics to show for your stakeholders as well!
Our sustainable coffee partner Spero serves a fair-trade latte in a compostable cup at a corporate Bash event / Photo by New Revolution Media
4. Pick partners who also preserve the planet.
Sustainable event management involves sourcing beverage and catering companies who also are a part of the sustainability movement. For your next event, have a look at the company’s sustainability efforts. For example, a coffee company we love to work with, Spero, provides sustainably and ethically sourced coffee. Picking partners who are aligned with your sustainability efforts has great ripple effects.
Planning a sustainable event takes a little extra dedication and attention to detail, but these efforts will have great effects on the preservation of our planet... and can still be a stunner!
Guests at a sustainable ocean fundraiser hosted by Bash Creative / Photo by Chloe Jackman
Ready To Throw A Sustainable Bash?
Bash Creative is an event planning company that specializes in incredible gatherings that go beyond just great design. We’re known for teasing out smart goals for your event and serve up a stylish execution that will keep your guests buzzing. Located in San Francisco, but often found in New York, Austin, Chicago, Seattle, and beyond.