Eventbrite Blog » Green

7 tips for hosting a greener event

Jack — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:23:08 +0000

From classes and conferences, to festivals and concerts, it seems like almost everyone is thinking about how to make their events more sustainable and eco-friendly.

We recently enjoyed a conversation with Dave Rochlin from ClimatePath, who shared these great tips for how eventholders can ‘green’ their events:

1: Set a waste goal and arrange for recycling. The more you can keep out of landfills, the better for the planet. With a little planning you can divert 80% or more of your waste. Make sure that you or your site/facility has recycling and compost bins available, and that they are visible and placed in the right locations. Choose recyclable and compostable materials and avoid single serving items when bulk will do. Getting rid of items like bottled water can actually save you money as well as reduce trash.

2: Watch your energy use. Energy generation creates greenhouse gas emissions that leads to climate change. Decide how much lighting you really need, and turn off equipment between sessions.

3: Think about transportation. How will attendees get to your event? If you can, select a location that is central, convenient, and accessible via public transportation. Aside from providing information on public transportation options, encourage carpooling. Travel is usually the primary source of emissions for events.

4: Offset your carbon footprint. Despite your best efforts to reduce, lighting, heating/cooling, food prep, etc. all use energy. As a rule of thumb, assume 20 lbs of carbon per attendee per day, or 1 ton of CO2 emissions for a 100-person event. You can offset this carbon footprint by supporting projects at ClimatePath for roughly $11/ton, or 0.10 per attendee. If you want to include driving miles, assume an additional 50 lbs per attendee (2.5 tons of CO2 for a 100 person event.) Visit ClimatePath for more information about calculating your event footprint.

5: Less paper, please. Events tend to waste a lot of paper, which requires trees, energy, electricity, and water. Print materials and handouts on recycled paper, and use both sides when possible. Encourage emailing or web posting of handouts rather printing them. Try to make banners and posters reusable. Ask vendors and exhibitors to take back whatever collateral isn’t used, rather than throwing it out.

6: Food and other sourcing: Providing local, organic and vegetarian food options is always appreciated. Less meat means a lower footprint. Ask food vendors what they do to be greener, to minimize packaging, and arrange to donate extra un-served food. For extra credit, ask for fair trade coffee and tea. It’s grown more sustainably and helps farmers.

7: Spread the word. Let your attendees know about your efforts, and ask for their cooperation. You’ll be surprised by the enthusiasm. You can make a difference, and event goers appreciate the effort!

ClimatePath helps individuals and businesses lighten their impact through sustainability initiatives, conservation, and offsetting. To get a “Carbon Neutral Event” badge for your event, visit: http://www.climatepath.org/wearyourbadge.

Zoompool brings easy Ridesharing to events

Jack — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:12:00 +0000

We’re very pleased to announce that Eventbrite users can now easily add rideshare matching to their events. By way of a new partnership with Zoompool, event organizers can place a widget on their event registration pages that facilitates carpool matching between attendees. Zoompool matches drivers and riders according to their travel needs and their personal preferences. Event attendees can specify their ideal rideshare partner by gender, smoker/non-smoker, even by degree of chattiness and what type of radio station they prefer. Awkward discussions about driving costs are also avoided, as Zoompool calculates fair cost sharing before each ride and processes the transaction between rider and driver as soon as a trip takes place. No money needs to be exchanged at the time of the trip. Event attendees can travel safely and enjoy the ride, knowing they are saving on gas and parking, and helping the environment and their community by taking a car off the road. To add a Zoompool rideshare matching widget to your event page, visit the Zoompool + Eventbrite start page and follow the easy instructions.

The Zoompool/Eventbrite integration takes advantage of the Eventbrite Developer Platform.

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The Future of the Hood

Jack — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:41:48 +0000

The West Village in New York City is far from the greenest place on earth. But, thanks to the efforts of Futurehood, a NYC-based non-profit that uses outdoor events to drive awareness of important community and environmental issues, it’s going to get a little bit greener. As part of a program called “GELL” (for Greenroof Environmental Literacy Laboratory), PS41 is slated to acquire the first full green roof on a New York City public school. Described as a planted oasis, the 22,000-square-foot roof will provide a laboratory for the elementary school students to study plants and nature, and will also help keep the school cool in summer and warm in the winter. Part of the budget is being allocated to the purchase of butterflies! To help support the greening of PS41, Futurehood is hosting an outdoor event featuring music, food and a rooftop presentation. All proceeds benefit GELL and PS41’s Greenroof.