We’re all much more aware of our impact on the planet these days, so you might discuss eco-friendly events when you meet with an event planner. Planning a great event doesn’t mean you need to use endless single-use plastics or require throwing out a ton of waste. With some tips below, we’ll help you make some intentional choices for a successful and environmentally friendly celebration!

Choosing Sustainable Venues for Eco-Friendly Events

A great place to start is choosing a venue that values sustainability. Be bold and ask your potential venues what they are actively doing to help our planet. Ask who their suppliers or caterers are. Do they work with local and seasonal farms? And do they have ways of conserving water? The more emphasis on what they do to reduce the impact on the environment the better. If you want complete control over how eco-friendly your event is, consider a backyard celebration.

Go Plastic Free for a Green Event

Making some simple switches to plastic-free alternatives is an easy win for eco-friendly events. We’ve all seen the heartbreaking effects of plastic straws and bottles in the ocean, so swap plastic straws and cutlery for stainless steel, wood or paper.

Ditch balloons and opt for natural décor instead, like dried floral confetti or paper streamers. Rent glassware and dinnerware that can be washed and reused. Find out if you can buy food from a local farm that uses industry best practices. Make these choices and you are well on your way to an eco-friendly event!

Be Creative With Your Party Favours

A really fun part of planning events is choosing favours for your guests. Get your creative cap on and think about some small gestures that are both meaningful and something your guests can get excited about. Perhaps it could be something edible, like candies or gourmet snacks from sustainable sources and in reusable containers. You could also include customized, reusable bags or even flower seed packets for the bees! If you can find something that doubles up as a gift and benefits the environment, it will make you feel really positive about your choices.

Suggest Car Pooling or Travel Links

Have you thought about how you and your guests are going to arrive at the event? We all know that we need to avoid fossil fuels where possible to create a greener planet, so it’s definitely worth thinking about transportation. To reduce the number of cars being used, you could ask your guests to share cars. You could even give a small gift to the designated driver as an incentive. This will not only reduce the number of vehicles being used but will also make sure you have plenty of parking available too—a win-win for your eco-friendly event.

Alternatively, you could include train and bus links to your home when you invite people to plant the seed of attending without driving. The bonus here is that everyone coming can have a drink without worrying about driving.

Make Recycling a Team Effort

Depending on where you are having your event, express how important it is that venue staff and guests recycle throughout the day. Communicate by creating labelled areas and stations for your guests to place their separate items to be recycled. It could be for glass or even a place for composting your food waste. Explain that you would like everyone to be mindful about where they are throwing trash and not to litter. If you have already picked a venue with sustainable values, the waiting staff should already have this covered. Depending on the event, you may be handling clean up yourself; if you’re planning your event in Vancouver, you have plenty of places to recycle.

Share With Your Guests

You might have an abundance of food left over, or lots of arranged flowers sitting pretty that don’t deserve to get thrown out at the end of your event. Let your guests take things like food and flowers home, at their discretion. If people know they have permission from their host, it makes the idea of sharing much easier. You’ll feel much better knowing some of the things you’ve spent your money on won’t go to waste!

It’s become really important to do what we can for the environment and throwing eco-friendly events is a small part of that. Even if you choose just one of our suggestions, you can feel good knowing you’ve done what you can and enjoy your celebration even more. If you would love the help of an event planner, get in touch with us today and let’s create a forever memory!