Posted on February 8, 2024
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Conferences
Event Management
Wellness, social impact and more
Like many business sectors, the events space has been impacted by significant change over the past few years, and this evolution will only continue. We see several key trends shaping business meetings and events, which have an increasing role in how we'll deliver for clients in 2024.
Whether it's a conference, the company end of year party, or a business specialising in organising events daily, it can be easy to forget, or even push aside, environmental considerations in favour of having a good time, or cost! But just like every other part of a business's operations, events need to be considered when it comes to sustainability and environmental impact.
Let's take a look at what's driving change.
Sustainability is no longer a nice to have
In the face of growing climate pressures, designing events with sustainability in mind is everyone's business. The materials used, energy consumed, and the transport to get to an event contribute to event carbon footprints, with some estimates suggesting the event industry is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions.
We're seeing a trend towards a holistic perspective on what this means, with different factors being weighted and prioritised by organisations. Some of the aspects under consideration include:
- Using hybrid events to reduce the carbon footprint of attendee travel.
- Reducing single-use plastics at events.
- Exploring catering options with lower food miles, as well as consideration of options like vegetarian-only meals or more ethically sourced foods, for example, free range or organic ingredients.
- Using digital event collateral rather than printed programs.
Event ROI - Including Carbon Tracking
Calculating your event's carbon footprint can help you understand how your event contributes to climate change and what actions you can take to minimise it. These online tools can be tailored to different types of events and scopes, such as meetings, conferences, festivals, or exhibitions. For example, the Carbon Footprint Calculator by the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) covers transportation, accommodation, venue, catering, and materials. There are also calculators that can also cover food and beverage and waste. To use these tools, you can input information about your event, such as the location, duration, number of attendees and mode of transportation, to calculate your event's carbon footprint and provide a summary and recommendations.
Similarly, Positive Impact Events’ Circular Economy Toolkit helps planners discover materials they can substitute for sustainable options that can be reused, recycled or remade.
Wellness is top of mind
We're increasingly seeing event organisers wanting to include wellness elements in the event planning process. This can be as simple as ensuring adequate breaks are planned throughout the day and that catering meets people's nutritional requirements, through to adding in sessions on stress management, meditation, physical movement, and more. With mental health a growing concern for many people, we see this trend continuing to be prioritised by organisers and attendees.
Using Venues committed to reducing their footprint
Look for event venues such as Cliftons, which are committed to reducing their carbon footprint. Using a venue that uses renewable energy to power its facilities will immediately and positively impact the environment. Ask if the venue employs sustainability practices such as recycling and who actively looks to reduce their electricity usage.
Each year, Cliftons Event Solutions calculates how much electricity and paper each of our venues uses to determine energy and paper costs. Cliftons is committed to reducing our carbon footprint with the goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions on or before 2030. For this year, our winning venue, achieving significant savings, is Brisbane. Watch our team demonstrate how they achieved their electrifying result!
Another consideration is how easily accessible the venue is. A venue in the CBD with many public transport options is a more sustainable alternative. Also, if the delegates require accommodation, using hotels nearby will reduce the need to commute.
Putting the human first in event planning
This is spanning many elements. For example, inclusive design is a huge area of focus that benefits all attendees, not just people with specific access requirements.
Wheelchair accessibility tends to ensure more well-designed event spaces for all attendees. Closed captions meet the needs of people with hearing impairments and people who prefer to take in information visually. Quiet zones are fantastic for people with sensory sensitivity and people who need to juggle conflicting pressures and work at stages throughout the day.
Driving social impacts
There's also a growing recognition that events operate within a broader business ecosystem. There's an increasing trend to consider the impact of an event in the wider community through perspectives like:
- How can events work with local suppliers to support small businesses and communities? Will this event cause any inconvenience for local community members?
- How can events create lasting change for attendees?
- What are the employment opportunities, both short and long-term?
- What human rights considerations are there for this event? For example, are we providing equal opportunities for people regardless of disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender?
- Are our speaker choices reflecting the kind of diversity attendees are demanding?
Creating events with legacy
Finally, there's the recognition that events continue to impact long after the day is done. Smart event organisers are capitalising on this to drive value further, such as:
- Ensuring ways for attendees to stay connected after the event
- Publicising any breakthroughs from the event
- Reusing content in educational and marketing programs
- Providing on-demand replays of key sessions
- For large-scale events, this might encompass creating ongoing community programs.
- For businesses, it can include creating employee working groups on key topics or creating new internal programs like employee wellness initiatives.
Get your events locked in for 2024
Work with Cliftons to plan an event that keeps the latest trends in mind so you can deliver on attendee expectations and meet your business goals. We'll work with you to create something remarkable with our event planning and delivery approach.
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