For the event industry, sustainability is no longer just a buzzword—it's a responsibility. Event planners are now faced with new challenges:
- Corporate Travel Restrictions: Today, as corporate travel practices face intense scrutiny, securing approval for sending multiple employees to events is more challenging.
- Sustainability Scrutiny: Events are now evaluated based on their comprehensive environmental impact. Token claims about environmental neutrality are more likely to draw scorn than appreciation. Events involve a lot of air travel and there is no getting around it.
These two challenges are a real issue for Event Planners, but that does not have to mean defensiveness. Event planners should pivot towards environmental arguments that embrace sustainability while maximizing efficiency. Here's how:
- The real offset for B2B events: Business events are a meeting marketplace - concentrating hundreds, possibly thousands, of business engagements into a specific time and place. A well-run event can save 5 business trips in the future by eliminating the need for separate trips to see a single client. By allowing attendees to interact with all their clients in one location and avoid future travel, the net environmental impact from the event can be positive.
- Embrace Virtual Technology: Increasingly there will be attendees who simply cannot attend because of corporate travel restrictions. These attendees should be embraced rather than badgered. Any event that claims environmental sensitivity, without offering any kind virtual experience to attendees can be rightly accused of hypocrisy. Virtual booths don’t work - we know this - but virtual keynotes and breakouts work fine. And so do virtual 1x1 meeting programs.
- To be credible - we would suggest actually running a proper 1x1 meetings program - so that there is evidence to point to. MeetMax was just used in April for an event with over 16,000 individual meetings. That’s a lot of business travel saved.
- Incorporate some webcasting and a well-run hybrid meeting program and you have yourself a credible virtual experience. Your overall attendee number will rise. Leads from virtual breakout views, and extra 1x1 meetings will delight your sponsors and exhibitors.
The bottom line: Sustainability isn't about feeling good, it's about doing good. By strategically positioning your event towards reducing travel to individual locations, you can make a real difference. That is something to boast about.
Ready to transform your event strategy for a greener future? At TWST Events, we specialize in crafting focused, results-oriented events that minimize environmental impact, including virtual breakouts and 1x1 virtual meetings. Let's chat about how we can help you achieve your sustainability goals.
