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Can Your Events Be Green?

When planning for an event, there are quite a number of aspects that event planners need to look into. From venue choices, food, number of attendees, door gifts and etc, event planners need to have a proper and organized plan to ensure everything is in place for the big day. Nevertheless, not many of us are taking into consideration the amount of waste we have generated or will generate in every single event they hosted.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

According to SWCorp, the total amount of food waste can certainly fill up 16 of the twin towers by 2020. Here’s another fact: Malaysians waste about 16,688 tonnes of food per day, an amount that can easily feed around 2.2 million people, three times a day!

Food waste has a great impact on our biodiversity loss on a global scale. Why is this so? When the demand is high, farmers need to invade wild areas to search for more fertile lands to maximize agricultural yields which then led to the loss of biodiversity. This can destroy the natural habitats for birds, fish, mammals, and amphibians.


So, how can you make your events greener and more sustainable?


First, go for a paperless invitation! In modern technology, everything should be just at our fingertips so sending your invitations via email or digital ticketing comes in handy. You can use an event app to disseminate an important notice to your guests. Stay close in heart even though far in sight.


Next, keep it local when you want to outsource elements that you need for the event. Try to do it locally so you can reduce the carbon footprint as you can cut down on transportation which is the added bonus to support your local community. Be local, support local!


By considering the number of attendees, you can estimate the volume of food required for the event. Take into consideration the event type and timing for activities and tea breaks. It will be much better if you can identify your guest’s dietary requirements in advance to prevent unnecessary waste. Be a considerate guest - remember to RSVP!


There are so many tips and tricks online for you to explore in order to make your event greener and it doesn’t cost you a fortune if you are smart. These ideas will not only benefit your attendees but help you cut down the overall cost as well while helping to save our Mother Earth!


While doing so, you can join our incentive program, Penang Green Event Incentives (PGEI) as the State is recognizing and rewarding the event planners, organizers, managers from private sectors, government agencies, NGO and community-based organization who have produced or hosted an event and taken extra steps to lower their environmental footprint, subsequently achieving sustainability. PGEI mainly focuses on the reduction of waste (solid/food waste), energy and water conservation before, during and after the event. For more info, please click here.



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