In-person events are on the up globally, as teams look to connect in person again following years of digital fatigue. The latest data from IPA Bellwether found that event spend is the highest growth area in UK marketers’ budgets for the second quarter in a row. This resurgence is good news when you consider how impactful in-person events are for generating connection and belonging. However, it also raises the stakes for procurement teams who are expected to deliver more events while showing that each one stands up to increasingly rigorous sustainability and CSR scrutiny.
With this in mind, savvy procurement heads are now considering how to make their organisation’s events as sustainable as possible, without ending up with a substantial cost increase to do so. The good news is that sustainability and cost control are less at odds than they first appear, if procurement gets involved at the right point.
Unlocking sustainable event procurement
One of the biggest opportunities for procurement is to bring event partners into the conversation earlier. Sustainability shouldn’t be something applied once an event has already been designed – it’s far more effective when considered during the initial strategy phase rather than trying to reverse engineer. Procurement teams are well-positioned to encourage collaboration between marketing, events, HR/people, and sustainability teams to ensure that an event’s commercial objectives and CSR goals are aligned from the outset.
It’s also important to remember to look beyond carbon alone. Carbon is measurable and therefore tends to dominate the conversation, but it’s only one part of a much broader picture. A truly sustainable event considers environmental impact alongside social value, community engagement, responsible sourcing and the legacy it leaves behind.
Ultimately, every event procurement decision has an impact. Questions worth asking include: Can the required materials be hired instead of purchased? Can our event branding be designed for reuse across multiple events? Are suppliers local to reduce transportation emissions? Can merchandise be replaced with something more meaningful or even removed altogether? Are catering suppliers sourcing seasonal, local produce? Can digital communications replace unnecessary printed materials?
The earlier these conversations happen, the more options are available.
The 5 ‘R’s’ principle
The events industry has traditionally focused heavily on recycling, but that should be the final consideration rather than the first. Recycling is easy to talk about and measure, which is partly why it’s become the default answer to sustainability questions in events. But it’s also arguably the least effective of the available options, because it deals with waste after it’s been created, rather than preventing it in the first place.
In line with the 5 R’s principle of waste management, the priority should always be:
● Refuse unnecessary items altogether – such as single-use plastics or merch that’s going to end up left on tables
● Reduce what’s produced – buy and use fewer new items full stop
● Reuse assets across multiple events wherever possible – this is made more possible by looking at the event holistically and taking a view of all events that the organisation will hold over the coming couple of years, rather than in isolation
● Repurpose materials – for example, giving leftover materials to local charities, schools or community organisations after the event
● Recycle only when the previous options aren’t possible
All of this becomes very possible when you design with the end of an event in mind. Posing the question: ‘what happens to this item after the event ends?’ during the design phase changes the answers procurement teams get from suppliers and embeds circular thinking from the start.
A brilliant example of how materials can be repurposed post-event comes from one of our partners Event Cycle – a sustainable events consultancy that we work with to ensure sustainability is considered from the earliest planning stages of our events through to post-event reporting. It repurposed 15,000m2 of carpet from a large-scale conference into carpet for social housing in Glasgow. This kind of brilliant circular thinking can only be successful when the end of the life of a material is considered before it’s even purchased.
The importance of transparency, data and effective measurement
Knowing which questions to ask suppliers is only half the job – the other half is knowing whether their answers stand up. Procurement teams should look to work with suppliers who can demonstrate measurable outcomes rather than simply making broad environmental statements. Useful questions to put to suppliers include: How do you measure environmental impact? Can you evidence social value created? How are materials tracked after the event? What reporting will we receive? Can you provide examples from previous projects?
Measurement is becoming increasingly important because organisations want evidence rather than assumptions. Carbon reporting is essential, but organisations should also consider wider success measures such as waste diverted from landfill, materials reused or donated, social value generated, community organisations supported, local suppliers engaged, delegate feedback and commercial outcomes against objectives.
Ultimately, sustainability reporting should help organisations make better decisions for future events rather than simply measuring what has already happened. A report that sits in a folder unread has no value, but a report that directly informs the brief for the next event does.
Leaving a legacy to be proud of
With the demand for in-person events increasing, and sustainability and CSR requirements becoming more rigorous, procurement teams must find a way to make their events work better not only for the planet, but for people and communities too.
For procurement teams, the opportunity is clear. Getting involved early, asking sharper questions of suppliers and prioritising refusal, reduction and reuse over recycling doesn’t just produce a more sustainable event, but also a better-run one, with fewer wasted assets, stronger supplier relationships, and a clearer story to tell the rest of the organisation about the impact and value created by the event.
So, when thinking about your next event, pose one question to get the conversation started: “What’s going to happen to this after the event ends?” It’s one seemingly small question, but a very powerful one that has the potential to open up a much wider conversation.
Authored by Millie Killeen, client services director at The Chameleon Agency – a full-service creative, events and experiential agency