Conferences are an imperative part for effective facilitation of business. Effectively conveying and discussing KRAs, targets, methodology, plans, etc calls for a conference. These provide a perfect platform for exchange of ideas, brain storming and decision making.
Adopting means other than conferences has many disadvantages like messages getting lost in transition, distortions in understanding motives, failure in direct feedback collection, etc. Above all, establishing contact individually with widely spread team members can become a cumbersome process. Conferences overcome all these disadvantages and saves time and energy by allowance of addressing concentrated congregation at one time.
Though business houses are preferring webinars and online conferences, the utility and importance of traditional conferences is not yet ruled out. However, with environmental awareness and corporate social responsibility coming to a mainstay, adoption of green conferences that are a saver on carbon footprint is the need of the hour and earth.
How to design a green conference?
- Paperless invitations: Gone are the days of printed invitations. Printouts are finding their place in the pages of history. Lightening fast emails, newsletters and SMS are a norm. They save paper, consume less energy and utilize already existing mediums to travel across, thereby leaving no carbon footprints of their own.
- Grouped gatherings: Instead of arranging a big conference at a place that demands delegates to travel all across; regrouping and arranging three to four regional conferences will save on carbon footprint in terms of fossil fuel consumption per head.
- On site accommodation: If the conference period is long enough to require delegates to stay overnight or for a couple of days; then arrange accommodation as close as possible to the conference venue to avoid travelling by gas guzzling vehicles. Otherwise, arrange for mass transports like buses to covey to the venue.
- Open venue: Conferences held outdoors in a daytime will do away with artificial illumination and ventilation, and incur minimal electricity consumption. In case indoors are a must, look out for a venue that has plenty of windows or glass panels to allow for natural light and ventilation.
- Electronic material: Kill your urge to distribute printed booklets, leaflets, brochures, etc. Send them via email in advance or after the event. Do not distribute CDs either. They contribute to e-waste after loading onto PCs.
- Platter matter: How about offering altogether vegan menu with organic ingredients cooked with bio-fuels? It may not please your guests but certainly will please our planet.
- Don’t stick to plastic: Your conference should be a no plastic zone. Don’t supply water in plastic bottles, eatables wrapped in plastic or use-and-throw plastic plates. If you must, then ensure that these land up in recycle bin.
It’s the matter of getting started with the first conference. Initiate delegates to propose green ideas and soon it will be a norm greener than expected.
