Summary of the main measures:
Guidelines particularly relevant to large events are indicated with a ♫.
Borrow or rent equipment wherever possible
- Avoid purchasing new equipment if possible.
Don’t hand out goodies
- Goodies are usually things people don’t need, and even when they’re reusable or eco-designed, they consume resources to make and are likely to be thrown away shortly afterwards.
Give gifts and prizes that have a low carbon footprint and support the local economy
- Consider handing out intangible gifts, items made by local artisans or organic products, for example. If you’ll be holding a contest at your event, let the winners choose their prizes.
Consider alternatives to t-shirts that will be worn only for that event
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- EPFL’s print center can supply decals to place on staff members’ own t-shirts or reusable
lanyards. - You can rent AGEPoly’s machine to screen-print old t-shirts.
- Don’t put the year on staff t-shirts so that they can be reused in following years. Select
t-shirts made in Europe with eco-friendly ink.
- EPFL’s print center can supply decals to place on staff members’ own t-shirts or reusable
Aim for a zero-waste event, and recover or recycle any waste you do produce
- Think about how you could eliminate nearly all waste from your event, such as by distributing fewer materials to participants and cutting back on packaging.
- Recycle the waste produced while you’re setting up the event. ♫
- Make it easy for participants to recycle their waste during the event.
If you must buy new equipment, choose the most sustainable option
If you require equipment that can’t be borrowed or rented, weigh your purchasing decision carefully and choose suppliers with Recognized certifications or Energy-efficiency labels.