Tips to a Sustainable Event

6 Easy Tips to a Sustainable Event!

1.  E-vite Your Guests
Emailing invitations saves paper and money, especially if you have a long guest list. If a printed invitation is an absolute must for your event, use postconsumer recycled paper or seed paper and give a phone number for RSVP's instead of reply cards.

2.  Serve Local Food As Much as Possible
Look for a restaurant or caterer that uses fresh, local or organic foods. If you're planning on serving seafood, make sure it's sustainably caught or farmed and low in mercury. Make arrangements with a local food collector to pick up any leftovers at the end of the day.

3.  Use Reusable or Biodegradable Tableware
Stick to cloth napkins and real tableware to reduce the amount of resources your event consumes and the amount of garbage you'll need to dispose of at the end of night. For a gathering at home, use your own dishes. If you have to go for the take-and-toss variety, look for post-consumer recycled content paper napkins and biodegradable plates, cups and utensils made from corn starch or agricultural waste. They'll degrade in just a couple of months in a commercial composter!

4.  Decorate Naturally
Try using 'living' décor such as moss, stones and succulent plants, or organic flowers instead of traditional pesticide-laden bouquets. Send your decorations home with your guests at the end of the night, or reuse them for another event.

5.  Dazzle with Energy Efficient Lighting
A daytime event held outdoors or in a place with plenty of windows lets you save big on energy costs and global warming pollution from conventional lighting. For additional lighting, use compact fluorescent light bulbs. They use only about one-third of the energy that regular light bulbs do. Look for energy efficient bulbs and fixtures marked with the Energy Star label. Alternatively use solar powered lights.

6.  Make Recycling Easy
Don't rummage through trash bins the next day looking for stuff that shouldn't have been thrown away. Make recycling easy by setting out clearly labeled recycling bins for items such as bottles, paper and cans.

If you impliment even one of these tips from your regular event routine you're on your way to positively impacting our environment.  Next event you do try to see how many more tips on this list you can use up and maybe one day you'll use them all!

-Nicole