Sustainability is vital to our culture; if it’s a part of your brand, make it present in all of your decisions, including meeting venues and office supplies.
A lot of companies are making more environmentally-conscientious decisions. The ways we can be more eco-friendly seem to expand into some pretty creative frontiers, like furniture and landscaping. One sector that applies to most companies is meeting or event planning, and this is an important opportunity to be consistent with your green efforts. Here are four things you must have to accomplish this.
- Information – Each venue amongst your choices will have a unique level of sustainability. From solar panels to a recycling program, hotels in particular find a number of ways to reduce their carbon footprints. You can ask the hotel staff for this information or try searching the hotel name with a term like “sustainability.” If you want to be really proactive, you can take this a step further. Make one list of local hotels and all the “green” amenities each offers. Then make another list of what you want to see at your preferred locations. Submit the request along with a list of other venues in the area that offer them.
- Group feedback & buy-in – To choose the right location for your event, you need to know what is most important to your attendees. If they’re staying overnight, they might care more about water and linen conservation. If it’s simply a meeting, they may care more about reduced plastic or electricity savings. Assess where they are in their needs. Additionally, once the venue has been chosen, send a message outlining all the great ways this facility supports the green efforts your company stands behind.
- Extra resources – if your brand aligns with eco-friendliness, make sure you offer other resources in which attendees can learn more about your efforts as well as ways they can make changes in their lives. (Just make sure it is created more as a helpful guide than guilt-literature.)
- Eco-friendly presentation & office materials – There is a lot of plastic used at meetings. Whether it protects sheets in a binder, is adhered to marketing literature, or even protects a CD-ROM, these pockets and pouches are available in environmentally-friendly materials. Companies like Vinyl Art offer a number of products that are:
- 100% recyclable
- Made from post-consumer material
- CPSIA compliant
- Prop 65 compliant
- CONEG compliant
- RoHS compliant
Supporting sustainability is a great way for any company to add integrity to its brand. To find out more about eco-friendly presentation materials and office supplies, contact Vinyl Art. We are a Minneapolis company that serves numerous businesses and retailers across the country. Call us at 800-569-1304 or email sales@vinylart.wpengine.com.
