What Can I do Differently?

The challenge of a green event planner is to look at all aspects of the event and say, "what can I do differently" to minimize the environmental impact. Lets take a practical look at that using a couple of recent events I attended as examples.

While having lunch with my conference colleagues, I noticed that each table had cereal sized bowls filled with toppings for our entree. There were 6 bowls on each table (2 of each topping) and they were filled to the top. After the lunch, I noticed that hardly any of the toppings had been used and I began to consider the waste. All of these would have to be thrown away. So I challenged my lunch mate to brainstorm with me about what we could have done differently. We came up with many different strategies, but the one that we decided would work the best was to use smaller bowls and refill as needed. Yes, there may still have been waste, but there would be less waste. By serving in smaller dishes, trays, etc. and replenishing often, we can reduce the waste at our event.

J