b'SUSTAINABLE EVENT PLANNINGHow to prioritize the planet for your next eventby Mackayla EsseryY learning. Event planners need to bedeal with everything, everywhere, all You have a lot on your mind as an event planner: a budget to follow, anaware of the importance of prioritizingat once. endless list of tasks to check off andeco-friendly options. Events areMy philosophy and how I tackle so many calls you dont know howdefinitely one of the most wastefulit is just not [to do] everything all at to get through them all. Prioritizingindustries, and if we dont take care ofonce, says Kwon. So if youre going sustainability for your events might[our] planet, we cant have events into pick one thing, focus on that.seem daunting, but its actually easierthe future, Kwon explains. It comesKwon highlights a few specificand more cost effectivethan youdown to us preserving it for areas event planners should turn their might think. future generations. focus to first: travel, food wasteRomina Kwon, Founder and LeadCorporate events and conferencesand dcor.Sustainability Consultant for Eco- utilize services from many differentTo minimize travel emissions, Kwon Friendly Events, is breaking downindustries, from technology andsuggests companies look to local these misconceptions through herenergy to food and transportation.vendors and speakers for trade shows innovative business model. SheThese industries alone make upand events.strategizes realistic ways for businessfour out of seven of the worlds top and event planners to prioritizeproducers of carbon emissions,When it comes to food waste, she sustainability at their events and hasshowing just how unsustainableunderstands the struggle for event a variety of tips that can help eventevents can be. planners. You never want to run out planners make any event moreof food, but then you end up with a sustainable, no matter the size. ONE SUSTAINABLE STEP AT A TIME surplus, she says. Carefully managing When we can see the potentialRSVPs and communicating with EDUCATION FIRST impact of unsustainability, it feelsattendees about food needs are two The first step to hosting a morenon-negotiable to make a green effortways the planning team can mitigate sustainable event is education andwhere we canbut we dont have tofood waste.8 CORPORATE MEETINGS & EVENTS corporatemeetingsnetwork.ca'