With more and more companies focusing on their environmental impact and their corporate sustainability goals, plus the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, over the last 2 years a shift has taken place within the events industry. Instead of organising large-scale events in exotic locations, companies and individuals are increasingly choosing a more sustainable model by holding smaller or hybrid events and hiring local venues to reduce both their carbon footprint and that of their guests.
A fantastic way to improve your environmental impact, when it comes to organising an event, there are lots of advantages to going green. By making sustainability your priority, you can also make meaningful changes that will help keep your costs down whilst creating a memorable experience for your guests.. From choosing to make your event paperless, upcycling stands/decorations or renting a dance floor which uses human movement as a source of kinetic energy to power your lighting system, going green can help reduce your environmental impact in addition to having a positive effect on your budget.
When planning a eco-friendly event, finding sustainable service providers is key to ensuring your event has the smallest carbon footprint possible. One of the biggest problems faced by organisers is how to reduce waste without reducing your business impact. Traditionally, corporate events involve multiple single-use materials including invitations, menus, flyers, posters, plastic cups etc. However, with a little creative thinking, it’s easy to cut down on waste while still impressing your clients. Here are just a few of our sustainable ideas to get you started when planning your next event:
1. Go Digital
Instead of sending out endless invitations, presentations and information sheets when organising your event, why not go digital instead. By creating an event website or app you can send out invitations, give guests up-to-date directions to the venue, email event tickets and even create a QR code to allow your guests to use contactless check in on the big day, all at the touch of a button.
2. Shop Locally
By renting a local venue for your event, you’ll not only help your guests to reduce their carbon footprint, you’ll also be able to cut down on shipping and transportation costs by working with local suppliers. With lots of fantastic catering, decoration and entertainment options available locally, you can cut down on waste while helping your local community.
3. Ditch the Goody Bag
While giving your guests a pen, keyring or mouse mat during an event was very popular a few years ago, the times they are a-changing and these days it’s all about the virtual goody bag. Instead of handing out more single-use plastic, why not give out gift cards or discount codes for your products or e-tickets to your next event instead to make sure you keep your guests coming back for more.
4. Choose a Green Venue
One of the easiest ways to make sure your event has the lowest environmental impact possible is to check out factors including whether they offer recycling programmes, use compostable or recycled materials, use solar energy or offer any energy savings or water efficiency practices.
5. Use Sustainable Transport
To cut down on your carbon footprint even further, it’s important to make sure your venue is as accessible as possible to your guests. By renting a venue in a large city that’s easily walkable or has a great public transport system, you’ll ensure your guests can make their way to the event as sustainably as possible. Another way to make your event more eco-friendly is to provide your guests with a shuttle service to encourage them to share travel arrangements as much as possible.
NATIVE SPACES CAN HELP YOU
While it might not be possible to achieve zero waste during your event just yet, reducing your environmental impact is definitely a great place to start. To make it easier for you to find and rent a green venue, Native Spaces has now added a handy sustainable spaces filter to our website. Simply click here to look through our selection of sustainable spaces and to reserve the perfect venue for your next event.
To get you started, here are just a few of our green venues available to rent in the French Riviera and Provence :
Hamlet style village
Located in Cabris just a few kilometres down the road from Grasse, why not privatise this private hamlet as the enchanting backdrop to your sustainable event. A series of charming stone buildings set in a Provençal garden with a large open-air pool, this eco-friendly venue can welcome up to 75 guests and is fully equipped with an audio/video system plus WIFI.
Sustainable Wellness Farm
A magic space nestled between oak and olive trees in the hills around Saint Jeannet, book the Wellness Farm to host an eco-friendly event in harmony with nature. Give your guests the chance to regroup and refocus with a truly sustainable well-being experience including spa treatments, Shala yoga classes or cooking classes using produce grown in the Farm’s organic vegetable patch.
Beautifully restored Bastide
Beautifully restored by the owners, renting this stunning bastide located in Roquefort-les-Pins will offer your guests an authentic taste of the good life on the French Riviera. Dating back to the 18th century, the stone bastide boasts a chic all-white interior with multiple lounge and dining areas plus 1800m² of magnificent grounds including a private boules court, an outdoor kitchen and a vast swimming pool set amongst the olive trees.
Domaine de Glandève
If you’re hoping to reconnect with nature during your event, hiring this stunning domaine located in the medieval walled town of Entrevaux definitely ticks all the right boxes. Surrounded by lush greenery, the eco-friendly domaine puts the focus firmly on the great outdoors with several open-air lounge/dining areas, a boules court and a large swimming pool which offers guests panoramic views of the lower Provençal mountains as they take a refreshing dip.
Domaine entre vigne et forêt
The ideal venue to get you out of the boardroom and back to nature, this spectacular domaine is set between the vineyards and forests of Entrecasteaux in Provence. Designed for entertaining, renting the domaine offers your guests an eco-friendly alternative to a traditional event venue. Featuring a large outdoor swimming pool and spa, you can host up to 140 guests onsite in gites, tipis, caravans or Scandinavian-style wood cabins and the domaine can also provide wine-tasting sessions for you and your guests during the event.
Splendid Manor from 1830
Set in over 300 hectares of countryside just 30 minutes away from St Tropez, why not privatise this splendid manor house as a haven of calm and tranquility in Provence. The ideal space for a team offsite, the beautiful manor house is surrounded by forest which are perfect for mountain biking, quad rides and hiking. Visits of the manor’s impressive wine cellar plus wine tasting sessions are available throughout your stay and the eco-friendly manor is equipped with both Tesla and Classic Plugs for electric cars.