Green Event Guide

Thanks for planning sustainability into your event!


This Green Events Guide is designed to help individuals and groups who typically volunteer, without the services of a professional event planner, to put on sustainable events at a community scale. It will help you by:
  • Guiding planning for you and your team with simple forms and a Planning Tool;

  • Addressing event elements from venue to vendors, transportation to food;

  • Laying out a range of sustainable choices; 

  • Defining green options useful for schools, churches, businesses and social groups, attended by adults and youth.   


Why Green?

Sustainability is really old-fashioned values coming around again: 
  • Reducing waste in every way possible: 

  • Valuing people, the planet, and our pocketbooks;

  • Buying locally to support community businesses,

  • Strengthen relationships with our neighbors  
 		     
Making Green Work For Your Event

Step 1: Identify your green goals

Step 2: Start Planning!
  • Review action options in the Green, Greener, Greenest framework

  • Use the Planning Tool to create a customized
    list of actions for your event
Step 3: Engage your committee to make it work

Step 4: Measure Your Success

Planning Options: Explore the Green, Greener, Greenest Framework

This framework addresses all the key elements involved in planning events, providing green options for going green in each key element. From just getting started to going all in on Green, this framework presents a multiple options for anyone to include in their event planning process.

Click on each area on the event map below to explore the range of green event planning possibilities! 

 Areas of focus include:

  • Food and Food Service
  • Communications and Event Materials
  • Housing
  • People
  • Transportation
  • Venue
  • Vendors 

While you explore the focus areas, identify the elements involved in your event, evaluate the Green options, and make the choices that work best for you. Select the "Welcome to Our Banner" area on the map to download a complete copy of the Green, Greener, Greenest framework. 

After you are done exploring, use the free, online Planning Tool to create a customized Green goal checklist for your event. 

Additional Planning Resources
Planing Tool | Plan Your Event: Create Your Customized Green Event Goals
Use this tool to set specific goals for your upcoming green event. Select the right focus area, goals, and green event planning options that are right for your event. Use this customized goal list to organize your committee, track progress, and help make decisions including venue, vendors, transportation, food, communications and event materials, housing, and people. 
 
Questions to Inspire Green Event Planning 
Sustainability starts with how we think about our choices and the decisions we make every day. Considering these questions, in light of your event's audience, purpose and resources, can help you evaluate which choices will work for your events from the many green measures detailed in this guide. 
 
Green, Greener, Greenest Framework
Download a pdf of the complete Green, Greener, Greenest framework and explore green options for planning your event.  
 
Committee Action Tasks Worksheet
Use this simple worksheet to organize your green event including identifying goals, actions steps, responsible person, timeline, and additional comments. 
 
Sample Metrics: Measure Your Success
From tracking the percentage of waste material recycled instead of sent to the landfill, to shrinking the "footprint" of a whole event, it's important to be able to show results and measure your success. When people realize the impact of their efforts, they're much more likely to try a Greener challenge next time. Use this resource to help explore options for planning to track and measure the successes of your green event. 
 
Models for Soliciting Bids or Proposals 
Sometimes when planning an event you have to seek bids or proposals for activities, services, venues, etc. Use these lists of green elements, as needed, in any request for service bids or proposals. Being specific about your green expectations will help you get the best sustainable benefits from waste haulers, event venues, accommodations, caterers and other providers of event-related services. 
 
Green Event Glossary
Not sure what something means? Want to learn more about green event planning? Visit our Green Event Glossary to learn more about the what-why-how of topics mentioned throughout the Green Event Planning Options Menu. Dig a littler deeper into the details of sustainable measures you may want to pursue to better understand the options available. This knowledge can help your whole event planning committee make the most sensible sustainable decisions for your event. 
 
Greening Your Events Webinar 
 Not sure where to get started? Watch this 1-hour webinar to get started. The "Greening Your Event" webinar was recorded on 10.27.2017 and demonstrates how to use the Greeneventguide.net resource in planning your event. Learn a little about the history of the project and gain important insight in how to use all the resources this online resource has to offer. 
   Contact us today at greenresources@mobot.org or (314) 577-0246.
   

 

GreenEventGuide.net and the Green, Greener, Greenest framework were developed by the EarthWays Center of the Missouri Botanical Garden. This website was developed under Assistant Agreement No. 97759801 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  It has not been  formally reviewed by EPA.  The views expressed are solely those of EarthWays Center and EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned.