Introduction
Companies and Consumers are becoming more aware of how business operations and activities affect the environment. A survey on the impact of conferences on the planet found that 79% of respondents noted that their organisation stressed the importance of sustainability in meetings and events. According to a corporate social responsibility study 63% of global citizens want business entities to lead social and environmental change in the absence of government intervention. Additionally, 75% of corporate sustainability experts say that corporations need to focus on inclusion of sustainability in their business strategies to keep up with global environmental trends and requirements.
Virtual events not only have environmental benefits but are also beneficial for strategy and accessibility purposes. For example, by restricting travel to a corporate event it reduces the business’s carbon footprint whilst expanding the company’s reach and increasing accessibility to events for people are unable to attend the live event.
Environmental Benefits of Virtual Events
1. Reduced CO2 emissions
South Africa’s emissions (have increased by 41% between 1990 and 2017, but have started to plateau in recent years. The most recent emissions projections show that under current policies, emissions will decline up to 2030, putting South Africa in the lower end of its NDC target. South Africa will need to scale up climate action to become 1.5°C ‘fair-share’ compatible.
Increased CO2 emissions are one of the leading causes of climate change. Global warming has catastrophic consequences and includes changes in participation patterns, sea levels, severity of storms which pose a huge threat to the wellbeing of people and wildlife
The devastating KZN floods over the past months are testimony to that.
How do Virtual events contribute to combatting global warming?
The University of Birmingham found that a one day in-person event can produce up to 170kgs of CO2. Additionally Michigan University published a case study on virtual events demonstrating that virtual events create 66x less greenhouse gas emissions than an alternative in person event.
Therefore transitioning to virtual events allows companies to limit its carbon footprint.
2. Minimised energy consumption for lighting equipment and temperature control
20% of greenhouse gas emissions come from generating electricity. This includes electricity used in homes, offices and factories to power cooling and heating systems, lights, refrigerators, computers, and cellphones.
In South Africa many conferences and events are held in the summer resulting in high levels of air conditioning usage. This means that the energy usage required to maintain a comfortable temperature in a large event can be quite significant.
Additionally, in-person events require a lot of energy for lighting, powering audio systems and projectors and all technology and appliances used for production of the event and catering.
Whilst virtual attendees may still use heaters or air conditioning, the usage will be confined to small areas such as their homes or their offices and would conform to ordinary usage regardless of their event attendance. Furthermore, allowing and encouraging attendees to access the event on smaller devices such as smartphones or tablets will also reduce energy use.
3. Reduced Travel
Major in-person events such as large conferences or conventions attracts crowds from all over the country and in some instances the world. Whilst having global attendees at conferences can be hugely beneficial, air travel is responsible for up to 70% of emissions produced by a single event. Additionally transport by road accounts is also a significant source of carbon with it accounting for 15% of total Co2 emissions.
The United Nation’s International Civil Aviation Organization estimates that these carbon emissions resulting from air travel will triple by 2050. Air travel to events and vacations declined heavily since 202 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which was great for the environment. However, with the lifting of restrictions and reopening of businesses this low-carbon recovery would’ve been in vain.
Your business can aid in this carbon recovering by eliminating business travel through hosting and attending virtual events.
4. Less Waste
A study published by the Birmingham University demonstrated that a one-day physical event can produce up to 5.5 tons of refuse waste. Factor in that conferences last a couple of days meaning this metric can double or triple.
Plenty of in-person events use single-use paper and plastic items such as disposable cups, plates and utensils when serving food or beverages to the attendees. This generates a lot of non-degradable waste whereas virtual event attendees are likely to use their own washable dinner tableware and cups.
Additionally virtual attendees are likely to receive virtual invites and agenda’s that they are able to download making it unnecessary for the company to print agendas and information packs thereby saving paper.
How to make your virtual events more environmentally friendly
1. Minimise Energy usage where possible
Virtual events generate significantly lower carbon emissions and waste however they do still produce some form of both. In a case study Michigan University found that in a virtual conference, network data transfer emissions accounted for 64% of emissions from energy used to upload and download data. This is because data needs to be stored at data centres. According to the International Energy Agency data centres contributed to nearly 1% of the world’s energy demand in 2019.
Permit and encourage attendees to turn of their microphones and videos when they’re not using them. Whilst keeping cameras on during is a great tool to encourage participation and connection during the event, keeping them on throughout the event does use significantly more energy.
Additionally, being on camera for extended periods of time during a conference can be mentally strenuous and lead to increased rates of zoom fatigue.
2. Host a Hybrid event if an in-person component is desired
If you’re not keen to go fully virtual, try Hybrid events!
Hybrid events are a combination of a virtual and in-person event. This allows you to host a live event for local attendees whilst still limiting travel and CO2 emissions by letting distant attendees join virtually.
If you choose to still host a hybrid event, make an effort to serve food and beverages with reusable or biodegradable plates, cups, straws, and utensils to keep refuse waste at a minimum. To reduce food waste consider donating unused food and snacks to a local shelter or non-profit organisation.
Additionally, the company could search for event venues that can easily be accessed via public transport or arrange bus service to collect and drop off attendees to minimise auto CO2 emissions.
Keep printing to a minimum. In-person attendees should be able to access the virtual event site and download the agenda, event schedule and relevant information packages on their smart devices. Encourage the usage of the event site instead of reliance on physical documents.
3. Eco-friendly Gift Items
Although the event or conference may be virtual, there is a tendency toward mailing gift packages to the virtual attendees. Virtual gift packages are a great substitute if you are aiming to save money and reduce the business’s carbon footprint. Such gift packages could include redeemable gift cards, Skillshare memberships, Amazon Prime or Disney+ subscriptions. If the company is set on sending physical gift bags, it could include items that are environmentally friendly in reusable bags. Some options for these gifts include metal straw packs, high-quality reusable water bottles or coffee cups with the company’s logo. Whilst gift bags are tons of fun the company can be sure to send items that will be used constantly rather than discarded after one use.
Conclusion
Virtual events are an excellent way of integrating sustainability your events and marketing strategy by minimising travel, energy use, waste amongst others. Virtual events are not only a substitute to in-person events due to COVID restrictions. But rather they are an avenue to increase education, sales objectives, and brand awareness efficiently whilst minimising your carbon footprint.