Environmental consultancy Resource Futures has delivered a new 'Green Event Strategy' for Bristol as part of the city’s European Green Capital 2015 programme.
Working with Bristol City Council and sustainable events management company Kambe Events, the company has produced three guides (one for small events, one for indoor events, and one for outdoor events and festivals) that aims to integrate sustainability into site licensing processes.
The citywide strategy requires over 400 of the city’s events to consider their environmental impact by producing a green action plan as a pre-requisite for operating on council property.
These guides include checklists, action plan advice and explanations of processes to ensure organisers ‘are confident in their event’s ability to maximise its green credentials’.
For example, Resource Futures suggests event organisers should aim to:
- reduce travel and transport where possible, perhaps through taking advantage of public transport or car pooling;
- reduce energy consumption through assessing power needs and asking power suppliers to use enrgy-efficient measures;
- reduce water consumption by using water from mains where possible and considering banning the sale of water in disposable plastic bottles; and
- reduce the amount of packaging waste, by asking traders o use compostable or reusable cups and plates.
Resource Futures has also now secured a contract with the council to help deliver sustainable event training to another 160 events and organisers by the end of 2015.
Strategy is 'a blueprint that could be adopted across the UK'
Commenting on the project, Ed Cook, Consultant at Resource Futures, said: "It’s been a pleasure to share our expertise from within Resource Futures to Bristol 2015 and all its interested stakeholders.
"We think it’s extremely important to give back to the community. Training and information sharing in this way will have a long-lasting impact.
"We hope this will help to change behaviours and positively impact the wide array of events Bristol has to offer over the years."
Andrew Garrad, Chairman of Bristol 2015, added: "It's extremely important that we practice what we preach as European Green Capital 2015, and so Resource Futures and Kambe’s contributions will be invaluable to the hundreds of events that take place over the coming year."
Chris Johnson, Director of Kambe Events said that the guides provide a "blueprint which Bristol can be proud of, and [which] could be adopted across the UK".
Find out more about the Resource Futures Sustainable Event Guides.
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