DO YOU NEED IT?
- Do you really need to buy it in the first place?
CAN IT BE HIRED?
- Can existing products or equipment be used instead of buying new goods?
- Can you hire or share instead of purchasing?
- With some extra organisation and people power, can you salvage, store and re-use materials from your event break down?
PRODUCT’S CREDENTIALS?
- What are the products made from? What is the chain of custody in terms of sustainability credentials - labour conditions, toxicity, waste management, resource use, manufacturing process, raw material extraction?
- Is the product water intensive? Does it use a lot of water to get made?
- Is the product energy intensive? Does it use a lot of energy to get made?
- Is the product independently eco-labelled?
- Does the product meet expected standards of manufacture, human rights, and responsible business practice?
- Is the product manufactured locally and made from local materials.
- Can the product be recycled?
- Is the product made from recycled materials?
CREATING UNECESSARY WASTE?
- Do you need to hand out an additional 100 thousand promotional flyers at your event creating more litter, when different advertising opportunities are available?
- Can you influence participants, delegates, exhibitors, and traders to bring less disposable stuff, both reducing consumption of resources and producing less waste.
- Are your activities buying into the one-way flow of resource use, consumption and disposal?
ENCOURAGING CONSUMERISM?
- Do you need to have stalls selling useless items?
- Are the activities at your event promoting needless consumption to your audience?
- Does the product placement or sponsorship deals you promote less than responsible brands?
- Can you come up with a better way?