Here are some tips on hosting a more sustainable meeting.
Thanks to the participants of PowerQuest who suggested and advocated for this page!
Pre-Event Preparation
- Email agendas/minutes
- Ask attendees to bring their own mugs
- Remind attendees to turn off monitors and other peripherals (like label makers, speakers….) before coming to the meeting
Venue
- Hold your meeting outdoors if appropriate/possible.
- Only turn on lights as needed
Transportation
- Use Skype, Zoom or other web conferencing to include attendees from out of town instead of driving
- Avoid single-occupancy vehicles to travel to meetings when you can
Materials Reduction Strategies
- Use recycled paper or electronic devices to make notes
- Make use of cloud computing (like Google docs, shared drives) to edit notes/reports
- Make notes on a whiteboard, photograph, then share with meeting attendees via email or other electronic method
- Replace hard-copy questionnaires with online polls and surveys
Catering
Food
- Inquire about which items may be local, and/or in-season.
Waste
- Request cutlery as appropriate
DYK? Food Services single-use cutlery is compostable. Please use compost bins for paper plates and single-use cutlery - Bring your own mug, and if that's not possible, remember that paper cups can be composted
Zero Waste (or close!)
- Remind your guests to sort their waste appropriately—or better yet—show them what items go where
- At a large event, consider having volunteers assist guests in composting/recycling
- Offer any food leftovers to others
Got another idea?
Send it to us at Sustainability@viu.ca. We’ll add it to the list.