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Sustainable Virtual Events
Organize carbon neutral events online
We want to ensure that our digital events are the most sustainable option on the market. We strive to reduce and offset our carbon footprint, which is caused by our employees driving to the office and our servers. Studies like this one by Nature magazine have shown that moving from face-to-face to virtual sustainable events can significantly reduce the carbon footprint by 94% and energy consumption by 90%.
That's why we partner with Plan A to account for our carbon emissions and offer our clients sustainable virtual events. Together with Plan A, we are sure to achieve carbon neutrality. The green tech startup from Berlin focuses on "carbon accounting" for businesses and will help us analyse our data to reduce and manage MEETYOO's carbon footprint and support decarbonisation initiatives.
We will account for and offset our carbon emissions
We will follow the following plan.
- Step 1: Analyse our CO2 emissions using the data from Plan A.
- Step 2: Create an emission reduction plan using the data provided.
- Step 3: Compensate emissions in cooperation with certified environmental organisations.
We use the sustainable AWS cloud servers
When you host an event with MEETYOO, you can rely on our sustainability guarantee. By using AWS cloud servers, we offer a green alternative that also stands for excellent stability and scalability. Why this is good for the environment:
- CO2 emissions reduced by 88% as data centres offer scalable environmental benefits
- We use 77% fewer servers, 84% less power, and use a 28% cleaner mix of solar and wind power
- AWS aims to use 100% renewable energy by 2030
AWS purchases and retires environmental attributes
Like Renewable Energy Credits and Guarantees of Origin, to cover the non-renewable energy we use in these regions:
- U.S. West (Oregon)
- GovCloud (U.S. West)
- Europe (Frankfurt)
- Canada (Central)
- Europe (Ireland)
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Organizing your event online reduces your CO2 emissions
If you compare sustainable virtual events with in-person fairs, the amount of CO2 emissions is significantly lower. With our CO2 calculator, you can get a first estimate of how much you can reduce your emissions by making your event digital. Just fill in some parameters to get a first estimate. We work with sustainable experts from Plan A to calculate detailed emissions that can then be offset by planting trees or supporting other environmental projects.
Result:
If you hold this event online, you will save:kg CO2
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Going digital to support the environment
Everyone knows that organising your event online is already a huge step towards CO2 neutrality. No business trips, no hotel stays, no catering, no big crowds at trade shows - all this reduces CO2 emissions (and costs) considerably. However, there are other things you can do to create a truly digital, eco-friendly event and give your marketing campaigns a green spin. Here are some of our sustainable event management suggestions!
Save the oceans
Joining forces with organisations that clean our oceans and rivers is a great way to show that you care about the environment and everything that grows and lives. It is no secret that plastic, oil and other types of waste destroy natural habitats and pollute our waters. You can work with reef protectors, water purification specialists and marine animal organisations to help improve the situation. Documentaries and awareness campaigns about the true state of our oceans are on the rise, so it is a good idea to educate yourself and share this knowledge and ways to help with your community.
Plant trees
If you are looking for ways to do something good for our planet and plan large-scale but sustainable virtual events in a responsible manner, partnering with reforestation organisations is the way to go. There are many organisations that are keen to work with companies that want to have a positive impact on the environment. You can find ways to sponsor city parks and green spaces, or contribute saplings to real forests.
Stakeholders and attendees will enjoy this new topic of conversation and you can use a tree campaign to spread the word about your event. Allocating trees by name to individual participants is also a huge crowd puller and a fun way to share the joy.
Safeguard wildlife
The extinction crisis is worse than ever. Global warming, pollution, poaching and other factors threaten the biological diversity of wildlife. Sustainable virtual events are a great opportunity to add a digital information stand to inform your audience and present a campaign where a fixed amount is donated for each visitor to the live event or something similar. There are many well-known organisations fighting for the conservation of animals and their natural habitat. Use the global reach of your virtual event to share your values with stakeholders and viewers and offer them the chance to contribute to your donation or increase the amount you pledge.
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How to organize sustainable virtual events
We are already implementing green initiatives in our own virtual events. We aim to be fully carbon neutral by 2022 and help our customers do the same for their events on our platform using sustainable event solutions. Here are some concepts we have already put into practice.
Planting trees for our community and offsetting CO2
When we organised our Deep Dive event series "The Future of Digital Events", we wanted to do something for our environment - so we decided to support a reforestation project and plant trees on behalf of all our live event participants. We partnered with Tree Nation to sponsor 423 trees that were planted in the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. This means a total of 67.68t of CO2 emissions offset! Our attendees received a thank you email letting them know a tree was planted in their name. These messages were also shared on our forest's official page. We will add to it in the future and continue to grow!
Planting trees has been proven to be one of the most efficient solutions to combat climate change. Through reforestation and conservation projects, organisations like Tree Nation can help restore forests, create jobs, support local communities and protect biodiversity.
Partnerships with NGOs for marine conservation
It is always nice to choose a charity that fits the theme of your event or a cause that is close to your heart. The Deep Dive series "the Future of Digital Events" had a virtual environment with a nautical theme, so we decided to use this platform to also draw attention to the protection of the seas and looked into collaborations with NGOs in that field.
Over the course of 2021, we partnered with everwave, Coral Guardian and Healthy Seas and donated several thousand euros to support clean-up efforts in areas of the ocean affected by plastic. We also added a multimedia library with information and materials about preserving the sea and its wildlife.
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Event experts about sustainability
Keeping the discussion alive and educating people on topics such as sustainable events and avoidable carbon emissions is key to a greener future. We have summarized some advice and thoughts from the event experts who participated in the panel discussion of our latest digital event with a focus on sustainability.
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"Current events must be thoroughly reconsidered:
1. Companies are part of the business environment and must address the climate crisis.
2. Climate research is a source of knowledge and solutions, but we do not use it.
3. There is a need for a common approach to tackle climate change worldwide.
Sustainability is a journey that cannot be made overnight. We must commit to this journey and help educate people on this issue."
Lubomila Jordanova
Co-founder and CEO of PlanA.Earth GmbH
Co-founder of Greentech Alliance
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"I would like to encourage event organizers and visitors to be aware of sustainability.
As organizers, what do you want people to take away with them? Does this require personal presence? If so, what can be done to make the event more sustainable? Can we do this as a hybrid event?
If we offer personal presence, we have to ask ourselves whether it would not be better to do it virtually. A truly strategic and deliberate approach is important for all of us and for all stakeholders: How can we maximize efficiency?"
Samuel C. Stephens
Chief – AB InBev Foundation
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"We need to define a measurement method for the event industry to show how sustainable an event is. We need to create a culture of transparency.
Customers and organisations are asking important questions, because they want to know how they can measure success, quality and sustainability. This is especially true for the automotive industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the IT sector.
So actually all major industries are aware of this and you cannot survive in the market today if you do not build the sustainability aspect into your event management model."
Gorazd Cad
Co-founder at CONVENTA
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"Sustainability will become more and more important. We will see that the bottom lines and the figures of companies will be affected if they do not take a sustainable approach, if companies do not show improvement in this aspect and in the way they organize their events.
We have already seen this happen in the construction sector. There is enormous pressure at the moment, so the events industry will not be far behind, because either the government will impose stricter conditions, or there will be governmental targets for more sustainability in certain sectors and services."
Adam Parry
Co-founder and editor of the event industry news (EIN)
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Phone: +44 20 386 888 83
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