Did you know that a one-day, 800-person conference produces more than 150 tons of CO2? That’s as many emissions as 31 cars produce over an entire year! This is just a single stat, but it’s clear that the events industry is facing growing concerns about climate change and the environmental toll of large in-person gatherings.
At Prismm Technologies, we’re turning traditional event planning on its head with our very own immersive 3D technology – collaborative, dynamic digital twins. Digital twins are virtual replicas of real-world spaces that can be customized and adapted to your event’s needs while capturing every note, task, and comment in a single platform, and we see this innovative technology as the future of sustainable event planning.
With digital twins’ capabilities, you gain the power to create more sustainable events, but users should be tackling the sustainable event planning process with a comprehensive and refined strategy.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps of creating a sustainable event, with some help from Prismm Technologies along the way. Get ready to plan smarter, greener, and with a lot less stress.
Designing Sustainable Events:
Step-by-Step
Step 1: Define Your Sustainability Goals
Before you dive into the event planning process, you should be setting some clear sustainability goals.
What does a “green” event look like to you? Do you want to reduce carbon emissions? Cut down on waste? Minimize single-use plastics? Or maybe you just want to avoid the whole “big carbon footprint” thing altogether.
How Prismm Can Help:
Defining your sustainability goals is one area where Prismm’s digital twin technology shines. By creating a digital twin of your event space, you can visualize your setup in 3D and experiment with different sustainable designs, be it for testing energy-efficient lighting placements or optimizing space to minimize the use of materials.
For example. Define some Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your sustainability goals. Want to cut waste by 50%? Play with design and material layouts to reduce the waste generated by your event. Looking to reduce associated carbon emissions from things like travel by 30%? See how much time and travel you can save by collaborating with team members and vendors virtually.
You can even see how various elements – from decor to seating arrangements – will affect your energy consumption and waste production before you make a single purchase or send out an invite. No surprises. Just pure efficiency.
Looking for more information on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that can help reduce your impact? We found this piece to be a good starting point for just about any business – especially those in hospitality.
Step 2: Define a Maximum Budget
Sustainability isn’t just about being environmentally friendly – it’s also about being budget-smart. Planning a sustainable event can feel like walking a tightrope between green practices and financial reality.
The key is to set a budget that facilitates your sustainability goals without blowing your budget on a single sustainable consideration.
Can it be done? Yes, it’s definitely possible to make a sustainable push and stay within your project budget.
Need more depth? Check out this article for some inspiration on how to save big on your next event.
How Prismm Can Help:
Budgeting for any event can be tricky, but with Prismm’s 3D event planning tools, you can avoid expensive trial-and-error and figure out what you need before you start.
Need to compare different venues or arrangements? You can explore them virtually before you even step foot in the space. Want to see how much space you really need for your guests? No problem, adjust the layout and explore different seating or decor setups – all in real-time and with other members of your planning team.
These capabilities give you a clear picture of exactly what you need (and what you don’t), keeping you on track to meeting your sustainability goals without sacrificing your bottom line.
Step 3: Choose a Sustainable Venue
This is one of the most important considerations you can make. A venue is the backbone of any event, and choosing one with sustainable alignment is a huge win. Marriott, for example, just unveiled a new program for event planners to measure and reduce carbon emissions associated with events.
Be sure to look for a space that not only offers a great location but also practices what it preaches when it comes to sustainability. Think green certifications, renewable energy, waste management systems, and more.
How Prismm Can Help:
You can use Prismm’s digital twins software to virtually explore potential venues and even see how their sustainable practices align with your goals before you make a decision.
Have a venue in mind? Use digital twins to optimize your layout and find the best design for the space – all without having to physically step foot in the venue. Plus, you can assess how much energy will be used, what resources the venue will require, and what waste you’re likely to generate in advance.
No guesswork here – just smart, informed choices that are driven by real-world events data.
Step 4: Source Local Vendors and Suppliers
Partnering with local vendors isn’t just good for the planet – it’s also great for your event and the local community it’s held within. Sourcing locally cuts down on the carbon footprint associated with transporting goods, supports local businesses (which is a great network builder), and often adds a unique touch to your event that guests will be more likely to appreciate.
How Prismm Can Help:
If you’re organizing an in-person or hybrid event in an area where we commonly operate, Prismm can help identify local suppliers and integrate them and their products into your event experience. Not only can we help you source vendors in your area, but we can also help you incorporate their products or services into your space and plan it with our immersive 3D software.
It’s an easy, fun way to bring local flavor to your event.
We even have plans to implement a sustainability network that verifies businesses and vendors using a standardized third-party system. Once that’s in place, it will become even easier to partner with like-minded vendors and drive your sustainability narrative even further. Keep an eye out for updates in 2025!
Step 5: Embrace Virtual and Hybrid Solutions
While in-person events can certainly make a heavy impact on attendees, hybrid events can also make a lasting impression. Hybrid and virtual events are obviously better for the planet than in-person events, and they can help you reach more people when your audience falls outside of the local area.
In fact, hybrid events have been shown to reduce the carbon footprint of an event by up to 94% in some cases, so it’s certainly a consideration worth making.
How Prismm Can Help:
With Prismm’s digital twins, you can design your event in a fully immersive 3D environment, allowing your attendees to interact with the event in real-time – whether they’re there in person or tuning in virtually
Our technology helps you design the event from the ground up, cutting down on travel costs, reducing waste, and making sure that the virtual and in-person experiences are seamless. If your attendees can’t make it in person, they don’t have to miss out on the experience.
Step 6: Minimize Waste
Let’s face it: waste at events can pile up quickly. But with a little creativity and planning, it doesn’t have to. You can reduce waste across the board – from food and decor to company swag and promotional materials.
How Prismm Can Help:
By designing your event virtually, you can see exactly how much material you’ll need and test out different setups before making a commitment. Whether it’s reducing the amount of printed materials you hand out or experimenting with reusing decor elements, Prismm gives you the flexibility to make smarter, greener decisions with far less waste.
Step 7: Measure and Report Your Impact
Once your event’s over, it’s time to measure your success. How much waste did you divert from landfills? How much carbon did you save by going hybrid or virtual? Did your venue really live up to its green certification?
By choosing an event venue that can help calculate these impacts (or reduction of them), you can communicate your efforts to stakeholders and the public. This is the perfect way to showcase your sustainability commitments and position yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
Want to take it a step further? Try aligning your event with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to make a more targeted impact. At Prismm, that’s been our strategy, and we encourage others in the events industry to follow suit.
With such a huge demand for more sustainable operations across all realms of business, measuring and reporting your impact is the perfect step to move yourself forward.
How Prismm Can Help:
After the event, Prismm makes it easy to report on your sustainability achievements. Using the KPIs you set earlier, you can assess the impact of every decision, from the choice of venue to the materials used. It’s all laid out for you – clear, simple, and measurable. Plus, you can use these insights to plan even more sustainable events down the road.
We suggest documenting your sustainability decisions as you go. That way, once it’s all over and time to compile your report, you have everything cataloged and waiting for you. Easy as that!
