In Helsinki you have a destination in which we are proud of our sustainability credentials. Where we’re encouraging everyone to share their own best practices, to make more sustainable choices and where our infrastructure and services support a better way of life.
Embedding sustainable practices for events organised in Helsinki means we will improve our sustainability performance by minimising the environmental impacts and optimising the social and financial impacts
When designing sustainable events, there are several main points to consider:
Destination
With direct flights from all over the world, fantastic public transportation and 78% of accommodation with sustainability credentials – Helsinki has you covered from the start. The city’s infrastructure won’t just have an influence on your event but on your audience’s experience too.
Venue
We are encouraging venues in Helsinki to Think Sustainably and we encourage you to do the same when planning events. Choosing a venue location that is close to your accommodation, checking a location’s sustainability credentials and working with venue staff to develop sustainable event practices are things Helsinki Marketing can help you with.
Accommodation
Choosing certified accommodation is likely to fulfill many sustainability principles. Especially when considering the impacts these choices will have on energy and water use, waste and even increased emissions created by an event.
Experience Design & Communication
We want you to create an event ecosystem and memorable experiences inside it. Creating an event ecosystem is easy to form inside Helsinki, including the supplier networks and all the stakeholders. Clear communication about your sustainability requirements to your team, suppliers and audience will help not only inspire more creative decisions, but decisions that also reduce the environmental impact of your event.
Travel & Transportation
Helsinki’s compact size and efficient infrastructure creates opportunities to make more sustainable travel and transportation choices. Access to main event venues and accommodation are often within walking distance, and where this isn’t the case, it’s easy to make the most of Helsinki’s public transportation system.
Food & Beverage
The impacts of catering activities are generated by the production methods, transportation, packaging, employment conditions and waste management. As an event organiser, you have a great opportunity to educate and impress about your sustainability approach of the food and beverages on offer. Smart catering options can significantly reduce the carbon footprint – environmental and social impacts of the event.
AV & Material Production
As a general rule in events, most materials end-up as waste. Being smart about the way you decorate and communicate to event participants, as well as making use of existing systems and event elements, will greatly reduce the environmental impact. Thinking smarter about where materials are sourced, and how ethically they are produced will in turn help reduce the social impact.
Performance Documentation
Setting clear and simple objectives are solid ways of measuring the environmental and social impacts your event has had. Documentation will give you a sound foundation for meaningful storytelling and inspiring your audiences through your communications. Organising sustainable events is a continuous and long-term process: any targets you do not reach now will become the goals for your next event.
Read more about the Sustainable Meeting Guidelines here.
