Gathering hundreds of people together requires careful planning on catering. Well-organized coffee breaks and meals combined with in-between-refreshments are points that shouldn't be overlooked when planning a successful conference. But what is different when the catering should also be environmentally friendly - well, is it possible?
Real cups and glasses, not to mention the other necessary cutlery, napkins and tablecloths are the basic parts of catering for Solutions local, together - Conference. Locally produced food and drinks are also a must. The first contacts to local restaurants and other service providers were made already last year, and the latest one this week. They have all shown real enthusiasm towards the idea of a sustainably organized conference and have also expressed that "Nothing is impossible - just give me a bit of time to find out."
Cups and locally baked bread are the visible signs of environmental thinking. But where do the cups and napkins go after the coffee break is over? Or where was the flour or butter made used by the local bakery? We need to go to the origins when we think about the life-cycle of a product. Therefore the communication all the way through, from beginning to the end, is important for finding out the real carbon footprint. Very few have thought about it yet thoroughly. Are you one of the forerunners?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
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I think this is an important issue, to remeber to consider every little detail, because it is the little detail that makes a conference stand out. It is also important to remember to tell the participants, that the bread is locally made from locally grown grain, otherwise it is no use. I guess this is also an educational event, to show people that this kind of large conference is able to "teach what it talks".
ReplyDeleteA fun thing could be that every little item would state where it comes from, not only the food. E.g. this napkin is made by XXX in YYYY. Another fun thing that is that every participant would get their own coffe/tee cup (locally made) with its own little transportbag (locally tailored) at the beginning of the conference and everyone would have to bring this cup to every event if they wish to drink coffe/tee. This would require extra transportable washing stations, but it would be a fun and rememberable thing :)