Summer is an excellent season to plan a corporate event! It’s easier to use outdoor venues, enjoy fresh seasonal foods that help cope with the heat, and choose from a wide variety of activities in nature. For us at Italian Special Occasions DMC & Events, it’s important to incorporate green initiatives into our corporate summer event planning. We want to mitigate the carbon impact that gatherings and travel can have; we want to give back to the community and help preserve Mother Earth. How?
Here are our top tips on how to make your summer event more sustainable!
Seasonal activities and diversification
Overcoming seasonality is vital for a more even spread of the economic benefits of tourism. It also reduces environmental pressure on event destinations. We like to think outside the box and organise team-building activities not typically associated with summers in Italy, such as scavenger hunts in botanical gardens and winery visits.
What about those experiences that everyone wants to enjoy in summer? We can aim for sustainability by diversifying the locations where we organise them and choosing lesser-known destinations. For example, instead of renting boats in the overcrowded Cinque Terre, you can opt for a sailboat experience in the calmer and just-as-picturesque Gulf of Poets.
Another critical factor is to plan event activities for small groups of people. This is good for more relaxed, informal networking and alleviating the impact on the local destination or activity so that it is experienced but not consumed intensively.
Transport, event venue and accommodation
We check whether our event location links up with public transport, and – whenever possible – we invite our event attendees to travel by train or bus instead of cars or aeroplanes. This is one of the most impactful ways to reduce our carbon footprint when planning events.
Choosing an eco-friendly event venue and hotel or villa is also paramount. Do they implement any actions to reduce the energy and water they employ? Do they use renewable energy, offer bicycle rental, and recycle the waste?
Sustainability can go beyond the environment. It also embraces the local community’s well-being and the protection of its century-old traditions. For example, at Italian Special Occasions DMC & Events, we privilege authentic venues that promote local crafts and organise cultural events throughout the summer.
Food and drinks
We love to plan our event catering with locally sourced, organic produce and regional wines, beers and liqueurs. This way, we help the local community and small businesses while also reducing the distance the food and drinks have to travel to reach the event venue.
One great way to “taste” and respect local traditions is to design a menu with dishes that are typical of summer in your selected event destination. For example, although Italy is famous for its pasta, did you know that a popular Italian summer dish is the insalata di riso? It is made up of rice combined with fresh ingredients such as tomatoes, olives and artichoke with ham or tuna.
While we all aim for a zero-waste menu or to generate as little food waste as possible, there are often leftovers at the event. We like to make sure that the event venue has waste bins so that any leftovers can be composted, or we consider donating them to a local shelter.
Giving back
Going green is not just about cutting carbon emissions; it’s also about considering our impact on local communities and the ecosystem. As part of your corporate summer event, whether it is a workation, a retreat or a team-building experience, you can help with neighbourhood or beach cleanups or other forms of volunteering.
You can also help communities outside of the local event destination. For example, at ISO DMC, we supply our event attendees with reusable water bottles. The profits help the construction of an education centre in Kenya. This way, we are proactive both about plastic waste and education!
Do you need assistance in planning your corporate summer event in Italy?
Let us help you plan your sustainable corporate event this summer! What all our events have in common – in addition to being sustainable and compliant with Covid-19 regulations – is that they offer a different, pure view of Italy.
We are happy to offer you a free consultation. You can reach us via email , phone +39 0564 813 473 or WhatsApp +39 329 769 2116.
Sign the pledge: let’s work together in the Race to Zero
If our tips have inspired you, why not make them part of a pledge and join the SME Climate Commitment? It’s by promising to make small changes such as these that, together, we’ll reach positive results toward sustainability!
We encourage all our clients, partners and network to learn more about the Race To Zero here.
