Now more than ever, it’s important to be aware of our individual and collective carbon footprint. In-person events have a huge impact on the environment and the local area and event organisers should take the opportunity to measure and reduce their impact. Following your example, guests will appreciate the transparency and likely be more mindful of their own carbon footprint while attending. Choosing an eco-conscious venue is the first step to a low-impact event, like our Dublin event venue. Our selection of meeting and event spaces in Dublin range from boardroom and board meeting space to large-scale concerts and conferences. Contact us to learn more about our Dublin event venue.
Venue Location
Ensuring the location for your meeting is easy to get to will save organisers and attendees a lot of time and hassle. Our event space in Dublin is located in one of the country’s premier universities, meaning we’re well connected by public transport. More than a dozen Dublin Bus routes service DCU, no matter which direction you’re coming from. The bus routes to DCU are 3, 4, 9, 11, 13, 16, 16A, 17A, 33, 41, 41B, 41C, 46X, 103, 104 and 105. You can also get the DART to Drumcondra and it’s a short bus ride from there to DCU, ideal to stop for lunch or an early dinner before the event. If possible, organising event transport to and from the venue will discourage any other transport options. Discouraging guests from driving will facilitate a lower carbon footprint but there is car parking available if needed.
Environmentally Friendly Souvenirs
You’ll find at events guests really look forward to the freebies! Often, the freebies are pens, notebooks, and other useful but disposable items which add to the waste produced by your event. Even if everyone takes their souvenir home, if it’s made of single-use plastic it will eventually make it to landfill. Ensuring your swag is endlessly reusable and useful to the guest will make it more valuable and more likely to last longer. Consider metal water bottles, reusable tote bags, reusable metal straws, eco-friendly tissues and bamboo coffee cups as eco-friendly solutions. Stay away from branded pens, notebooks or anything that cannot be used again.
Go Plastic and Paper Free
Make a conscious decision to make your event plastic and paper-free. Reducing the amount of paper and plastic you bring to the event means there is less waste at the end of the day. That means no disposable pens, notepads, leaflets, booklets or literature. It means no disposable coffee, tea or water cups and no disposable swag for guests. Ensuring your venue disposes of any waste that is generated responsibly is an important part of choosing a venue. Don’t provide anything unnecessary and make all information downloadable and accessible for all online without the need for printing. Taking this step will drastically reduce the amount of waste produced by your event. Remember, recyclable waste is still waste!
Cater Responsibly
If you’re offering refreshments or meals to the attendees of your conference or event, it’s important to know where your food comes from. It is recommended, where possible, to serve organic, locally sourced food and drink, reducing the carbon footprint of your meal and allowing full transparency with the attendees. Offer vegan and vegetarian options as needed and give people the option to customise their meals to include what they like. Reduce food waste by taking food orders and only serving enough to cover the number of attendees. A responsible conference venue can help with this. Provide a water cooler with paper cups instead of plastic bottles of water and encourage attendees in advance to bring their own water bottles.
Dublin Event Venue
At DCU, we take the environment seriously. We embed sustainability at the core of our university, carrying the message through all of our operations including meetings and events. Sustainability is an urgent priority for us and we are dedicated to making changes on individual and systemic levels. We are reducing our energy use and our environmental impact across campus and educating every person who uses the campus to do the same. We provide conference venues and event space across our 3 campuses in Glasnevin, All Hallows and St Patrick’s. Our meeting rooms and conference venues can accommodate anything from 5 to 1200 attendees. Each meeting is overseen by a designated event manager who will assist you on your conference journey including reducing your event’s environmental impact.
Contact us today to learn more about hosting a more sustainable event in DCU.
