Go Paperless at your Next Conference

How much paper do you print out each year?

Printing an agenda for a meeting with ten participants may not seem so bad but doing so three times a week for one year adds up to about 150 kg of emitted CO2 (which is as much as a flight between Stockholm and London). Add to that your recurring conferences, where not only program sheets are to be printed, but also information signs, maps, directions, speaker presentations, notepads, pens and much more.

You don’t need to be an expert to understand that this will mean quite a lot of CO2 emissions – and I haven’t even mentioned how the participants get to and from the venue.

How can you reduce your CO2 footprint?

We are becoming increasingly aware of our impact on the climate, in part thanks to Greta Thunberg who eloquently presents facts to world leaders and regular folks alike. Many of us experience climate anxiety, and many (both private individuals and companies) do what we can to reduce our negative impact on the climate.

When it comes to meetings and events, there is a lot that can be done to cut carbon dioxide emissions. By using an event app, one can easily and smoothly take the first steps towards neutralizing a conference’s negative impact on the climate. With the help of an app you can:

• Stop using paper all together – all information the participants need is gathered in the app.
• Throw out pens and notepads – participants can take notes in the app instead, which also means that important thoughts are gathered in one place and nothing risks getting lost.
• Cancel your business card order – all participants’ names, pictures and contact details are in the app.
• Gather presentations and powerpoints in the app, don’t print them!
• Promote speakers, partners and sponsors with banners, presentations, push notifications and offers in the app instead of handing out flyers, key bands, buttons or candies (which usually don’t taste very good anyway).
• Gather information about and organize public transport and carpooling to and from the conference using the app’s program, information and dialogue features.

Kantar takes the lead

Kantar, one of the world’s largest consulting groups, works with over half of the Fortune 500 companies and hosts a conference for marketing executives worldwide every year. Since they started using an event app at their conferences, they have not only reduced their CO2 footprint but also created valuable event experiences for their attendees. See what Kantar did at their last annual Breakthrough Summit, where they successfully went totally paperless and used an event app to distribute information and guide their participants.

These are just some of the ways that the climate can benefit from you using an event app at your next conference. Add to that all the benefits of how the app helps you engage and activate your participants, maximize networking and create more fun and memorable meetings – which you can read more about in other posts here on the blog.