Sustainability, defined, is the long-term viability of a community. Sustainability has become a frequently cited term, which defines our ability to maintain or support a community process over time, making individual choices today that will positively impact our community tomorrow. Sustainability describes our capacity to improve or maintain our local community, making choices that are contingent on the availability of certain materials or conditions.

Examples of sustainable approaches include recycling, renewable energy, waste reduction, efficient water fixtures and sustainable agriculture. When creating an event in our community, we develop a practical approach where choice matters. Whilst it is not possible to sustain everything, sometimes the goals that we set are more important to our business, than the approaches and means applied.

When planning a community event, we bring the community together whether it be by our local farmers market, school fairs, our local sports events or possibly at a summer music festival. Sustainability for events means acting towards preserving the environment of which we live in.

As much as we all enjoy attending events, they often come at a cost to the environment with thousands of disposable plates, cups, water bottles, napkins and other items used throughout the duration of an event.

Plastic waste generated by events is by no means a new problem. At the end of an event, during the pack-up process we are left with lots of single use items, such as plastic straws, cups, packaging and disposable water bottles.

• Eliminating single use plastics
• Organising our waste management and onsite recycling
• Utilising public transport
• Choosing locally grown and catered-for food
• Providing sustainable catering

Deploying these principles preserves and protects our natural resources by reducing landfill waste, energy consumption and pollution too.

Reduce, reuse and recycle are foundational concepts of the ‘zero-waste’ approach. The zero-waste approach entails products can be reused, repaired or recycled back in nature or for business. It is by no means a new concept, and its origins can be traced back centuries.

Sustainable, cleaner event experiences help to protect our community and set a benchmark for the future. By meeting the needs of the present in a sustainable way, we are working towards assisting our future generations to meet their own needs too, to ensure that they will have a more safe and healthy community to live, learn and to thrive within.

Patrons are increasingly expecting events to consider their impact on the local area and minimise waste. In our quest towards zero waste, we develop our community as a more environmentally sensitive location for locals and visitors alike. By doing so we are promoting a more healthy and inclusive community and supporting our local economy to thrive.