Event Sustainability and Effective Practices to Reduce Negative Impacts

PRACTICING EVENT SUSTAINABILITY
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
March 8, 2023
As the COVID-19 Pandemic is almost ending, quarantines, restrictions, and other limitations are slowly being removed in almost every part of the world. Additionally, most events and social gatherings, which were previously prohibited, are now again allowed in public. However, the surge of individuals to these events has now caused a persistent problem to rise again: ' event sustainability.' This includes protocols, practices, and other methods to reduce the environmental impact of consumption and waste disposal. In this article, the author would like to focus on the concept of Event Sustainability and how to implement this further to reduce the environmental impacts of large-scale events.
Event Sustainability
Event sustainability has become a critical concern in recent years as the environmental impacts of large-scale events have become more apparent. As such, the need to address these issues has become more pressing. Accordingly, some of the most common metrics used by event organizers to measure the success of an event include; (1) carbon emissions, (2) waste diversion rate, (3) energy and water usage, and (4) social impact, to name a few (McCurry, 2023). However, these metrics require an actionable and practical method to be implemented. Fortunately, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) perspective can provide a framework for event organizers to create effective practices that reduce negative impacts and encourage sustainable behavior among event attendees (Kusonwattana et al., 2022).
The TPB suggests that human behavior is influenced by three main factors: attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. In event sustainability, these factors can guide event organizers in creating effective practices that will reduce negative impacts and encourage sustainable behavior. By doing so, they can make their events more environmentally friendly and positively impact the environment.
Minimizing Waste Generation
One of the most effective ways to reduce negative impacts is to minimize waste generation. One way to do this is to provide recycling and composting bins to encourage attendees to dispose of their waste correctly. Additionally, organizers can use reusable dishes and utensils to reduce the amount of single-use plastic waste generated. Fostering attitudes towards waste reduction is critical in encouraging attendees to dispose of their waste correctly. Emphasizing the environmental benefits of waste reduction and the potential negative consequences of not properly disposing of waste can greatly influence attendees' attitudes toward waste reduction (Janmaimool, 2017).
Encouraging Sustainable Transportation
Another effective practice that can be employed is to encourage sustainable transportation. Event organizers can offer incentives to encourage attendees to use public transportation or carpooling. Additionally, they can provide bike racks or shuttle buses to reduce carbon emissions further. Encouraging sustainable transportation can be achieved by leveraging subjective norms. By emphasizing the social acceptability of sustainable transportation and its positive impact on the environment, a...