Manchester-headquartered events and experiential agency, The Chameleon Agency, and sustainable events consultancy, Event Cycle, have partnered to prevent unnecessary waste in events.
It is estimated that the events sector generates over 100,000 tonnes of waste a year in the UK alone, much of which ends up in landfill. The organisations are urging the sector not to treat sustainability as an afterthought and instead plan it into events from the outset, using the rethink, reuse, repurpose mindset.
While the events industry has focused heavily on recycling over the past decade, experts at Chameleon and Event Cycle say this should be the final consideration rather than the first. The aim should be to stop unnecessary materials being used in the first place, and this is what the partnership between the two organisations sets out to achieve.
Millie Killeen, client services director at The Chameleon Agency, said:
โRecycling is easy to talk about and measure, which is partly why itโs become the default answer to sustainability questions in events. But itโs also arguably the least effective of the available options, because it deals with waste after itโs been created, rather than preventing it in the first place.โ
Event Cycleโs approach is underpinned by the 5 Rโs principle - refuse unnecessary items altogether, reduce whatโs produced, reuse assets across multiple events wherever possible, repurpose materials by giving to local charities, community organisations, or schools, and recycle only when the previous options arenโt available.
In recent years, the organisationโs circular thinking has seen it repurpose 15,000m2 of carpet from the COP26 conference into carpet for social housing in Glasgow; 110 pallets of wood that would have been scrap to the local community; and 2,000m2 of graphics into bags, pencil cases, laptop bags and boxes.
Over the last five years it has created over ยฃ3m in social value from the materials donated, supported over 1000 charities, community groups and social enterprises, and saved almost 250 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from items not going to landfill.
Chantal Kerr-Sheppard, founder of Event Cycle, said:
โThe events sector is one of the most temporary - and often most wasteful - in the world. Our philosophy is that the best waste is the waste you never create in the first place. Prevention is better than the cure, so we must be designing events with their end in mind.
โWeโre proud to partner with forward thinking events organisations like Chameleon to help brands and organisations deliver impactful, sustainability led events that will not only engage their audiences but also leave a legacy long after the event ends, as well as provide increased social value.โ
The partnership comes as the UK & Ireland prepare to host the Euros in Summer 2028.
With brands, host cities and rights holders already scoping out events, activations and fan experiences, Chameleon and Event Cycle are urging them to think about the footprint these events will bring and how they can make them as kind as possible to people and the planet.
Killeen continued:
โA home tournament is a huge opportunity, and organisations are right to want to capitalise on it, but a tournament of that size also leaves a huge footprint โ quite literally, in terms of the sheer amount of temporary structure, signage and merchandise that gets built for just a few weeks of activity. The brands and cities that get this right will provide not only great fan experiences but also have something to show for it in 2029 that isn't the bottom of a skip.โ
