Sustainable event checklist
City of Melbourne is committed to the continual improvement of its environmental performance, including complying with all
relevant environmental legislation and to the prevention of pollution. By continuing to identify and manage environmental
impacts, City of Melbourne will maintain industry leadership, deliver value to the community, help ensure longevity and reduce
running costs.
Energy efficiency
Before the event
☐ Create an Energy Efficient Plan to reduce consumption, improve energy efficiency and reduce the
environmental impact.
☐ Use a venue that is powered by 100% GreenPower.
☐ Use renewable energy where possible or fuel-saving biodiesel generators.
☐ Choose suppliers that can provide energy efficient equipment (e.g. lights, generators and audio visual
equipment).
☐ Clearly communicate the energy objectives, values and expectations to suppliers and stallholders.
During the event
☐ Switch off appliances when not in use.
☐ Set your thermostat to 24-26° in summer and 18-20° in winter.
☐ Minimise temperature leakages via good draught seals, insulation and keeping your doors closed.
☐ Educate patrons on energy efficiency through staff engagement and surveys.
After the event
☐ Conduct an online attendee survey asking energy related questions, views and values.
☐ Gain accreditation as a carbon neutral event through Climate Active or EarthCheck.
☐ Include learnings, challenges and opportunities in the checklist for your next event.
☐ Calculate carbon emissions produced by your event and offset through an accredited offset provider.
☐ Request energy information from supplier (e.g consumption, sources, etc.)
Food and drink
Before the event
☐ Develop a food and drinks plan that sets your commitment and targets.
☐ Request caterers use in season certified organic, locally sourced and accredited fair trade food.
☐ Request that all packaging and crockery to be recycled or composted (e.g food-grade cornstarch plates).
☐ Provide at least 50% vegetarian and vegan options, and where possible choose chicken instead of beef to
cut down on carbon emissions.
During the event
☐ Ask attendees to bring their own water bottles and reusable cups and consider rewarding attendees for
these actions.
☐ Provide hydration stations for attendees to refill water bottles.
☐ Avoid individually wrapped items by serving sugar, salt and condiments in bulk containers at a self-serve
station.
☐ Educate patrons on environmental initiatives through staff engagement and surveys.
☐ Partner with a food rescue organisation that collects leftover food.
After the event
☐ Ask vendors to provide feedback on sales and food wastage.
☐ Include learnings, challenges and opportunities in the checklist for your next event.
☐ Set waste reduction targets and adjust ordering or catering accordingly for your next event.
Waste management and minimisation
Before the event
☐ Implement a Waste Management Plan centred around a three-bin recycling (general waste, recycling and
organics) and waste system for event attendees, stallholders and service providers.
☐ Install waste stations with clearly labelled and colour coded landfill, recycling and organics bins across
easily accessible locations throughout your venue.
☐ Monitor attendance numbers to ensure supply is accurate (i.e. no excess food waste), and to ensure the
appropriate number of bins are provided.
☐ Encourage patrons to bring reusable drink bottles or cups.
☐ Preference online promotion and ticketing; and electronic versions of documents and record keeping
instead of printing.
☐ Ensure that staff uniforms are reused, made from recycled materials or upcycled.
☐ Prominently display objectives and achievements at key areas and touchpoints pre, during and post event,
to raise awareness, engage and encourage behaviour change.
During the event
☐ Make your event straw free and/or eliminate single use items like plastic bags, plastic water bottles,
stirrers, balloons, confetti and set props, and make this objective clear to attendees, staff, suppliers and
vendors.
☐ Add extra cost to single use items to encourage re-usable items.
☐ Station staff or volunteers near bins to assist patrons select the right bin for their waste e.g. Trash Talkers,
Bin Fairies or Waste Warriors.
☐ Reduce printing and handouts by providing information on central signs and electronic boards.
☐ Serve food that can be consumed without cutlery, or on a skewer or toothpick.
☐ Sell or provide reusable bags.
☐ Conduct a visual waste assessment of bins at the event to identify any single use plastic items appearing
at your event
☐ Offer reusable items like cups, plates or bottles (for free, deposit or purchase) with appropriate wash
stations where possible.
☐ Provide giveaways and prize that are experience base e.g dinning vouchers or tickets to a show.
☐ Assign staff to monitor, empty and replace bins on regular basis.
After the event
☐ In your post event surveys, ask patrons for feedback on your waste management, e.g. how easy they
found it to use the right bin.
☐ Document any problematic items or common contaminants to address before future events.
☐ Request waste receipts from your waste management provider to ascertain the volumes produced in each
waste stream.
☐ Conduct a waste audit to collect data on the total amounts of waste and recycling generated or diverted
from landfill including data on contamination rates.
☐ Set landfill reduction targets for your next event.
☐ Ensure chemicals and oils are disposed of responsibly, not poured down drains.
☐ Arrange the return of unused products with suppliers and encourage upcycling of materials where possible.
Travel
Before the event
☐ Develop a travel management plan that sets out your commitment and targets.
☐ Ensure that the venue is easily accessible by public transport, by foot, shuttle or bicycle.
☐ Encourage attendeees to use public transport
☐ Provide clear information on walking, riding and public transport routes to your event.
☐ Offset carbon emissions when booking flights.
☐ Source suppliers, food and materials locally to reduce transport impact.
During the event
☐ Educate patrons through staff engagement and surveys.
☐ Provide sustainable travel options for staff traveling between sites (e.g electric bikes/vehicles or buggies).
☐ Share success stories of sustainable event transport through your online channels with the community.
☐ Publicly make a statement of commitment that provides a clear message to stakeholders about sustainable
transport values and expectations.
After the event
☐ In your post event surveys, ask patrons for feedback on how they travelled to your event.
☐ Request transport data from your suppliers.
☐ Consider gaining carbon neutral certification for your whole event.
☐ Include learnings, challenges and opportunities in the checklist for your next event.
Water management
Before the event
☐ Develop a waste management plan that sets out your commitment and targets.
☐ Choose venues that utilise water efficient measures, e.g. recycled water or rain tanks.
☐ Choose a venue with water efficient equipment and appliances, e.g dual flush toilets and timed taps.
☐ Conduct checks to ensure leaking taps, connections and appliances are rectified.
☐ Hire water efficient, waterless or greywater toilet systems that dispose of waste water correctly.
☐ Use appropriate and sustainable methods to clean surfaces, e.g sweeping.
☐ Ensure water refill stations are located centrally and are clearly labelled.
During the event
☐ Educate patrons on water efficiency through staff engagement and surveys.
☐ Provide wastewater containers to vendors and dispose of contents appropriately.
☐ Share success stories of sustainable water use through your online channels with the community, venue
and networks.
After the event
☐ Ensure chemicals and oils are disposed of responsibly.
☐ Document opportunities and learnings for the next event.
☐ Collect data on water usage i.e, volumes used, litres recycled, etc.
☐ In your post event surveys, ask if attendees BYO’d bottles/cups, if they noticed water saving initiatives at
the event, if sustainable water use is important to them etc.
