When it comes to learning how to run an eco friendly event, Leaving No Trace is the most powerful motto of all. The famous Burning Man festival espouses this creed not just for its event, but as they say on their site, “it’s our ethic about the whole planet. Burners are environmentalists. It’s just our nature”. Because I think that Burning Man is the epitome of running a sustainable event, I want to talk about some of their practices and how you can use them for your next event. I’ll also preface the tips by saying that it’s not just a chore that has to be done, because it’s not about you, or me, or anyone. I think we have a great privilege to create and take part in these events, and we should want to make sure that future generations can also enjoy time together. Some environmental practices can even end up saving you money or time too, since that will be something you are also concerned about.

Pack It In, Pack it Out Burning Man has another statement called “Pack It In, Pack It Out”. The point of this statement is that each Burner should only bring what they’re going to take back with them. Ultimately, people only bring things that are biodegradable or recyclable, as nothing should be left there to preserve it for future shows and generations. What does this mean for your event?

It can't be called an eco friendly event unless it has multiple waste receptacles, with each being present for different types. Normal trash, glass and plastic, and aluminum should be a bare minimum, for 3 receptacles per location. You and/or your team will need to come up with a plan not only for where these will be, but also for how many different types. Take it a step further with Organics, Paper/Cardboard, Glass, Plastic, Steel, Aluminum, and so on.

Of course, make sure that each of them are labeled differently - different colors are easy, and you also should have in bold print what goes in where. At Burning Man, they use one central location for the different places to emphasize the communal aspect. However, if you’re running a convention, that goes right out the window and you’ll need to have different areas. It all comes down to where you’re actually holding the event.

Event Transportation Urge your attendees to carpool, or to take a bus or train. If it’s a local event, encourage attendees to ride their bikes and offer a discount at the gate if they do. If you’re running an event out of a convention center, make sure to encourage attendees book hotels that are within walking distance. The more you can encourage people to be close to the event, the less impact on the environment they will have.

Some events require transportation of attendees - if this is the case, try and use electric or hybrid vehicles. Now, I know that there is a lot of controversy regarding exactly how these vehicles are constructed. There is certainly evidence supporting the case that the batteries for these vehicles are just as damaging to the environment as a gasoline powered car. Unfortunately, when it comes to long-range transportation there is no “perfect” option. However, public perception normally places electric and hybrid vehicles as being more environmentally friendly, so this would be a good idea for you to consider. And for what I’ve read, these vehicles are over long periods of time better for the planet, so you should take heart there.

Take Out The Trash In regards to the eco friendly event, there are certain “tiers” of packaging that are going to be more respectful of the environment than others.

Materials that are more easily recycled should be more highly considered. When it comes to drinks, for example, aluminum is always going to be better than plastic. Glass will be better than plastic too, but glass has the issue of breaking. In any case, try to avoid plastic at all costs. If you do need to use plastic, look into using plastics developed from non-oil sources. There are new breakthroughs in technology that allow corn and methane to create materials known as “bioplastics”. These bioplastics also require less carbon than normal, oil-derived plastics. Anything that helps reduce landfills is great, as they are rapidly expanding.

When it comes to vendors and transportation, you should be strict in being eco friendly with them as you are with your own staff. You won’t look very good if you’re presenting one front but you’re not having vendors or other guests follow the same policy.

There is no need for paper tickets if you can avoid them. Online ticketing sites can send emails, allowing you to check in attendees with a scanner. Many of these registration companies allow you to sell tickets at the door with a mobile Point of Sale solution, too. This also alleviates another use-case for paper tickets. Sometimes of course, especially for festivals and conventions, having some sort of identification like a badge or wristband is unavoidable. With this, try and look for recycled paper options. Spend extra time talking with suppliers to learn about how they manufacture the goods you’re using. You may find that you can educate them and as a result benefit all future events, not just yours.

People Can Sense The Difference Malcom Gladwell’s book Blink details how people can sense things via their adaptive unconscious. It sounds fancy, I know. This is a psychological term in which people can make snap judgments with little info that are actually accurate. In one example, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles received a rare Greek statue called a kouros. Although experts were skeptical of it being real, they conducted tests which showed that the statue was legitimate. After more research, the Getty discovered that the origin of the statue was false and that it was a forgery. The experts couldn’t explain why they thought the statue was fake. Instead, most of them stated that they “felt it looked off”. The human intuition sure is amazing! Example two. Van Halen was famous for a stipulation in their contract calling for a bowl of M&Ms in their room with the brown ones removed. The logic behind this act was simple. The wild shows put on by Van Halen required pyrotechnics and many technical details to be correct for the safety of the band. If the venue couldn’t bother to follow through on something as small as the M&Ms, they likely wouldn’t put much attention to detail into some of the more important parts of the show. What can you take away from this? Humans have the ability to sense if something is off, and this includes skimping on event details. You can use this to your advantage too, by using the best materials available to you within your budget. People will sense the difference in a positive way. Let's talk about why this is important. You Could Affect Your Reputation It seems like it happens every month. A large corporation gets a lawsuit because it failed to follow safety protocols. Or someone gets hurt because it was lax with regulations or it used substandard materials. Don’t let this happen to you. There is no downside to spending some extra time to make sure everything is in place. As Benjamin Franklin said, “a stitch in time saves nine”. Make sure that if you’re serving alcohol, you have the proper permits. If you’re using event tech, be sure to test it all out beforehand. Oh yeah - and don't forget the WiFi if you're checking people in with an event app. When you work to ensure that every aspect of your event is solid beforehand, you create a fantastic reputation for yourself as someone with an attention to detail. One anecdote that stuck with me about reputation comes from Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography. In this biography, Isaacson details how Steve Jobs’ adopted father, Paul Jobs, taught Steve a lot about carpentry. The point of interest is that Paul Jobs went the extra mile and would add in frames and other details to the back of desks although nobody might see it. It didn’t matter to Paul that nobody would see it because was the right thing to do and it enhanced the piece. This influenced Steve Jobs, who wanted the inside to look as good as the outside of Apple products. Older Mac products even had Jobs' signature on the inside. Now that's true love! As for affecting your reputation, there's no worse story than the Ford Pinto. If you're not familiar with the Ford Pinto, what happened is that it had an issue with the safety of its fuel system that could cause fires and major leaks if it was rear-ended. The real issue wasn't this - it was that they were aware of this and the car still went into production. Several people died as a result of this, and Ford received many lawsuits as a result. Now, this might be a crazy example, but I hope this gets the point across! It’s not hard to see how just taking a little extra care can influence the perception of your events, as well as your career. You only have something to gain by putting in effort to ensure that your event has all  its i's dotted and its t's crossed. Furthermore, you'll stand out amongst the rest of the competition.]]]]> ]]>

"The future is already here - it's just not very evenly distributed." -William Gibson, author of Neuromancer

The more things change, the more they stay the same. You might find that funny as an intro for a piece about trends in event software, but it’s true. When you think about why event registration and ticket sales software were invented, it was for one purpose: to make it easier for organizers. At the same time, it was devised to make it easier to count and check in attendees.

Trends in the event software space are still pointing towards the goal of making it easier for organizers and attendees alike. As a writer at Ticketbud, I keep my eyes on trends not just in the event space, but in the overall software and technology spaces. For this particular piece, I have been working with Justin Guinn, Market Researcher at registration software reviews company Software Advice. I spoke with him briefly on two trends he's noticed.

Trend 1: Social Marketing Sean: "You spoke of two big trends that we're seeing in events. What's the first?" Justin: “The first is already happening every day...or really every second. Social marketing is growing into a hugely viable attendee acquisition channel. Event managers can leverage social to engage not only with targeted professionals but also with brands and industry thought leaders in the event’s respective space. And with some event registration software offering integrations into social platforms, attendees can convert right where they are without having to visit an event’s registration site.”

We’ve been seeing this more and more with Facebook, who’ve announced that they are now working with ticket providers to sell tickets directly through their event pages rather than having to go to the website of the event. Ticketbud is one of the few companies that actually has a widget that integrates directly with Facebook.

Trend 2: iBeacons Sean: "What's the second big trend that you've been seeing amongst event registration companies?"

As you can imagine, iBeacons are without a doubt the way of the future. In my opinion, it's the one piece of event tech that will have the greatest impact on events and has applications in many different industries. Imagine there no longer being lines for checkin in, because everyone checks in themselves. After checking in, they are directed to sponsor booths or are alerted of the speakers they have signed up for. We are moving into a space where technology reduces friction for the attendee as well as for sponsors. Everybody wins, especially the organizers that now no longer need to hire people to check in attendees.

It’s been said before but I’ll say it again here: exclusivity sells. Nothing makes people want something more than to be told they can’t have it (don’t believe me? Talk to anyone with a toddler and they’ll tell you it’s true).

• Sponsor tickets
• Volunteer tickets
• Any ticket you want not available to the general public