sustainable monittering

we think sustainability and green event planning are really important… but what about everybody out there?

we at ecoEvents vancouver decided to track another vancouver-based planning event program to gauge the popularity and range of local sustainable event planning. we used monitter to check out what people are saying about ubc’s sustainability green event planning on twitter. and wow, are people talking... here is just a sample of some of the items we saw:

1. RT @SustainUBC "Cute Cats & the Arab Spring: When Social Media Meets Social Change" Lecture at #UBC Chan Nov 20 http://t.co/P5eY1S6B
   StJohnsUBC

2. RT @gdcbc: Have you seen the brand new & #super-sustainable #CIRS at UBC? Check it out this Friday at #PRACTIVISM @SustainUBC http://t.co/Yr3GqJur
   ubclibrary
   



3. UBC opens North America’s ‘greenest’ building to advance #sustainability research and innovation ow.ly/7u8Qu @SustainUBC
   ACUPCC
   



4. @SustainUBC Is it #sustainable that #Walmart and others drive political agendas? http://t.co/7HjrkShw #UBC's view?
   hamishms
   



5. @SustainUBC #Wal-Mart spends $500 million a year researching and implementing energy-efficient technology; 0.1% of its net income.
   hamishms
   



6. @SustainUBC @ubcfarm does #UBC have a long-term land use plan for the farm? Condos or farm land in 10 years?
   hamishms
   



7. RT @ubcnews: Canadian Architect features #UBC's new Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability http://t.co/l70i1rSM #CIRS @SustainUBC
   myeverydayearth
   



8. RT @sustainubc: Hate or love Walmart, its green roof technlgy is advancing civic sustainable blgs. http://t.co/ogYdgkKD #CIRS
   LiveSmartBCca
   



9. 186 tickets left. please RT this: http://t.co/YUNZTxxE @jritch @commonenergyubc @chancentre @ubcbookstore @sauderISIS @UBCevents @sustainUBC
   gord_katic
   



10. RT @ubcfarm: Congrats 2011 grads of #UBC Farm Practicum in Sustainable Agriculture. Say hello to your future #farmers! http://t.co/tsQcYM0j
    SustainUBC

very cool! we decided to do this for a couple of reasons. first, we wanted to see if this tool was helpful in tracking trends. and in this case, we were tracking local sustainable event planning. second, we wanted to see what people were saying about sustainable events programs around town.

from the monitter results, people seem very passionate about ubc's sustainability program and they are utilizing twitter as an opportunity to promote sustainable events and to inform, educate and ask questions about sustainability practices. fantastic!

what do you use twitter for? information gathering? to promote sustainability? or maybe it's just a way of sharing your thoughts? let us know!

a not so secret garden

there was a recent article in local newspaper the surrey now on a community garden that is flourishing in the white rock area.

community gardens are cropping up all over the lower mainland, and ecoEvents vancouver could not be happier. we took a visit to a community garden (in the rain!) on the north shore and have a video from our jaunt there to share with you:

as mentioned in the video, cityfarmer.org has a fantastic listing of community gardens in greater vancouver and victoria. please check out that link if you're interested in getting your green thumb on!

we'd love to see some of your pictures, videos, or stories on your community garden successes (or failures!)... so, please share! here's some pics from navvy jack community garden... even in the rain, it was lovely.

top ten tips for a sustainable event

there are a myriad of things to consider when trying to keep your event sustainable and eco-friendly but we decided to try and narrow it down to a list of top ten green tips… here we go!

1. think green from the beginning

plan your event with sustainable practices in mind instead of getting everything into place and then trying to make it greener. if you pick areas to focus on (e.g. sustainable food and beverage options) from the get-go, it’s easier to incorporate them into your event.

2. location, location, location

we’ve all heard this one before, right? is your event somewhere walkable, accessible by bike, public transportation or car-pooling efforts? if guests are flying in, is your venue near an airport with shuttle services?

3. venue, venue, venue

find out about your potential venues and their sustainability practices. is it a green certified or LEED (leadership in energy & environmental design) certified building? do they use energy star appliances? what are their waste management practices?

4. think locally
support local relationships and business by using products, foods, and services within 100 miles of your event location. look for food that is locally grown, seasonal, and organic!

5. responsible food sourcing

select foods from sustainable sources from businesses with sustainable sourcing practices. going directly to local markets & farmers is also a great idea. don’t forget to find out about their waste management practices, too!

6. community

get your guests/community involved! let them know what kind of sustainable practices are taking place at your event. and let them know about the opportunities you are providing to recycle, compost, or offset their carbon footprint!

7. web instead of print

instead of sending guests event information (directions, lodging, etc.) on paper, create a website for your event or utilize online invitations – save some coin... and some paper!

8. recycled paper

if you need to use paper for invitations, cards, notes, etc., choose printed materials that are 100% recycled. or try seed paper, which can be planted by guests to grow flowers or herbs!

9. donate
donate unused food, beverages, flowers, decorations, and other materials leftover from the event. any items that can’t be donated, consider them for compost!

10. register for a benefit

instead of requesting/registering for gifts, ask guests to make a charitable contribution towards an organization, endowment, or community project of your choice. if you do go the registry route, be sure to choose sustainable and eco-friendly gifts!

any other green tips you got out there? if so, please share!

a local business joins the green pursuit!

coast hotels and resorts has just announced the launch of their eCoast green meetings program that will “[introduce] eco-friendly practices into every aspect of event planning by measuring the carbon footprint of each meeting and providing environmentally sustainable products and services”.

the launch of this new program was highlighted by waste-management-world.com, along with a press release by coast hotels and resorts.

eleven coast properties across british columbia and alberta will be participants in this new green initiative. they will each be equipped with a carbon offset calculator to measure the cost to offset carbon emissions produced by each event, taking into account meeting room size, number of guests, waste practices, and transportation use.

according to this article, the 2011 h.a.c. canadian travel intention survey indicates that 27% of canadian travelers think it’s important to be able to buy offsetting carbon credits. this number is up from 6% in 2010!

what are your thoughts? when planning an event or traveling, is this kind of an initiative a draw for you? what kinds of things are important to you and what do you look for before making a purchase or commitment?

• carbon emission/footprint calculator?
• the ability to purchase carbon offset credits?
• availability of sustainable products & services?
• waste management?
  
• energy efficiency?

let us know... we'd love to hear from you!

"i change myself, i change the world."

-gloria anzuldua

testing, testing... 1, 2, 3!

depending on your brand and the services/products you are promoting, there might be certain social media platforms that will be more popular for your target audience.

but how do you figure out where your peeps are at? and how do you figure out where you need to reach people more?

we thought we could try a little test with two of the more popular social media tools out there.
you may have heard of them?? facebook? twitter?

no.
big.
deal.

one of the best ways to peek people’s interest is to offer up some freebies! who doesn’t love free stuff?!? but then we thought, it’s kind of hard to offer up free full-on event planning services. instead, we could offer up an amazing (and sustainable) in-home dining experience for you and five of your closest friends! A mini-ecoEvents vancouver soirée, if you will! in the comfort of your own home. we got you covered on eco-friendly invitations, natural décor, and a sustainable menu!

let’s hear it for delicious food + drink! om nom nom!

we would promote our contest over a six week period on both facebook and twitter and measure the following items on a weekly basis and see just where the word of “mouse” is going:

1. facebook – number of new people “like”-ing our facebook page (required to enter the contest).
2. facebook – number of times that our contest has been shared.
3. facebook – total number of contest entries.
   

1. twitter – number of new twitter followers (required to enter the contest).
2. twitter – number of contest re-tweets (also required to enter the contest).
3. twitter – number of contest mentions.

we watch the numbers. then we crunch them.

at the end of it all, we can see how many likes/followers we have gained and where the contest really took off. that could also tell us a little about which of the two social media platforms we really need work on to get our brand out there. our target audience would be women, ages 25-45.

thoughts? do you think that this would be a good test? more importantly, do you want to win a free party??