The events industry generates a good deal of waste, so a new initiative is helping to reduce this waste and at the same time benefit good causes. Event Cycle repurposes surplus event items which are no longer needed by organisers and redistributes them to charities and community groups, and back into the events industry.
Carina Jandt and Chantal Kerr-Sheppard founded Event Cycle in 2021 to tackle the problem of single-use event materials such as furnishings, building materials, graphics, props and branded merchandise going to landfill after events.
They describe the service as the “first of its kind that directly connects the events industry to the not-for-profit sector“.
Timing matters, so the founders hope to create a new norm for sustainable practices ready for when business events and conferences resume again this year. They want to lead the events industry “into a circular economy where landfill waste is reduced and by doing so a social impact is made.”
Event Cycle offers charities a way to request material items which are then given to them for free when an event nearby has the items available.
Because events tend to generate an array of different items and materials from flat-pack furniture, to build materials and plants, in all kinds of quantities, “no request is too wild”.
Carina Jandt said:
“Having worked in several streams of the event industry we have both seen the amount of good quality items leftover at the end of events. Some are put in skips onsite and some are transported to storage with good intentions of reuse but they are often forgotten about and put in skips offsite.”
Chantal Kerr-Sheppard added:
“And through our volunteering we have seen the demand for more than just volunteers and monetary donations. It’s here we’ve made the crucial connection and found a solution between what charities need and what events waste.. Now is the time to build back better and consider our options for a more sustainable, socially responsible, future in the events industry.”
Further information about the Event Cycle process and how you can engage with the service is available on the Event Cycle website.
Source: UK Fundraising