How to plan a sustainable marquee event

Creating a sustainable event and reducing its environmental impact doesn’t need to be difficult. It could even be fun, part of the event, something to be proud of and to shout about. We, suppliers and consumers alike, just need to understand our options and start talking and start taking steps in the right direction…

Planning a sustainable event – where do we begin?

Travel and transportation can have a huge impact when it comes to carbon emissions. Thinking local starts from moment you consider the suppliers that you might use and continues all the way through to the way that your guests might travel to the venue. At County Marquees to reduce the carbon impact of travelling to and from site we have taken measures to ensure that the number of journeys undertaken is limited by using detailed scheduling and fleet management. In many cases deliveries are undertaken in smaller vehicles.

Consider public transport links. Do your guests have the option of accessing your venue via public transport? Is there accommodation on site or close by? The less need there is for travel the lower the carbon footprint of your event. You could organise a minibus to transport your guests from the church to the venue.

Using local suppliers not only reduce’ s your carbon footprint, but it will also support the local economy too. Local caterers are likely to use locally sourced ingredients too. To find out who we recommend supporting your sustainable event take a look at our friends page on our website where you will find many options for local caterers and florists.

Where possible choose products that reduce the carbon footprint of your event:

Marquees
Our marquees despite being PVC they are used and reused many times for many years and kept spotlessly clean using our in-house marquee washing machine which uses significantly less water than traditional hand washing practices. Following their event span with us they go onto to be used again and made into bags and tarpaulins. Or to be used by local charities for community events.

Flooring
We have a range of sustainable types of flooring on offer, our natural matting is a great choice or our bare board wooden floor. Both are manufactured to be easy to clean and reused for each event.

Furniture
Choosing your chairs, tables and bar furniture is such a fun part of building your dream event. You can be safe in the knowledge that our furniture has been sourced from suppliers with FSC certification. This accreditation enables businesses and consumers to choose wood, paper and other forest products made with materials from well-managed forests and/or recycled sources.

Powering your event
At County marquees we are very keen to reduce our carbon footprint and this year we are starting to run our generators and heaters on HVO – Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, a renewable diesel fuel produced from vegetable oils and fats, offering a sustainable and high-quality alternative to traditional fossil diesel with potential for significant greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle
Our pledge to reduce, reuse and recycle is at the forefront of how we run each and every event. Our event hire range is maintained to the highest standards, fixed when broken and locally given away for other uses at the end of its time with us.