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EVENT VOLUNTEERS

GOING GREEN
By Florence May, TRS

38 INTERNATIONAL EVENTS 2010


The impact of a major event is likely solar, kinetic and water energy may be
that of a substantial number of human accessible to your event.
footprints followed by an enormous New green team partners may even
amount of waste: Thousands of water
bottles, cans and other trash on the
EcoFriendly provide green team volunteers to help
implement the strategies.
ground; Boxes of extra event shirts,
credentials and other inventory; Pollu- Volunteers Set goals
tion from traffic; Hundreds of printings Consider how your green team will
and mailings; Leftover food thrown out; 1. Ask volunteers to bring their   document and measure your green strate-
Enormous power expenditure. own reusable water bottle. gies. What level of sustainability do you
Event must supply readily avail- want to achieve in the next 3 years? How
Getting Started on the able water refill stations for this much waste reduction? What % of renew-
Green Path to be effective. (Saves $$) able energy will your event consume?
What can your event do to lessen the
ecological impact and be a good commu- 2. Talk to your volunteer t-shirt Implement
nity partner? vendors. Shirts made of recycled The move to go green must be em-
Begin by considering the key opportuni- and bio-degradable materials braced by the staff, volunteers and par-
ties your event has to Reuse, Recycle and are now readily available through ticipants to make it truly successful. Take
Renew. The following paraphrased list is many vendors. the extra time during volunteer training
used by the Council for Responsible Sport to educate all the volunteers on the new
for their event certification program. 3. Go paperless. Volunteers can reg- green efforts and how they can assist
Waste – Recycling is an obvious start- ister online. (Saves $$ and time.) regardless of their festival job.
ing place. Are your plates and utensils Communicate with your community that
recyclable? Are your recycle bags different 4. Eliminate snail mail. Confirm a green initiative is in motion and you need
colors from landfill trash bags? Do you volunteer schedules automatical- their help to achieve sustainable goals.
have a composting program? And is there ly online. Send waivers, maps and Clearly marked recycling and composting
an emphasis on waste reduction? updates by e-mail. Most online directions on signs will help event attend-
Climate –How is your event powered? registration systems have these ees understand the expectations. It is also
Are renewable energy sources and/or features. (Saves $$ and time.) recommended that green team volunteers
alternative fuels utilized where possible? are strategically placed to encourage partici-
Have you checked with energy companies 5. Recycle volunteer credentials. pants to put trash in the correct containers.
and renewable partners in the area to
assess your options? Is your food 6. Create volunteer t-shirts that Is Going Green Worth
sourced locally? will be re-worn because they are Our Time?
Equipment & Materials – Are you clever and fit right! Short supply? In just a few words. Yes.
implementing reusable options for signs, Have a t-shirt trading table. If Doing the right thing always feels good
storage and apparel? Are you handling all shirts don’t fit request a trade by but the event will also have the potential
registration and follow-up material online? size. (Great event promo!) to reap the benefits of good PR, new part-
Community & Outreach – What nerships and the reduction of costs.
mechanisms exist for volunteers, par- 7. Set up volunteer car or shuttle
ticipants and spectators to take part in pools online. Promote mass More Resources
sustainable practices? Car pools, mass transit options to the event. • Greener Events (Green Contest for
transit, bike/walk trails are all options. (Check out pickUPpal.org as Festivals) www.agreenerfestival.com
Evaluation & Innovation – How will a mechanism to coordinate • Council for Responsible Sport  
you assess to see if the green team efforts volunteer car pools.) (Green Certification) www.resport.org/
were successful?
Will you gather additional ideas 8. Establish a beautification  
and encourage constant improvement? program with the neighborhood
surrounding the event facility. Florence May is President of TRS
(Tip: SurveyMonkey provides free online – The Registration System. TRS pro-
survey tools) In the weeks prior to your event
have volunteers plant trees, bush- vides online registration, expert con-
es or flowers. Ask the neighbors sultation and technological support
Gather Ideas and Partners for volunteer managers. TRS clients
Moving forward? Form a volunteer to join in and help with picking
up trash. (Community spirit!) include the 2011 North Texas Super
green team to do the event assessment, Bowl LOC, Kentucky Derby Festival,
gather opportunities and discuss im- Indy 500 Festival, Cisco Ottawa
plantation strategies. You will likely have 9. Bring in fresh food from local
vendors and/or farmers for the Bluesfest, 2011 NCAA Men’s Final
interested participants within the existing Four, SeaFair, 2011 EuroGames, and
pool of event volunteers. volunteers. Ask vendors to elimi-
nate wrappings and packaging International Children’s Festival.
Your green team should also include
partners from the local waste manage- as much as possible. (Healthy!)
Florence can be reached at:
ment firm, local recycling business, local TRS – The Registration System
energy providers, and local electric/hybrid 10. Ask volunteers to help keep
electricity use to what is 846 North Senate Avenue, # 206
car dealerships. Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA
Check with the local university. Many required. Turn off lights
when not needed. tel 317.685.9780
schools have new renewable energy cell 317.966.6919
programs. And don’t forget local renew- fmay@theregistrationsystem.com
able energy businesses. Depending on
the location, new opportunities in wind,
2010 INTERNATIONAL EVENTS 39

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