Green Your Event Contest

Tell us how you are GREENING your event(s).  Prizes and awards will be awarded each month to the club, organization, sorority/fraternity, department, and/or colleges that exemplify the concept of “Live Green.”  Make your event a “zero waste” event.  A zero “waste event” is designed to reduce or eliminate waste.  Refer to Green Event Planning and the case study below for ways to green your event.  Greening your event will send a message to participants of the importance of living green and sets the example for them to follow when planning for their next event.  

Enter to WIN!  Tell us how you are GREENING your event!  Even the seemingly insignificant ways are important, so feel free to share the details.  The more specific, the more others will be able to replicate your GREEN event.  We will feature winners every month within the TCU “Think Purple, Live Green” theme semester web site.

Send an email to this address with the following information:

First name
Last name
Sponsor organization
Event name
Event date
Description of how your event was GREEN
Comments

Green Event Planning

Here are three ideas from the Natural Resources Defense Council to help you get started toward greening your event.  

E-vite Your Guests
Emailing invitations saves paper (and money), especially if you have a long guest list. If a printed invitation is an absolute must for your event, use postconsumer recycled paper -- easily available in stores and online -- and give a phone number for RSVPs instead of reply cards.

Serve Local Food (and Feed the Locals)
Look for a restaurant or caterer that uses fresh, local or organic foods. If you're planning on serving seafood, make sure it's sustainably caught or farmed and low in mercury.  Make arrangements with a local food bank to pick up any leftovers at the end of the day.

Use Reusable or Biodegradable Tableware
Stick to cloth napkins and real tableware to reduce the amount of resources your event consumes and the amount of garbage you'll need to dispose of at the end of night. Many caterers can provide everything you need for serving, eating and drinking.

More Ideas

Compost – Ask if the leftovers are composted.  Encourage TCU Dining and Catering Services to compost if they don’t already.  Take your event’s leftovers to the nearest compost bin.  Please use the Contact Us feature if you find a convenient way to compost your leftovers so we can share it with the TCU community.

Eliminate bottled water – We use a tremendous amount of bottled water on our campus.  Choose to use glassware or ask participants to bring their own washable bottles or cups.

Save energy – Check to ensure that lights and audio/visual equipment will be turned off when the event is completed.  

Transportation  – Encourage participants to walk, bike, carpool, or ride public transportation if possible.  Hold a contest to determine who traveled the furthest on public transportation or by bike.  Award a prize for those who carpooled to the event.  Distribute electronic maps and bus/train schedules to make it easy for participants to try public transportation.

Case Study: A TCU professor offered a film for his students to watch for bonus points.  He advertised the event as a Zero Waste event.  The event was held in the Student Center Ballroom and popcorn from the Student Center popcorn machine was provided.  Students were informed to bring their own drinking cup and a bowl for the popcorn.   Many students complied with the request and others simply forgot to bring a cup and bowl.  Students with bowls shared their popcorn with those who did not bring their own bowls.  Some of the students without a drinking cup utilized the water fountain.  Several students brought their own bottled water and one student was apologetic for consuming bottled water.  She assured the professor she reuses the bottle and fills it with tap water from home. Plastic pitchers were used to pour the water and no napkins were provided. The only waste accumulated was the bags the popcorn was packaged within.  Overall, the event was a success.  Students were exposed to a Zero Waste event and an example was set for them to follow.