Sustainability at TPC2023
Read about the steps we are taking and encouragement we are giving to others to reduce the impact of TPC on the local and global environments
Every event has an impact on the Environment!
Every event has an impact on the environment, so does every person attending and every activity that takes place within it.
With almost 500 people in attendance at TPC we decided that we needed to have a clearer plan on the steps we could take this year to document our efforts to reduce the impact the event has on both the local and global environments .
You would think that reusable items would be less expensive as would focusing on local produce or other activities, decisions or purchases. Alas, that is not always the case.
We are delighted that cover genius have stepped up to help support our journey to a more sustainable TPC. Their sponsorship is helping support or subsidise more environmentally friendly alternatives and processes that we have put in place for this year.
We would think of a genius for their commitment to help fund this vital part of a mission.
Sustainability Sponsor
Steps we are taking / have taken
Removing OUR brand
Many items we produce every year, have the TPC logo as a central part of their design. Things include the conference bag, lanyards and other material, which also carries the brand of that item's sponsor. We usually have items left over and naturally they could be reused or gifted to that sponsor as part of the other promotional materials, but with our logo as a central part of the design, this can cause them not to want to use them.
So we have taken the decision to remove our brand from all sponsor materials to hopefully ensure that any surplus materials are reused and repurposed rather than being recycled.
Less plastic and more sustainable materials
A lot of plastic is traditionally used in conference materials including lanyards badges and other items given to delegates. We continue to use the plastic badge holders some of which now date back to 2015 as we reuse these every single TPC. It is often items such as lanyards or conference bags that are not recyclable and these ones tend to be the cheapest this year we have sourced a compostable conference bag and a lanyard strands are made from bamboo instead of fine mesh plastic or helping to reduce waste that will not break down for many hundreds or thousands of years.
Drinks, but without a ticket!
Cocktail hour and a half on Thursday evening is always a fun part of the TPC program where we get to discuss the day sessions make new friends and reconnect with old acquaintances. Three of our gold sponsors usually have branded drinks vouchers as part of their sponsorship package. We realised that even though made from recyclable cardboard, there was still a environmental cost to producing these 1500+ tickets when we could find other ways to show our appreciation to those gold sponsors. Do we need them? No. So we're not going to produce them.
Encouraging Others
We realise that it is not just us as an organisation that can do more to reduce the impact of TPC as an event. If every sponsor and stand holder did their part or altered their activity to reduce their environmental impact, they could be many more savings. Therefore, we have encouraged all of our commercial partners not to include swag in their delicate bag inserts and to reduce their materials and consider recyclable or recycled materials when producing literature for inserts.
Catering
Our fantastic catering partner Amadeus has always had a commitment to sustainability and environmentally friendly menus. We continue to work with them to ensure we offer the very best food and drink, but with a continued vigilance to ensure that we are doing all we can you can read more about Amadeus's own environmental journey by reading their policies, here
