Wittenberg Green Events

Planning a Green Event

To have your occasion qualify as a Green Event, make your plans using the following list of options and then submit those plans to the Recycling Coordinator using the application form on this website. Applicants will receive an email response either approving the proposal or providing recommendations for additional green measures. Applications must be received a week in advance of the event to be included among This Year’s Green Events page on this website.

Because the Green Event program primarily aims to educate our campus community about environmentally sound choices and good practices, the organizers of approved events are asked to take a moment out of their programming to announce their green designation and to explain the decisions made in the planning which qualified the event for that distinction.

The following list is intended more as a range of options than as a catalogue of requirements.  Use it as an aid in thinking through a range of environmentally conscientious possibilities. Creativity and innovation are highly encouraged, and examples of some distinctive green programming at Wittenberg can be found at the Noteworthy Green Events page.

Publicity

• Go paperless by using email, Facebook, text messaging, and other electronic resources to get the word out about your event.
• Use the reverse side of discarded paper for flyers.
• Print flyers and handouts on 100% post-consumer paper.
• For recurring events, construct a reusable sign in which dates and other key info can be easily changed in future years.

Transportation

• Encourage event participants to walk, ride a bike, or carpool to your occasion.
• Provide a convenient means for people to make carpool arrangements.
• Schedule the event at a time and location that reduces the need for participant travel.

Food and Drink

• Select an option from Wittenberg Dining Services Green Menu [link to come] for on-campus events.
• Privilege local, organic, and/or fairly traded options when purchasing food from off-campus. (If you’re planning ahead for an off-campus event, consider purchasing your food through the Wittenberg Food Coop.)
• Provide tap rather than bottled water and opt, where practical, for drinks in aluminum cans rather than plastic bottles.
• Reduce food waste by providing aluminum foil for leftovers. (Plastic wrap does not recycle.)

Waste

• Avoid unnecessary handouts. Where practical, opt for projection equipment, links to electronic information, or electronically distributed documents.
• For necessary handouts, use double-sided and multiple-page-per-sheet printing options.
• Reduce food-related waste (even if that waste is recyclable) by minimizing disposable items.
  • Provide cloth napkins and table cloths.
  • Provide reusable plates, cups, and utensils—or go for finger food served on reusable serving trays.
  • Avoid stirrers, straws, and individually wrapped condiments.
  • Avoid paper placemats and disposable table decorations—especially cut flowers which are often transported by plane from South America.
• Make arrangements where possible to compost food waste off-campus.
• Provide visible recycling containers.
• Collect and reuse nametag holders.

Education

• Explain the green components of your event to the attendants.
• Post small signs where appropriate to make the green aspects of your event more visible (e.g., label organic/local/fairly traded food, note that handouts have been kept to a minimum).