Sustainable Event Logistics, in the same sentence does not seem to be right. When people hear the word logistics the first thoughts are related to planes, trucks, boats, and trains. Talk about CO2 emissions…

However

This industry feeds the human need for connection with one another, for coming together and sharing knowledge, time, and entertainment. Because of the great unsustainable impression people have of event logistics compared to other industries, is why sustainability and logistics are actually perfect challengers.  Ours is a great industry to start working on increasing sustainability because there is so much to gain. This is what we strive for at Valverde.

Start with yourself

Before the industry can do its work more sustainable we, ourselves, have to be greener. Therefore, we changed company cars to electric ones, where possible. Secondly, we limit travel for our employees as much as possible and always look for the most sustainable alternative: if possible, train over plane. As well as for the daily commute: we reward our employees for traveling by bicycle or public transport. Moreover, we separate our trash and we have no one-time-use cups, plates or cutlery in the office. Finally, we are working on making our office as paperless as possible. If you are in our industry, you know what a paper mess it can be.

In the field

When you coordinate logistics as we do, sustainability lies in the process. As you can see in Our Work, we always work to get our client’s freight from point A to point B in the most direct line. No unnecessary stops or detours. This does not always add up to the cheapest option but it both eliminates more chances of failure and delays and is much more sustainable than taking alternative routes. Besides this, whenever possible, we try to collect freight in our warehouses to move it in one sweep to the event venue. Not only will this make the process at the venue shorter, but there will also be fewer trucks moving in and out, wasting fuel standing in line. Also on-site, we try to have our drivers use electric forklifts, if available.

The future

Sustainable Event Logistics

Here at Valverde, we want to grow towards the future, implementing more sustainable practices wherever we can. From something small as advising clients better ways to pack their shipments to something large like working with our partners to develop better, more sustainable ways of transport and administration of freight movement. IELA, the International Exhibition Logistics Association, has released its sustainability guidelines this year (2019) (Download it here) and we are happy they support making our industry greener. We are ready to put in our best effort as well. We touch industries, exhibitors, organizers, and venues globally and we can all play our part. Together we can think of more ways to increase the sustainable character of your events.