80% of Event Planners Prioritize Sustainability—Is Your Venue Ready to Meet the Demand?

Are you ready to make your venue stand out in the competitive events industry? With 80% of event planners prioritizing sustainability, ensuring your venue is prepared to meet the demand is imperative.

Gen Z and millennial attendees value sustainability highly, listing it as one of the most critical aspects of their event experience. Embracing sustainability meets market demand and enhances your venue's business appeal, attracting more clients and setting you apart in the competitive events industry. If your venue doesn’t prioritize sustainability, you risk being overlooked by event planners who seek eco-friendly, socially responsible spaces.

Sheeco Events is here to help you make your venue greener.

Here are five actionable tips to get started:

 1. Reduce Waste with Composting and Recycling Programs

Reducing waste is one of the easiest ways to make your venue more sustainable. Setting up composting and recycling programs is essential to minimizing environmental impact. Clear signage is critical—ensure that compost and recycling bins are appropriately labeled so vendors and guests can quickly sort their waste. Proper communication ensures everyone feels confident participating in sorting their trash, reducing confusion and making waste diversion seamless.

In Nashville, we frequently work with Compost Nashville to ensure that all the food that cannot be donated is turned into compost. Sheeco Events can help design and implement these programs, ensuring that your venue's waste management aligns with industry best practices. Our experience in planning sustainable events in cities like Nashville and Seattle means we know exactly how to set up efficient systems for composting and recycling. 

 2. Create Sustainability-Focused Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

It is important to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) that prioritize eco-friendly practices for authentic results. Every department in your venue—from maintenance to purchasing—should follow specific sustainability-focused guidelines to ensure daily operations are as green as possible. 

Purchasing sustainable products, reducing energy use, and managing waste effectively should be built into your venue’s operational processes. At Sheeco, we work with venues to create these sustainability SOPs, making maintaining eco-friendly standards across all departments easier. Whether you're a Nashville event planner or a Seattle event planner, we can help your venue establish guidelines that ensure sustainable operations year-round.

 3. Maintain a Preferred Vendor List

Your venue can enhance its sustainability efforts by creating a list of vendors who have agreed to follow your policies. Sustainability extends beyond protecting the planet; it also involves supporting people. By choosing to work with local and minority-owned small businesses, you can make a significant impact on the economy. Many small businesses depend on events to sustain their operations. 

Sheeco Events specializes in identifying vendors and developing a customized list for your venue, ensuring you collaborate with suppliers meeting your sustainability criteria. Our partnerships with sustainable vendors in cities like Seattle, Nashville, and beyond enable us to connect you with like-minded businesses committed to green practices.

4. Track and Measure Your Sustainability Efforts

Tracking and measuring your sustainability efforts is vital to ensuring that your venue's initiatives are effective. Measuring waste reduction, energy usage, and carbon footprint lets you provide transparent data to your stakeholders. This also helps you avoid greenwashing—clients and attendees want accurate data, not vague claims.

Sheeco Events is proud to maintain a waste diversion rate above 90 % at our events, many of which are powered by solar energy. We can help your venue set measurable sustainability goals and track progress, ensuring you remain accountable and transparent. Providing regular sustainability reports will boost your venue’s reputation and attract planners looking for venues that are serious about their environmental impact.

 5. Partner with a Sustainable Event Planner

The easiest way to ensure your venue meets the growing demand for eco-friendly events is by partnering with a sustainable event planner. Sheeco Events is a leader in planning, producing, and managing sustainable events. 

Our team offers full-service support, from waste reduction programs and energy-efficient upgrades to developing sustainability-focused SOPs and curating eco-friendly vendor lists. By partnering with Sheeco Events, your venue will not only stand out as a leader in sustainability but also gain the confidence and reassurance of attracting clients who prioritize environmental and social responsibility.

Be the Go-To Sustainable Venue

Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword—it’s a must-have feature for event planners and attendees. Your venue can rise above the competition by reducing waste, developing sustainability-focused SOPs, creating a sustainable vendor list, tracking your impact, and partnering with an experienced sustainable event planner like Sheeco Events. Let this inspire and motivate you to make your venue the go-to sustainable choice. 

Contact us today to learn how we can work together to create socially responsible, eco-friendly, and impactful event experiences that you and your clients can be proud of. Start your journey to sustainability now.