Sustainable Event Planning Guide

Stanford has a vision to establish a model wasteless community that takes a scalable, holistic, systems approach to advance zero waste culture and waste justice. Stanford has a long history of waste reduction and has consistently diverted over 60% of waste from the landfill over the past two decades. Follow these guidelines to make your event more sustainable. 

1. Commit to Sustainability from the Start

• Anchor sustainability as a key goal: reducing waste, conserving resources, and aligning with Stanford’s "Zero Waste" commitments

🌿  See the Sustainable Events Toolkit

2. Plan Catering with Purpose

• Select catering that emphasizes seasonal, locally sourced, organic foods.
• Offer vegetarian and vegan options to reduce environmental footprint.
• Use sustainable serviceware, such as compostable or reusable plates, utensils, and cups.
• Work with your caterer or local organizations to donate leftover food instead of throwing it away. It’s the law!

🥙 See the Sustainable Catering Guide and Food Recovery Resources

3. Go Green with Marketing & Materials

• Prioritize digital communications for invitations, programs, and signage (email, social media, Stanford Events Calendar).
• If you must print materials, use reusable or sustainably sourced materials.
• Choose vendors who provide eco-friendly options for printed materials, swag, or decorations.

📢 See Marketing and Promotion Guidelines

4. Set Up Effective Waste Management

• Order an adequate number of recycling and compost bins. Need support? PSSI can help. Email pssi@pssirecycling.com or call (650) 321-4236.
• Communicate to attendees how to sort their waste. Utilize student support to monitor waste bins.
• Use signage and guidelines, so attendees know exactly what belongs in each bin. (Example sign).

🗑️ Request Waste Services

5. Reduce Transportation Impact

• Encourage alternative transportation: shuttles, public transit, or carpooling.
• Schedule events outside peak traffic times to reduce emissions.
• Consider virtual or hybrid formats to lower travel-related environmental impact.

🚗 Request Parking Services

As you plan your events, large or small, you can make an impact with the choices you make. There are a few key areas to focus on:

Catering

Reducing the amount of food you order, being selective about the types of food you order, and how it is served can make a big difference for the sustainability of your event, as well as your event costs. Many of the catering options on campus offer seasonal, organic, and locally sourced dishes, vegan and vegetarian options, and use sustainable service methods like buffets and compostable serving ware. You can also work with local organizations to donate any leftover food that you might have (hint - students LOVE free food).

Sustainable Catering Made Simple

Marketing and Promotion

An easy way to reduce your event's impact is to use sustainable methods for marketing and promoting your event, as well as for your event materials, swag, and decorations. Using digital communications and advertising methods like the Stanford Events Calendar, email, social media, and websites is a great way to save money and resources. If you do need to print materials, focus on making them reusable (this saves money for future events as well) or ensuring they are sourced from vendors that focus on providing materials that are eco-friendly. 

Sustainable Event Resources 

Waste management

After you have focused on reducing waste in the areas above, make sure you have proper waste management in line for your event, and ensure attendees understand what items go in which bins. Order enough recycling and compost bins when you place your PSSI work order. You can also share waste reduction, recycling, and composting guidelines with your attendees.

How to order bins for special events

Transportation

There are a few things you can do as an event planner to help reduce impact from transportation. Things like scheduling your event to avoid peak traffic hours, and sharing information with your attendees for alternative transportation options like shuttles and public transit by train or bus, can all make a difference.

Event resources from Stanford Transportation

Virtual/Hybrid Events

Consider hosting a virtual or hybrid event instead. This would not only save resources and be more sustainable, it could allow you to reach audiences that you might otherwise not. Many attendees are now familiar with virtual and hybrid events and new technology options make it easier than ever to engage participants in meaningful ways. There are a lot of resources available to support virtual and hybrid events at Stanford.

Tips and guides for virtual and hybrid event planning