Sustainable events

At Monash, we are committed to educating staff and students about how to make their events, meetings and catering more sustainable.

Our Sustainable Events Guide provides a blueprint for staff and students to plan events that minimise negative impacts on the environment.  It provides practical tools, resources and case studies to support you to make sustainable choices at every stage of the event management process.

By planning and delivering events with sustainability in mind, you will contribute to Monash’s goals and

• reduce carbon emissions
• minimise waste including single-use plastics
• demonstrate leadership in sustainability
• inspire meaningful action and behaviour
• reduce costs with more efficient resource use.

To learn more, download the Sustainable Events Guide

Top tips for hosting your next sustainable event

• Go virtual or hybrid where possible. Virtual and hybrid meetings significantly reduce transport, waste and energy impacts
• Avoid items in single-use packaging including compostable packaging. Compostable food packaging and cups cannot be recycled and must go into landfill at Monash
• Borrow rather than buy. Hire or borrow event equipment, décor and props rather than buying single-use event items
• Switch to reusable cups and crockery. Reusables have a whole range of wider benefits for your event. Not only do they significantly reduce waste but they also encourage people to dine in, connect with others and stay longer at transient events, and in the long-term can save on purchase costs of single-use items
• Make a plan for leftover food. Plan to share excess food with attendees, affiliated students or partner with a local food rescue service
• Avoid printing dates and years on signage, banners and uniforms so they can be used at future events. This will save you both money and reduce waste in the long-term
• Ask your caterer to avoid single-use and individually wrapped food items. Switching to a condiment station or serving jars rather than sachets can significantly reduce plastic waste
• Provide public transport, bicycle and walking advice in your ticketing and event reminders. By timing your event to coincide with public transport availability, you can encourage greater uptake of sustainable transport
• Avoid physical giveaways and merchandise. Instead, provide vouchers or discounts. If necessary, consider physical items that promote behaviour change such as reusable cups, cutlery or drink bottles. Make sure to ask for any giveaways to avoid single use wrapping

Sustainable catering

Monash University works closely with retailers to ensure there are sustainable food options available on campus. At your next event, be the catalyst for change by setting clear sustainability expectations for caterers.

Before your next event, ask your caterer:

• Can you deliver food on reusable or returnable serving trays?
• Can you provide reusable cups, plates and crockery?
• Can you avoid all individually wrapped snacks and coffee sachets?
• Can you provide a condiment station rather than single serve sauce packets?
• Can you avoid compostable food packaging as it cannot be recycled or composted at Monash?
• Can you offer a range of vegetarian and plant-based meals?

We’re working with our campus food retailers to improve the environmental performance of their operations, including minimising waste to landfill, offering sustainable and healthy menu choices, and improving recycling and reusable packaging options. To find out more visit the Monash food and retail web page.