These days, sustainability and eco-conscious initiatives are top of mind for many, including event industry professionals. With growing awareness of the environmental impact of in-person conferences and events, the choices we make as event planners can help us create more sustainable events, move toward a more eco-conscious future, and prioritize environmental responsibility without sacrificing convenience, quality, or the event experience.
Eco-conscious event planning is a trend that isn’t going anywhere, so are there any quick wins you can take as an event organizer when it comes to sustainability?
Look no further than your on-site conference name badges and event check-in!
Sustainable Event Badge Printing Options
In the corporate event and trade show space, innovations in sustainable badge materials and printing methods are reducing waste without reducing quality or detracting from the attendee experience. More and more large events are ditching plastic for recycled/recyclable paper badge options or even more niche offerings, such as biodegradable badges.
While the term “paper badges” may conjure images of the good old “Hello My Name is” adhesive badges, the new paper conference badges hitting the market are far from it. Improvements in badge printing technology have produced a range of options, including thicker stock for improved durability, novel tear resistant coatings, and materials that rival the premium feel of plastic. These new paper event badge options are even strong enough to last through multi-day conferences without falling apart.
For single-day events and shorter multi-day events, paper badges are a great option to reduce plastic consumption.
🌱 Pro tip! Look for FSC-certified, recycled and recyclable paper options when going this route.
Reducing Waste at Your Event Check-in
Not only do paper badges present a more sustainable material choice over fossil-fuel derived plastics, but they can also help reduce the amount of harmful waste related to your event. Any event planner who has used plastic pre-printed badges knows that at the end of the event, you inevitably end up tossing loads of plastic in the trash, which goes straight to landfill. With paper badges, you can greatly reduce that post-event waste, and even replace that straight-to-landfill option with something recyclable!
And let’s not forget the case of lost badges. Every event planner has dealt with attendees that lose, or even unwittingly destroy, their badges. Having backup paper badges onsite comes with a lower environmental footprint than extra plastic badges. Plus, when paired with on-site event badge printing software, replacements are as simple as clicking ‘reprint’ and handing the attendee a fresh conference badge – no ink, no mess, no wasted plastic.
Beyond lost and replacement badges, opting for an on-site badge printing option with on-demand event check-in can also help further reduce the overall waste associated with badging at your event beyond the initial switch from pre-printed plastic to paper. Because attendees check-in on-site, and can even register last-minute or make info changes right there, their paper badges are instantly printed rather than pre-printed ahead of time. This means you only print what you need.
Bonus: Paper Event Badges Are Budget-Friendly Too!
Beyond the environmental advantages, paper conference badges, particularly premium tear-resistant options, also offer a more budget-friendly alternative without sacrificing functionality. That’s right! Plastic badges not only come at a higher environmental expense, but they also come at a higher price than paper badges.
What’s more, if you go the route of on-site badge printing and check-in technology, by eliminating the need to sort, shuffle and hand out pre-printed badges, event planners tend to find even greater cost savings when compared to plastic leading up to their event. Plus, on-site badge printing and easy-to-use check-in kiosks means smoother check-in lines and less staff generally needed at the registration counter on the event day as well, so planners can focus their personnel resources on other essential event functions.
Budget-friendly and Eco-friendly? We call that a win-win!
Plastic Badges Unavoidable? Go Green!
For those event planners who opt to stick with plastic badges, are there options out there to make them more eco-friendly? Absolutely! Be sure to look for recyclable plastic badges and plastic badges made from recycled material. Then, at your conference or event, try to provide receptacles for attendees to drop their recyclable badges post-event, so they don’t inadvertently end up going to landfill even though you’ve made the effort to provide a more sustainable badge option.
Be aware, sourcing recyclable or biodegradable plastic badges is often difficult or impossible, and will come at a higher cost. But consider that most conferences, trade shows, and events tend to end up with loads of plastic badges that go straight to landfills. Making sure you make the most sustainable choices possible when it comes to plastic badges can make a big impact.
Other Environmental Badge Material Options
Event coordinators looking to take their sustainability efforts up another level can also look into more niche items, like biodegradable seed badges. Though these options may be limited, come at a significantly higher price, and often a reduced print quality, they make a big statement about your brand’s environmental commitments. Other options include reclaimed wood name tags, bamboo event badges, or other novel sustainable materials from soy-based products to seaweed!
Don’t Forget the Eco-Friendly Event Badge Accessories
Beyond the badge itself, keep in mind that event badge accessories also present a great opportunity to make more sustainable material choices. Custom branded event lanyards are a standard conference and trade show accessory, and these can be sourced from sustainable materials without a decrease in quality and without great increased cost. Look for eco-friendly material options such as bamboo or rPET (polyester made from recycled materials, such as old water bottles) to take your event lanyards to the next level.
Newer, tear-resistant paper badges tend to be sturdy enough to clip directly onto lanyards, cutting out unnecessary plastic accessories. However, if you do opt for badge holders (which some organizers choose to do, especially for longer multi-day events), try and source them from recycled/recyclable materials. This tends to be significantly easier than sourcing sustainable plastic badges themselves.
Shipping and Environmental Considerations
Lastly, don’t forget how the badges get to you and your event! The carbon footprint of shipping products can be tremendous, especially if you choose an overseas vendor. Opt for a local vendor or explore options for carbon-offset shipping options to lower the impact of your shipping.
Pro tip! At Expo Pass, all our badges are printed and shipped directly from our warehouse in Illinois, so you know you’re avoiding the additional shipping costs of vendors who print and ship overseas.
Small Badges, Big Impact
Reducing environmental impact is on the top of many conference planners’ minds as well as that of your event attendees. Opting for more sustainable badges is a step in the right direction, and an easy one at that!
