Green Tips for Décor and Rental Professionals

By Lori Hill

When using décor items for meetings/events, remember to choose environmentally friendly options and minimize or eliminate waste by choosing products that are biodegradable or recyclable. 

Candles

Most candles are made with paraffin, a petroleum by-product.  They are not natural and are unhealthy because burning paraffin emits black soot and pollutes the air.

Beeswax candles with cotton wicks are 100% natural and a renewable resource.  They burn cleaner and produce less soot. 

Floral

Use local, seasonal and/or organic flowers that minimize damage to ecosystems and conserve biodiversity.  Choose centerpieces and decorations that can be reused, such as living plants or silk flowers.  Give away centerpieces as gifts or table prizes.  Be sure to compost any that remain.

Ivy was a component of a logo for a hall of fame induction ceremony I once produced.  Accordingly, we incorporated ivy into the centerpieces and at each place setting.  Each guest was able to take home a small ivy plant in a beautiful terra cotta pot that was spray painted gold. 

Lighting

Lighting vendors should use LED (light-emitting diode) lights.  According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, an LED uses approximately 0.04 watt of electricity, compared with 0.45 watt for a mini incandescent light bulb and 7 watts for a C-7 incandescent bulb.  LEDs also stay cool to the touch which is less of a fire hazard than with traditional lights.  They are less likely to break due to their small size and solid construction.  Finally, they can last up to 100,000 hours or more. 

Linens

When I’m bagging up my linens after an event, I make a point to pack the hangers they come on and return them to the rental company.  I’ve also taken hangers back to my office to store decorative fabric and have used some in my home to stash away bed sheets.   Fellow ISES (International Special Events Society) member Dulany Noble of Gala Cloths by Dulany in Reisterstown, Maryland is thinking of launching a rewards program for clients who return linen hangers. 

For fabric, Dulany says, “I try not to put too much in the dumpster.”  Instead, she holds an annual sale of leftover products that are snatched up by church groups, the general public and painters who use them for drop cloths.  When making linens, leftover fabric is used to create fancy cocktail napkins and table runners which are then provided as gifts to clients, for ISES and NACE meetings and at silent auctions for charities.  Similarly, to get the most out of every bit of fabric, Barbara Grazzini of Washington, D.C.-based Perfect Settings doesn’t throw away linen. Staff members take home fabric samples to make pillows; other unused or damaged linen is put up for auction to churches or sold to smaller caterers.

Peter Grazzini notes that when Perfect Settings moves to its new facility, it will use a water reclamation system where the final rinse water is deposited into a tank used for water on the next load.  He expects to save 5,000-7,000 gallons of water each week.

At Capital Décor in Beltsville, Maryland, Kelly Jenkins reports that instead of using petroleum-based plastic wrap or shrink wrap when packaging and transporting props, they utilize leftover fabric to make bags to store props and use old material to pack props. 

      

Plants

Foliage and trees make your venue look polished while cleaning up dirty air and sending out clean air.  Rent potted plants and/or trees or, if you purchase plants, replant what you don’t use.  My plant vendor, fellow ISES member Plants Alive! in Silver Spring, Maryland takes flowering plants that aren’t re-rentable to children’s hospitals or soldiers homes.  Later, they are picked up and recycled for mulch.  That truly applies the practice of reduce-reuse-recycle.   

Props

When creating props, choose materials that are made of recycled material or can be reused and/or are environmentally friendly such as bamboo, recycled plastic, seaweed, organic cotton, soy, corn and hemp.  As I like to say, “Hemp:  It’s not just for smoking anymore!”  But seriously, it is a great alternative since it produces more paper per acre than trees do AND it can be recycled more times. 

Inquire at local schools or charitable organizations prior to the event if they would like to receive used décor items. 

Use reclaimed wood products, salvaged from older structures, and certified wood harvested from sustainably managed forests.

Rental Vehicles

Another strategy for rental companies is to switch their fleet to hybrid vehicles or use bio-diesel fuel if it is readily available in your area.  Companies can also save on fuel and carbon dioxide emissions be ensuring their fleet has regular tune ups, properly inflated tires and that they institute a no-idling policy since 10 percent of all fuel is wasted on idling. 

Lori Hill is president of the environmentally friendly firm lori hill event productions, Inc. in Burtonsville, MD. Hill has been a member of ISES for more 12 years and currently sits on its International Board of Governors.  Visit www.lorihillevents.com to contact her.