Our reviews of many green event planning guides

This very useful 22 page pdf Green Meetings Policy was developed by the National Recycling Coalition and covers printed materials, food, conference hotels, educating attendees, recycling and waste prevention, site selection and more. It is an in-depth and extensive guide with links for additional resources and checklists for post event green evaluations.

If you're planning a green funeral, make sure to read this guide. Here you can find their top ten basic tips plus additional tips for going above and beyond, some statistics on the environmental impact of funerals, and links for further research.

An extensive site for travelers with a variety of resources and tips including transport, trip ideas and green destinations. It includes articles on volunteering abroad, eco-lodges and green hotels, eco-friendly tour operators and more! There is a message board for people to exchange tips of their own.

This detailed guide is 54 pages long so it is best for event organizers who are very serious about greening every aspect of their event. There is a table of contents and a checklist which make it more accessible. The guide has a check list for products, service contractors, paper use and green office tips, accommodations, food, transportation, energy, hazardous materials, security, sponsorship, media, and special events. It doesn't have tips geared specifically to outdoor events, but any event planner should find some useful information in this guide.

This 14 page PDF report can be found at www.greenmeetings.info. The report is their main resource, but the Green Meeting Industry Council website also includes very basic tips on greening your event, including the benefits of greening your event and it organizes tips by "minimum best practices" and "strongly recommended best practices." The website has green practices for event suppliers as well as event organizers. It covers transportation, accommodations, food and beverages, recycling, venue selection and how to market your green event. As their name says, they are focused on meetings: indoor business-related events. GMIC is a leader in the field, and you might consider joining, attending their yearly conference, or participating in their online forum.

You can find studies and statistics from IMEX.

This 12 page pdf guide was created by the EPA for those planning very large events, mainly conferences. It's written like a short book rather than a punch list of suggestions, and discusses three case studies of past green events. There are suggestions for greening all the basic aspects of your event, from waste reduction to buying products to promoting your event. There is a short checklist at the end that covers waste, energy, food service and more. Our first impression: this might be useful early reading before you get serious about the details, but most professional meeting planners will want a longer document to make your planning easier, and it's a bit out of date (resources from the early 1990s).

This guide from the American Wind Energy Association lists actions taken at their 2008 Windpower conference. It's a quick read and has some good, basic tips for greening larger indoor conferences.

Besides exploring guides, check out some great examples:
Whole Earth Festival,
SolFest,
EarthDance and
various green Burners and Earth Guardians,
or explore the work of festival greening super-activist Green Mary.

This 24-page recycling guide was created for the Komen Race for the Cure event in Portland. It has helpful information for planners who are new to intensive recycling programs, sample letters to sponsors, info on composting, and ideas for promoting your event.

This Eco-friendlier Party Planning Guide has tips on decorating, food, party favors and dishware, plus links for where to buy such eco-friendly products. While helpful, this guide could be greener by advocating purchasing fewer unnecessary items - such as flowers or disposable dishware.

This short guide has a list of tips for invites, decor, food, drinks and clean up. There are some useful links and creative ideas, especially regarding invitations, but the guide leaves out some important green practices, like providing vegetarian options.

This guide has ten basic tips plus further reading and links for travelers and sports-oriented vacationers. It focuses on travel and sustainable sporting equipment.

This site discusses green burials and answers questions for anyone who has ever thought about burial alternatives.

These twelve tips are a great place for meetings planners to get started. The tips are basic and more useful for beginners, but do a good job of covering all aspects of event planning.

This guide from National Geographic has several articles related to green travel and sports, including a guide to purchasing athletic shoes, tips for bicycle commuting, surfing and vacations.

This guide is great! It's educational and entertaining; featuring in-depth articles, green living tips, green buying guides, and much more!

This Guide is from the city of Portland's Office of Sustainable Development. It's divided into sections on pre-event planning, recycling, and evaluation. There are three appendixes with additional resources (mostly specific to Portland,) sample vendor letters and a sample event audit.

This site from The Green Burial Council, a non-profit org., lets you search green funeral providers, cemeteries, and products by state.

This basic, brief guide from Zero Waste Action Team has five detailed steps for getting started, plus about 25 more short suggestions for reducing food waste at your event. There is a Green Directory at the bottom with Canadian businesses. The guide seems to be written for food service establishments, but would be applicable to conferences, festivals and parties as well.