Green Events
At Colorado College, sustainability efforts extend to all aspects of campus life - including events and event planning. Whether you are attending Homecoming, sitting in on a club meeting, or participating in a lecture series, you will witness Colorado College's community working to reduce single-use disposable catering products, maximizing financial resources, and hands-on waste education.
The Green Event initiative encourages students, faculty, and staff to implement green practices at the hundreds of annual events happening on the Colorado College campus. In collaboration with Colorado College Student Government Association (CCSGA), the Office of Sustainability has created the Green Event Guide to get you started. By working with our campus partners to steadily increase sustainability at events, the green events produce financial and resource savings that directly impact and contribute to Colorado College's larger goals.
Green Events Guide
- Hold events in accessible spaces to ensure inclusion for all, and consider creating an Accessible Event
- Welcome people with disabilities by including an accommodation statement that invites participants to request accommodations in advance of the event
- Contact Accessibility Resources if assistance is needed to arrange for sign language interpreters, captioning, and other accommodation support
- When setting up, especially the menu, considerations should be taken for: culture, religion, cost, dietary allergies, and access
- Use reusable dish-ware and/or utensils or compostable dish-ware and/or utensils when available
- Reach out to Campus Activities and the Office of Sustainability
- Use non-dyed napkins that can be composted
- Avoid individually wrapped condiment packets or snacks, such as individual chip bags and other unnecessary one-time use products: coffee stirrers, straws, toothpicks
- Address food waste by posting extras on CC's "Food Finder" page
- Provide smaller plates so that people do not take more food than they will eat. Request leftover food items to be donated post event to a local nonprofit, if possible!
- Consider donating to the CC Pantry Exchange which accepts any unopened food products
- Offer takeout containers at your event to encourage participants to bring food home with them
- Encourage selecting an appropriate amount of food to reduce waste
- Encourage consuming all perishable products to reduce waste
- Offer at least one vegan and one vegetarian option and make sure that they are well labeled while reducing or eliminate animal-based proteins, particularly beef
- Avoid excess packaging and food by buying food in bulk and providing water bottle filling stations instead of disposable plastic water bottles
- Serve locally sourced and in-season food when possible
- Choose food items that can be consumed without utensils
- If using an offsite caterer, be aware of disposable items or containers that are made from styrofoam. Ask the catering company if they use styrofoam and request to avoid usage of it
- When ordering materials cater the numbers to how many participants you expect so you don't end up with unnecessary / unusable extras (particularly when it comes to food)
- Reduce the size or number of paper flyers posted around campus or eliminate entirely from the event. Access online marketing services on campus, such as the Today at CC newsletter or relevant departmental chains
- If used, ensure that paper materials are printed using the two-sided print option
- Promote the use of one's own reusable items to bring at all possible avenues: water bottles, name tags, utensils, tablecloths, etc;
- Reusable items should be used as much as possible. If disposable items are essential, they should be recyclable or compostable
- A diverse list of available reusable items is available for checkout by Campus Activities. For any questions related to these items please reach out to campusactivities@
coloradocollege.edu.
- A diverse list of available reusable items is available for checkout by Campus Activities. For any questions related to these items please reach out to campusactivities@
- Discourage waste at events in creative ways: encouraging participants to be mindful and/or provide take-out containers
- Consider the timing and location of the event, we recommend a space that maximizes the use of daylight
- If in a room, make sure that all lights and electronics are turned off at the end of the event
- Think of other innovative ways to generate energy for the event: solar-powered or bike- human powered energy
- Promote alternative transportation methods for getting to and from the event such as ride sharing, carpooling, Mountain Metro, PikeRide/bike riding, and walking
- Mountain Metro is free to all students who use their CC ID and Pike Ride is free for the entire campus community!
- If bringing in a speaker, specifically by plane ensure offsetting their carbon emissions created by the trip as part of the budget
- Encourage carbon offsets amongst participants as well—consider subsidizing the offset for attendees by including this cost in the budget as well
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Funded by CCSGA
The Green Event Funded By CCSGA, formally known as the Eco Event, is a partnership between the Office of Sustainability and the CC Student Government Association. It is a designation that recognizes student events that take into account many aspects of sustainability at their event.
CCSGA Funding
FOR STUDENTS: If you are receiving over $5,000 in funds from CCSGA for an event
Any event that is receiving over $5,000 in funds from CCSGA MUST be certified as a Green Event. The easiest way to become certified is to review the checklist and meet with an Office of Sustainability Campus Programming Intern in a one-on-one meeting. There is also an opportunity to address Green Events concerns in your Special Events Funding meeting with the CCSGA Finance Committee. With your Green Event, you are supporting Colorado College and being a role model to your peers.
Green Events Guide
Contact Us
If you are interested in learning more about Green Events or would like additional support in planning a Green Event, please contact the Office of Sustainability at sustainability@coloradocollege.edu