Making a responsible event means first of all choosing the right objectives

Depending on your needs and desires, you have various possibilities. The aim will be to determine what type of event will best meet the objectives of your event. If you want to reach a very broad or even international target, the Voilà carbon footprint calculator will suggest that you organize a digital event that will therefore be more suitable.

“The only bad choice is the lack of choice”

Amélie Nothomb

Today, having a positive impact on the environment is essential. Between a physical event or a digital event, are you still sure you are making the right choice? Here, it is not a question of opposing a physical event to a digital event, but rather of identifying the objectives of your event in order to choose the most suitable format. Quickly discover in the article below some ideas for thinking about how to select the right format to achieve your goals!

How do you set the goals for your event?

The method:

1. Define your goals and write a list: you want to unite your teams, make an impression, etc.
2. Select the information you want to provide.
3. Count the number of participants.
4. Identify the location of the participants.

The carbon balance calculator

A tool to help you choose the best event format

You want to offer unforgettable event experiences to your audience, but you are also concerned about environmental issues. However, your customers are in France and also abroad. So you sometimes hesitate between a physical event that will increase your carbon footprint or a digital event. To help you make the best choice, we have designed a calculator so that you can calculate the carbon footprint of your event. The result will help you choose the most effective event format to achieve your goals while respecting your CSR policy.

How to calculate the carbon footprint of your event?

We have designed a carbon footprint calculator that is very easy to use. You get an idea of the impact of your event almost immediately. The carbon balance calculator Voilà offers 3 entries to fill in to calculate the carbon footprint of your event:

1. The number of participants
2. The duration of your event: 1 half-day/1 day/3 days
3. The location of your event: Local/national/international.

When these 3 fields are filled in, at the bottom of the calculator screen, the carbon footprint of your event is displayed in physical format or in digital format. For example, you want to organize an event with the following criteria:

• Duration: 1 day
• Purpose: a national and international product launch
• Audience: 100 participants at the national level and 100 abroad.

The carbon balance calculator gives the following results. Thus, it is very likely that you will choose a digital event for the international market.

National

Physical event: 3,000 kg CO2Digital event: 29 kg CO2

International

Physical event: 41,000 kg CO2Digital event: 29 kg CO2

Is the hybrid format the best alternative to a physical or digital event?

In certain contexts (multicultural team, local and international audience, geographical distance, etc.), it happens that a 100% physical or 100% digital event cannot perfectly achieve ALL of its objectives. There is an alternative: the hybrid event. The hybrid format (on several face-to-face sites) and remotely makes it possible to precisely meet the objectives you want to achieve while meeting the expectations of your audience.For example, thanks to the hybrid format offered by the Vivatech exhibition, the show brought together more than 91,000 physical visitors and 300,000 connected. This hybrid event therefore allowed:

• to increase VivaTech's audience,
• to improve the event experience of participants,
• to reduce the carbon footprint of this show.

Imagine the carbon footprint if 10% of the 300,000 connected people had travelled to the Porte de Versailles in Paris 😉.

All the information on the VivaTech live event.

Conclusion

To conclude, opposing physical event and digital event is a mistake, because while offering unique event experiences, they are complementary.Thanks to our method for defining the objectives of your event and our carbon footprint calculator, you have all the cards in hand to choose the best event format. Do you want to know more about this subject?Request a demo