What others are doing
Over the past few years, pre-pandemic, we saw large event organisers making their ambitions to be more environmentally friendly known.
Sarah, supporter engagement assistant
Living with Colitis
From not allowing balloons to be used at cheer points to committing to courses being plastic-free. These are all the steps that need to be taken to make sure the impact of mass participation events isn’t just beneficial for the causes that are being supported. They should also not damage the environment surrounding the course route.
It’s not just materials being used at large events that are being reviewed by event organisers; it is also the energy being used. There are large sporting events that are making waves with sustainability.
For example, Finland’s biggest indoor sporting event was entirely powered by electricity generated from horse manure in 2019. Over 135 tonnes of manure collected from competing horses was used to generate 150 megawatt hours of electricity.
Now, the organising committee of the Tokyo Olympics Games (planned for 2020, now 2021) are setting out plans to make the games more sustainable than they have ever been.
What we are planning
Out of the 17 billion cubic feet of trees deforested each year, over 60% are used to make paper. Scary, isn't it?
At Crohn’s & Colitis UK, our main source of paper usage is sending thank you acknowledgements to our donors. We recently asked supporters how they’d like to be thanked after donating and 91.6% of those asked said they’d prefer an email to a letter. We are listening and we are making change!
We are changing our processes so, if you donate and we have an email address for you, we will aim to email you to say thank you rather than sending a letter. We are also moving our paper-based resources onto our website so they are accessible to our supporters.
This will help us save money on postage as well as reducing our carbon footprint in the process.
We understand and appreciate that there will be supporters who don’t use the internet and will require items to be posted out. So, to try and offset the carbon footprint of posting materials out, we aim to print any paper-based materials we have (i.e. posters, publications) on paper that can be recycled.
We are also currently reviewing all our stock of merchandise including t-shirts, running tops and wristbands that we keep at our office. The process has made us question many things:
- How sustainable are these items?
- Are they recyclable?
- Are they from a sustainable source?
- What happens when someone is finished with their item?
All questions that are valid and should be at the forefront our minds when restocking items.
We are deep diving into how we can make a stroke of change within the sustainability wave that is crashing onto our shores.
Once a t-shirt has been used for an event, you may wish to keep the top as a memento and keepsake to remember your achievement. Instead of having it hidden away in a draw why not look at how you can repurpose and up-cycle your top? You could look at making it into something practical such as a tote bag for life or even a quilt like Janice.
I had been inspired by others who had done a similar thing with their running t-shirts. There were too many to store so I picked the most memorable ones and made them into a blanket. This way I can enjoy them more often than them being kept in a cupboard.
Janice
We would also love to remind you that there is no pressure to request a new top from us when you support us in new events, please reuse old tops that you may have first!
If you have one of our pens that runs out, we know it is easy to throw them away, but pens can be recycled! There are pen recycling points all over the country, so why not have a dedicated point in your home to collect old and used pens and then head to your nearest drop off point.
We have a popular branded rubber wristband, and they are wonderful to help raise awareness however the rubber is sadly not recyclable. We are starting to use up the stock we have left and we are looking into restocking with a more sustainable option.
We will be posting more ways how you can repurpose some of our merchandise items on social media – keep your eyes peeled!
If you don’t want to wear your wristband all the time or don’t want it on your person all the time, why not add it to your keys and use it as a keyring.
There are so many ways that you can help us make a difference in becoming sustainable. You can follow our tips and tricks, or you might have some of your own. We would love to hear from you if you have taken the time to upcycle, recycle or have a suggestion for us to consider, email us to let us know!
