Sydney-headquartered event company Synergy Effect has been awarded an EcoVadis gold medal for sustainability with the company ranked in the top three per cent of similar companies globally for sustainable initiatives.
Synergy Effect directors Michael Fleck and Ruth Hirst believe that hybrid multisite and online business events are the way of the future.
“Events and conferences have been proven to be hugely effective in aligning people with strategy, motivating, building culture and engagement,” said Fleck.
“However traditional business events are by their nature exclusive, being limited by venue size and high per-head costs, as well as resulting in a significant carbon footprint.”
Studies from The Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research shows the annual carbon footprint for the global event industry is on par with the yearly greenhouse gas emissions of the entire United States, responsible for more than 10 per cent of global CO2 emissions.
Synergy Effect’s Ruth Hirst & Michael Fleck at the Australian Event Awards in 2022.“At Synergy Effect, we’re focused on creating impactful event solutions that deliver business goals as well as being more sustainable and inclusive,” said Fleck.
“By focusing on highly experiential hybrid multisite and online experiences, businesses can reduce the carbon footprint of events by up to 95 per cent, plus engage ten times the people and lower the per head cost by up 90 per cent.”
Hirst said the three of the strategies behind Synergy Effect’s achievement included the use of hybrid multisite events.
“A great example of this is Synergy Effect’s Galderma First Impressions event, which won the Best National Live or Hybrid Brand Event at the 2022 Australian Event Awards,” she said.
Inclusivity was also a major factor Hirst said, with presentations encouraged to include a wide range of voices from across the industry or organisation.
“Pre-film content segments to ensure you include people from the factory floor and manufacturing plant to mid-level management, C-suite and more through panel discussions, video compilations, or behind the scenes dive-ins,” she said.
The final consideration was ensuring environmental and social impacts across every element of event design.
“Keep sustainability and inclusivity in mind when you’re planning every element of your event,” Hirst said.
“Choose reusable wherever you can and look for ways to build connection, interactivity and empowerment to ensure your event has a positive social impact.”
