As more and more people talk about the impact of the livestock sector on the climate, the approach to catering at events related to environmental protection is changing - the amount of meat in the dishes is reduced or even abandoned altogether. It is already becoming a common practice in the advanced countries of the world, the first rudiments can be found in Lithuania as well.
And this fall, for the first time in our country, a business conference that has nothing to do with climate change, animal welfare, health, or similar topics chose to provide meals without meat to its participants. During the Social Media Managers' day, even ⅔ of the main dishes will be vegetarian, the rest will be vegetarian. We hope that this example will inspire other event organizers to push themselves.
The incentive worked
At the "ConnectIn" conference held in the spring, organized by the digital marketing agency "Caption" and the marketing training project "Venudu", the head of our organization, Meda Šermukšnė, interviewed their manager Karolis Rimkas, saying that even ⅔ of the food at the LinkedIn headquarters is supplied with plant-based food. Jokingly, she asked when the same could be expected at the ConnectIn conference, which is focused on communication on this social network.
The conversation that ensued revealed that businesses that organize conferences are challenged by the choice of catering, which they usually have to choose from the company that provides the facilities. Unfortunately, they are not always able to offer a plant-based or vegetarian menu to suit your needs, and there are significant additional charges for catering from other suppliers. In addition, since the decision is not common in our country, it is simply timid to make such a choice, because one does not know how the participants of the event will react.
But in the end, Caption decided to test this more sustainable dining model at another conference they're hosting, which is aimed at people working with social networks. The conference will be held on October 2. in the event space Compensa Concert Hall, which agreed to provide adequate catering.
Dishes are up to 10 times more environmentally friendly
Choosing to replace the previously served chicken dishes at the event with plant-based or vegetarian ones will create up to 10 times less CO2 emissions. According to M. Šermukšnė, this also saves other resources and gives the participants of the event an opportunity to get acquainted with dishes without meat. "In order to feed about 400 participants, the organizers would generate as much CO2 by choosing chicken as charging a smartphone 40,000 times or traveling about 2,500 km in a car. Catering for mass events has a significant impact on our climate, and it is important to pay attention to this. I am happy that at this event, participants will be offered delicious meatless dishes, such as falafels, chickpea stew or vegetable lasagna, whose impact on the climate is more than 10 times lower," adds M. Šermukšnė.
In previous years, the event served appetizers and main courses with chicken, fish, pork ham. The graph shows the numbers of how much CO2 each of these categories generates.
In addition to CO2 emissions, the amount of land and water needed to produce these products also differs significantly.
Impact on the events industry
This first case not only reduces the negative impact on the environment or animals, but also sets a precedent that can encourage other event organizers to make a change. He helped our organization understand what challenges companies organizing conferences or other events may face and find solutions to overcome them.
"Although creating a meatless menu at events is not new in the world, such choices are still a rarity in Lithuania. Therefore, I see the decision of the organizers of this conference as an important leadership step and I hope that it will encourage other events to follow their example. The time has come for the normalization of sustainable food in our country as well", says Meda Šermukšnė, head of the organization "Gyvi gali".
After the event, we plan to discuss and assess the progress of the change both with the Caption agency that organizes the event, and with the representatives of the Compensa concert hall that provided them with food.
