Brella partners with One Tree Planted for a future of sustainable events

On June 2, 2022, event supplier Brella announced its partnership with the nonprofit organization One Tree Planted in a joint effort to combat deforestation and counteract the tons of yearly carbon emissions caused by the event industry. 

Virtual events are commonly seen as a greener alternative to in-person conferences. However, event experts at Brella know that while technology can boost events to new heights, it will never fully replace the thrill of wandering a beautiful venue and experiencing an event with all our senses.

“When we think about in-person gatherings we picture handshakes, meeting new people at the venue, making new connections, and creating life-changing business relations,” says Ville Vanhala, VP of Customer Success at Brella.

“However, we care deeply about our planet and we know the event industry is far from being carbon neutral. There’s still a lot of room for improvement!”

Studies have shown the average in-person event wastes between 15%-20% of the food it produces, while a 3-day conference for 1,000 attendees not only can create up to 5670kg of waste but can also lead to 530 metric tons of CO2 emissions. 

“We understand the value of onsite gatherings and we can hardly wait to see all the amazing in-person events this 2022 will bring,” Ville Vanhala comments. “However, we also want to shift to greener practices and counteract the negative impact this industry has on our planet with bolder and louder actions.”

After all, event experts at Brella are witnessing how organizers and attendees alike have become more aware of the pressing matter of climate change and are now opting for more sustainable solutions.

First of all, a return to in-person doesn’t mean event organizers can’t empower the onsite experience with technologies, quite the contrary. While the right event tech can boost your attendees’ satisfaction and sponsors’ ROI at your in-person events, it can also dramatically reduce your carbon footprint helping you plan greener events that benefit your wallets for good measure.

For instance, Brella’s long-time partner TechBBQ was able to host their first paperless in-person event in 2021. Their 2-day conference was attended by 2,500+ participants, and the savings were tremendous.

Plus, technologies like QR scanning and an intuitive event mobile app can replace badge printing and provide both your attendees and sponsors the opportunity to manage their connections, meetings, event agenda, and receive real-time notifications without the need to print messy and wasteful leaflets or venue maps.

These solutions combined with sustainable practices like replacing plastic with biodegradable items, to name one, can and will make a difference.

However, while being a considerable step forward, these practices are low-hanging fruit, and the current situation calls for large-scale actions. 

“Sustainability is at the core of our business model, and our mission is to rethink the current pollutive practices in the industry while giving back to help the environment,” says Brella CEO and co-founder, Markus Kauppinen.”

Reforestation is unanimously recognized by scientists as one of the top solutions to the climate crisis.

Trees help clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink and provide habitat to over 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Trees also provide tremendous social impacts by creating jobs for over 1.6 billion people, empowering women in underdeveloped nations, and supporting communities devastated by environmental damage. 

Brella’s partnership with One Tree Planted is designed to involve Brella’s users in global reforestation one meeting at a time: for every 10 meetings scheduled through Brella’s networking tool, the company will plant 1 mangrove in Southeast Asia.

Why mangroves?

Mangroves play a vital role in Asian tropical and subtropical ecosystems. They grow where the ocean meets land and, thanks to their dense roots, protect the coastlines by filtering pollutants from the water and reducing coastal erosion. 

“We want to thank our partners and users all around the globe for joining us on this mission for a new era of tech-powered and sustainable in-person events,” says Markus Kauppinen.

And while restoring nature and playing a part in mending climate change is at the core of this new partnership with One Tree Planted, that’s not all.

Last but not least, Markus Kauppinen adds, “We want this partnership to be an example of how event suppliers can join forces and ultimately make a positive change for our planet.”

Learn more about Brella’s mission here: https://www.brella.io/news/brella-partners-with-one-tree-planted