Celebrate green at the office

Guest post by Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson, mother and daughter co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at their website, Celebrate Green.

As summer winds down, you might be thinking of an end-of-summer celebration with your office. Here are a few tips for eco-friendly company parties. (Many of these ideas are inexpensive too!) If you are looking for more in depth information, just contact Lynn and Corey at their website.

• Avoid choosing paper anything unless it’s treefree or 100% recycled and printed with vegetable inks.
• If you are giving gifts, make them earth-friendly. Potted plants make great centerpieces and can be given away.
• Instead of centering the party around food and drink, come up with some fun activities that may include poking gentle fun at management.
• Provide drinks in pitchers, punch bowls or glass bottles. Avoid disposable cups and plates.
• If you’re having the party catered, seek out one who emphasizes sustainable, local and organic food.
• Giving out awards? Choose from recycled glass awards, fair trade picture frames, organic chocolate bars etc. You can find these and others at Recycled Products and Green With Envy Gifts.
• Have your party early enough in the day so that lights are not necessary. If you use decorative lighting, ensure that it is LED or solar.
• Serve fair trade, organic coffee (shade grown if possible) and/or tea.
• Plan carefully. Avoid overpurchasing food. If you have leftovers, compost, send home with guests or donate if you can. Unopened bags, boxes and cans can be taken to a local food bank.
• Consider having your party or celebration benefit a local cause. Invite guests to bring books for local book drives, coats for a coat drive, school supplies or whatever else your local community needs.
• Clean up with eco-friendly products and be sure to place recycling bins where guests will use them.

If you like these suggestions and want to read more about greening events, check out our guest series from eco-event planner extraordinaire Lori Hill.

As always, we love to hear from you! What creative ideas have you tried for your company celebrations?

• Technorati reactions