Sustainable events can still make a big impact
Use vintage crockery and buy cloth napkins. You’ll still be using them for parties a decade from now
IN 1987, The Brundtland Report, also known as Our Common Future, introduced the concept of sustainability, which has since become a buzzword, and the need for global co-operation to protect the environment.
To fully appreciate the impact of this report, it helps to remember some of the infamously extravagant events that preceded its publication:
- The 1972 Surrealist Ball, at which guests, such as Salvador Dalí and Audrey Hepburn, were treated to sugar for dessert. Sugar in the form of a life-sized woman, reclining on a bed of roses;
- The full orchestra that screen legend Elizabeth Taylor hired to play at the 40th birthday bash she threw for herself;
- The Black-and-White Ball in New York City’s Plaza Hotel in 1966. Hosted by writer Truman Capote, it was attended by 540 of his ‘closest friends’, including Lauren Bacall, Frank Sinatra, Mia Farrow, and others of that ilk.
Much has changed since that era of opulent waste, and sustainability is more to the fore. We can see it all around — local GAA clubs holding Halloween costume swaps; wedding planners using zero-waste chefs; food-waste apps becoming cool, and Gen Z embracing second-hand fashion sites, such as Vinted.
CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB
It’s fast becoming the norm for everyone to minimise the knock-on effect their plans might have on the environment.
Cathy Fitzgibbon, president of Network Ireland Cork, hosted the 2025 Businesswoman of the Year Awards recently, at the Radisson Hotel and Spa, at Little Island, Cork.
This year’s celebration, for the first time, had a strong focus on sustainability: “We decided to take meaningful steps to offset the carbon footprint of our event, because we believe success and responsibility go hand in hand.”
“In a time of greenwashing, it’s more important than ever for businesses to lead with integrity. Together, through the strength of our network, we have the power to champion real change, showing Cork and beyond that every business, no matter the size, has a role to play in building a more sustainable future.”
Another who is enthusiastically doing just that is wedding and event caterer Orla McAndrew, of Orla McAndrew Foods.
“Three years ago, a zero-waste wedding in Ireland was not even an option,” she says. “I brought the concept to the table, thinking that it might capture the imagination of eco-conscious younger couples.”
Asked how that was received, she replies: “Without exception, all the couples opting for a zero-waste wedding are either second time around, or had their children attending. This suggests that priorities shift and change as we experience more of life.”
The couples who were willing to trust Orla and her team to decide what to serve were delighted, viewing that as one less decision they had to make. Younger couples, while keen on the concept of a zero-waste wedding, tended to baulk when they realised they’d have no control over what would be served.
“What they would know,” Orla says, “however, is that we serve locally grown and sourced Irish food, while supporting Irish farmers. We have portion control down to a fine art and separate rubbish to ensure our team can recycle, compost, and minimise landfill waste to less than a two-kilo tub at every event. And we work with suppliers who are equally committed to providing excellence and honouring the environment.”
In March, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) reported on the ‘massive’ economic and social upheavals from extreme weather and signalled that clear signs of human-induced climate change worsened in 2024, with some of the consequences being irreversible over hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
Asked whether she has faith in humanity to act correctly and choose sustainability in the interests of equity and fairness, Tara Shine, co-founder and CEO of Change by Degrees, replies: “Ultimately, I do, as it is in the best interest of human beings to take care of our home and to find ways of living that promote health and wellbeing, fairness, and a good quality of life. The way things are now is far from perfect. We have everything to gain and most of us have little to lose by doing things differently.”
From what she has witnessed first-hand around the world, does she believe that world leaders will put aside greed and self-interest to do right by those currently bearing the brunt of climate inaction?
“The people who have something to lose are those in power and with vested interests in the status quo,” Tara Shine replies.
“They benefit when things stay the same, even though the current systems are unfair and polluting our air and robbing our children of their future. We need leaders who are courageous and kind, the sort who serve their people, customers, and employees and not themselves. We need more diversity in our leaders, more women, more minorities.
“Leading countries and businesses the way we have for the past few centuries won’t solve the problems we face today.”
Assuming some leaders will not do what’s necessary, does she believe the required changes will come about on time?
“I hope so,” she says.
“Ultimately, sustainability is about innovation and creativity, fairness and shared opportunity. If we can get that message across, anything is possible.
“That’s exactly what we do in Change by Degrees: We engage people at work to be inspired and take action, so they feel powerful and not powerless in the face of all the change in the world.”
Her heartfelt message is: “You can do something about the state of the world. “Get informed, take action, share what you do and how it makes you feel.
“Remember, you have a massive influence on your colleagues, friends, and family. They trust you more than any world leader.”
As for why we should all remain hopeful in the face of climate challenge, she says: “Because we live on this beautiful Earth and life is too short for wasting. Let’s make it as good as it can be.”
Capote’s Black-and-White Ball, with its high-net-worth revellers, is remembered as the ‘party of the century’.
The guests’ expensive tailoring and the mandatory masks they wore till midnight made headlines around the world.
As did the fact that while most wore custom-designed masks of the elaborate or elegant kind, the one worn by Capote cost less than a dollar at FAO Schwarz.
Today, while many of the gowns worn at that elegant soirée are still being displayed in museums and coveted private collections, it’s not known whether Capote’s chintzy facial masquerade survived, or indeed whether he favoured ‘fast fashion’.
It is arguable, however, that he should be given the benefit of the doubt, if only for his penchant for frugality. After all, at his 1966 ball, no flowers were on display in the Grand Ballroom, and only chicken hash and Taittinger were served.
Hosting a BBQ, or a birthday or dinner party? Dr Tara Shine and Orla McAndrew share zero waste tips:
- Instead of using disposable plates and cutlery, rent or borrow them from friends
- Choose reusable bunting in place of balloons
- Collect bottles and cans for re-turn
- Avoid disposable BBQs. They’re dangerous and impossible to recycle
- Make table decorations from garden plants and flowers
- Buy cloth napkins. You’ll still be using them for parties a decade from now
- Make it easy for guests to separate food waste from other waste
- Buy local food and offer alternatives to meat
- Don’t over-buy food. Think portion control
- Serve locally grown and sourced food
- Support Irish farmers
- Use sharing style platters, so people take only what they need
- Use vintage crockery
- Use compostable and reusable napkins
- Separate rubbish to ensure you can recycle, compost and minimise landfill waste
- If possible, partner with local farms to compost food scraps
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