Green Living: Party time

This week we're focusing on the annual round of festivities that are Christmas parties. Is it possible to kick back and let your hair down while still being kind to the environment?

There has been a lot of talk in the event industry about cutbacks around Christmas parties, with many firms reluctant to be seen to be spending scarce resources on frivolous extras.

Having a greener party can be a great way of demonstrating to the bosses that you can still have fun without squandering the budget on needless excess.

Some of the obvious ways to make your party more sustainable are no-brainers.

Rather than having a printed invitation you could send round an interactive email instead. Expensive bottled water is a waste of money when chilled jugs of tap water score higher in taste tests, and choosing a more vegetarian friendly menu will score ethical points as well as keeping the price down.

If you want to go a step further you could source your wines and beers from Vintage Roots which offers a fantastic selection of organic drinks. When it's time to go home at the end of the night book your cabs through Green Tomato Cars which operates a huge fleet of Toyota Prius cars throughout London.

As a rule of thumb, most decisions you make to be more sustainable should also save you money. There are exceptions - organic food being one. With luck however, pointing out the green credentials of your party, and the money you've saved, could be just enough to get the thumbs up from the finance department.

- Do you or your company have an environmentally friendly product or service you'd like featured in this column? Let us know by contacting Seventeen, a sustainable alternative for your event management needs, at andrew@seventeenevents.co.uk.