Apps
Downloading apps has become second nature. But did you know that there are plenty of apps out there that can help you live more sustainably? For instance, HowGood is a free app that allows you to scan the barcode of products at the supermarket and determine how damaging they are for the environment and your health, based on factors such as ingredient sourcing, community impact, food processing and more. Meanwhile, Joulebug gives you tips on how you can improve your daily carbon footprint in easy steps with a game setup that allows you to win points for every “green” task you complete, like biking to meet your friends or reusing a coffee mug. If you want to take going green to the next level, download iHuerting, an app that gives city dwellers tips on how to plant their own produce right in their home.
VR
When it comes to huge global issues like climate change and deforestation, it’s often difficult to truly picture the scale of the issue in our minds. Thanks to virtual reality, the new technology that simulates a three-dimensional environment through a screen, it’s now much easier for us to place ourselves in virtual experiences to see the impacts of these issues. For instance, through VR, people can witness the depths of the ocean and how plastic use is truly destroying the environment and animals around the world, as well as how carbon monoxide release is acidifying ocean waters. In fact, Stanford University created an interactive VR game around this idea, which went on to showcase at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival and has now been adapted into an accessible VR game by Google. Similarly, nature documentary buff David Attenborough has produced a VR experience of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to show its decay due to environmental issues.
Augmented Reality
This type of technology, which places computer-generated graphics onto real-world environments, might be familiar to most people thanks to games like Pokemon Go. But it’s also helpful when it comes to sustainability, with one example being the fact that we can experience something without actually needing to have it processed, packaged and delivered to us. IKEA has grabbed onto this idea, allowing people to “place” furniture into their homes through AR before actually buying the tangible product, and in turn reducing a huge amount of energy that would otherwise be required in the delivery process. This idea can be transferred entirely across the e-commerce business, and even extended into the construction industry where experiences like museums and meeting rooms may not have to be physically built. It may seem far off in the future, but there are definitely sustainability aspects to this new form of technology.
Go DIGITAL
TCEB is encouraging organizers in the MICE industry to go digital in order to improve their sustainability initiatives. Taking steps like setting up online, rather than paper-based, registration for your meetings, or providing documents through e-mail, can significantly help reduce the amount of paper used. Even better, simply having a stable internet connection setup can completely remove the need for paper and CDs. Not only do these solutions help to make events greener, they’ll also save time, money and improve convenience for both the organizers and the participants. For more ideas, check out TCEB’s Sustainable Events guide at www.micecapabilities.com
What is MICE?
M – Meetings
I – Incentives
C – Conventions
E – Exhibitions & Events
MICE Capabilities 
Tcebmicecap
