Kaibosh rescues and redistributes surplus food. It takes healthy, nutritious kai to 140 charities and community groups. It does this throughout Wellington, Hutt Valley, and Kāpiti-Horowhenua. When selecting a caterer, consider supporting a no-food-waste charity to redistribute food. Or you can make a monetary donation to help these charities run.
One of the best actions to tackle climate change and improve the environment is to plant more native trees. Trees That Count has planted 42 million natives since it began in 2016. Over 50 years, these trees have the potential to remove 7 to 9.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. Consider funding, gifting, or crowdfunding native planting projects.
Zealandia is the world’s first fully-fenced urban ecosanctuary. It has a 500-year vision to connect people with nature and help native wildlife flourish in Wellington and beyond. The 225-hectare eco-sanctuary is a ground-breaking conservation project that protects many rare native wildlife species. Consider an off-site breakout or workshop in your itinerary at Zealandia. Or, you can donate to specific projects through its website. As a not-for-profit, you will be directly contributing to its vital conservation work.
Wellington’s coffee culture is integral to the city. Again Again is a social enterprise that allows you to lease reusable coffee cups from local cafés. You can reuse and return the cups. Consider encouraging your delegates to borrow cups during their stay in Wellington, and skip the waste.
Cancer is a leading cause of death in New Zealand. The Gillies McIndoe Research Institute focuses on making cancer treatment less intrusive, more accessible, and more affordable. It hopes to start testing other aggressive cancers approved for clinical trial. These include malignant melanoma, metastatic squamous skin cancer, and mouth cancer. Consider donating to the institute, which relies on donations to fund its work.
FlyNeutral allows you to offset your share of a flight’s carbon emissions. It uses carbon credits from international projects. It also helps speed up biodiversity and climate outcomes in New Zealand. Its easy calculator means you can offset your carbon at any time, based on your travel details. Consider including a FlyNeutral link on your conference website’s travel section. And remember to offset carbon emissions when booking your speaker, and VIP and staff travel.
Everybody Eats is a pay-as-you-feel dining concept for everyone. The not-for-profit serves chef-prepared meals to feed anyone while diverting food from landfills. Delegates have the option to eat with locals, soak up the atmosphere, and pick up the bill. Consider promoting this concept to delegates with free nights in their schedule as a chance to enjoy the foodie capital and connect with Wellingtonians at the same time.