Event Trends To Incorporate In Planning

Have you ever danced so hard to power a concert? At a Coldplay show, that’s not a metaphor, it’s literally how the lights stay on. The floor beneath the crowd converts movement into electricity. There are exercise bikes at the back of the arena for fans who want to help charge the stage batteries. And the whole tour runs this way: solar panels on trucks, recycled cooking oil for transport, and repurposed BMW i3 batteries storing the energy that keeps the music going. They’ve banned private jets for short-haul travel, swapped to trains whenever they can, and track every gram of carbon produced. Even the confetti is biodegradable - the soap bubbles, compostable. Crew meals are mostly plant-based, and when the stage breaks down, materials are recycled or reused for the next city. Every ticket funds one tree. So far, over seven million of them - planted in biodiverse forests across 24 countries, not carbon monocultures. The band measures everything. If a piece of equipment or a venue can’t hit the sustainability target, they publish the data anyway. They know it’s not perfect. They do it anyway. You look around and it doesn’t feel like a concert anymore. It feels like proof that people still care enough to try. —- ♻️ Share with a Coldplay fan 💚 Follow Grazina Klevinske for more on sustainable living and carbon markets

During my recent stay at Novotel Hotels Vijayawada Varun, I saw firsthand how hospitality brands are beginning to embrace sustainability. While I know these steps don’t yet make the hotel fully sustainable, it’s good to see meaningful action being taken. From biodegradable dental kits and refillable dispensers to glass water bottles, and cloth napkins, their commitment to reducing waste was clear.  They even provided sterilized reusable footwear - a practical and sustainable alternative to the typical disposable white slippers. Here are the three most impressive sustainability efforts that stood out during my stay: 1️⃣ Green Building: Powered by solar energy and equipped with LED lighting, sustainability is built into its foundation. 2️⃣ EV Charging Station: The first in Vijayawada, encouraging greener travel. 3️⃣ Composting & Herb Garden: Onsite composting and a vertical herb garden reduce waste and support local sourcing. These initiatives have earned Novotel Vijayawada Varun a Bronze Level in Accor’s Planet 21 initiative, a recognition of their efforts to support environmental stewardship. Accor, the parent company, has also committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and significant emissions reductions by 2030. While there’s still a long way to go, it’s encouraging to see brands I’ve grown up with starting to integrate sustainability into their operations. Every step counts, and it’s these thoughtful initiatives that can inspire broader change in the hospitality industry. What small sustainable changes have you seen recently that made an impression? Let’s share ideas! #Sustainability #GreenHospitality #EcoFriendly #ResponsibleTourism

Are networking events really built for everyone? If you’re an introvert like me, typical networking events can feel chaotic and overwhelming—more of a noisy crowd than a space to forge real connections. But here’s a powerful alternative: host your own networking event. It might sound counterintuitive, but when you’re in control, you can design a setting that actually fosters meaningful connections, tailored to your comfort and style. ➡ Rethink the format ⬅ Many networking events are designed by extroverts, for extroverts, creating a noisy, impersonal environment. ➡ Curate the experience ⬅ Hosting your own event allows you to shape it to suit your style—whether that’s a small group or a quieter venue. ➡ Foster meaningful connections ⬅ By setting up an environment that lets you and your guests get to know each other better, you create space for genuine relationships. ➡ Add value for attendees ⬅ When you plan the guest list and share information in advance, people can come prepared and get more from the experience. When we take the initiative to build our own spaces, we’re not just networking; we’re building communities that fit us. #networking #strategy #careers

There's fascinating research on popularity that flips everything we think we know about social success (Lansu & Cillessen, 2015). The finding? The people who are most liked are the ones who like the most other people. This flips the usual social script. Most of us enter a party or meeting thinking: “I hope they like me.” But the real power move, the research-backed one, is: • “Who can I like here?” • “Who can I appreciate?” • “Who can I be curious about?” • “Who can I make feel seen?” That tiny mindset shift changes everything: • You stop performing • You start connecting • And people feel drawn to you because you’re making them feel good So here’s your next-event goal (and it’s surprisingly fun): Walk in thinking, “How can I like more people in this room?” And then actually show it with these tiny habits: 1. Look for one thing to appreciate about each person A quick, “I love that idea,” or “You have such great energy,” goes a long way. 2. Lead with curiosity Ask simple warm questions: • “What brings you here?” • “How do you know the host?” • “What’s something good from your week?” 3. Use my favorite “liking cues” • Head tilt = warmth • Eyebrow raise = interest • Soft smile = safety • A tiny lean-in = engagement 4. Give micro-validations • “Oh, that makes sense” • “Tell me more about that” • “That’s interesting” 5. And follow up with my favorite line If someone stood out, send a quick: “I was just thinking about you and our conversation…” It’s the fastest way to stay memorable and it feels really good to receive.

The fourth edition of India Energy Week is imminent. Under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Govt of India, this is one of a truly exciting showcase with global presence of international and national energy majors, policymakers, innovators, consulting firms, startups, service providers and more. 10,000+ attendees in 2023 at Bangalore. 35,000 and counting the following year at Goa. 70,000 estimated visitor footfalls in 2025 at New Delhi. 75,000 at least expected as it returns to Goa later this month. Just one eyebrow-raising issue. While India has been at the forefront of advocacy against single-use plastics and a vocal supporter of circular economy initiatives, why must a global energy event use lanyards? Consider this: A typical lanyard contains - Polyester strap: 12 g - Plastic badge holder: 10 g - Metal clip + ring: 5 g 80,000 attendees means: - Plastics used: About 1.5 tons - Metals used: About 300 kgs Using emission factors: - Polyester (PET) strap: 2.6–3.2 kg CO₂e/kg - PVC badge holder: 2.4–3.0 kg CO₂e/kg - PET badge holder (rPET/PET): 2.3–3.0 kg CO₂e/kg - Steel (clip/ring): 1.6–2.1 kg CO₂e/kg (mix of primary and recycled) - Zinc alloy (clip): 3.0–4.0 kg CO₂e/kg That adds up roughly to 5 tons of CO2 for this conference alone, considering production of the lanyards only (no transport, energy use at venue, or end‑of‑life impact). So what can the organisers consider doing? How can we have an energy conference that orients itself better towards sustainability? - Reuse bins at exit: Recover up to 80% of lanyards - make sure they are not printed with the year and location. They can then be reissued for the next event. - Stamped steel wire clips: Reduce clip mass to ~3 g—metals drop to ~30 kg. - rPET straps + PET holders: Eliminate PVC and improve recyclability; keep weights constant. - Narrow straps (15 mm): Strap mass ~8–9 g—plastics drop by ~10–20 kg. - Best option: Use pure digital identities linked to phones or stick-on bar codes #sustainableenergy #plasticpollution

🤔 How might you infuse more experiential elements into even the most standard Q&A session? This was my question to myself when wrapping up a facilitation course for a client that included a Q&A session. I wanted to be sure it complemented the other experiential sessions and was aligned with the positive adjectives of how participants had already described the course. First and foremost - here is my issue with Q&As: 👎 They are only focused on knowledge transfer, but not not memory retention (the brain does not absorb like a sponge, it catches what it experiences!) 👎 They tend to favor extroverts willing to ask their questions out loud 👎 Only a small handful of people get their questions answered and they may not be relevant for everyone who attends So, here is how I used elements from my typical #experiencedesign process to make even a one-directional Q&A more interactive and engaging: 1️⃣ ENGAGE FROM THE GET-GO How we start a meeting sets the tone, so I always want to engage everyone on arrival. I opted for music and a connecting question in the chat connected to why we were there - facilitation! 2️⃣ CONNECTION BEFORE CONTENT Yes, people were there to have their questions answered, but I wanted to bring in their own life experience having applied their new found facilitation skills into practice. We kicked off with breakout rooms in small groups to share their own experiences- what had worked well and what was still challenging. This helped drive the questions afterwards. 3️⃣ MAKE THE ENGAGEMENT EXPLICIT Even if it was a Q&A, I wanted to be clear about how THIS one would be run. I set up some guidelines and also gave everyone time to individually think and reflect what questions they wanted to ask. We took time with music playing for the chat to fill up. 4️⃣ COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IS MOST IMPACTFUL Yes, they were hoping to get my insights and answers, however I never want to discredit the wisdom and lived experience in the room. As we walked through the questions, I invited others to also share their top tips and answers. Peer to peer learning is so rich in this way! 5️⃣ CLOSING WITH ACTIONS AND NEVER QUESTIONS The worst way to end any meeting? "Are there any more questions?" Yes, even in a Q & A! Once all questions were answered, I wanted to land the journey by asking everyone to reflect on what new insights or ideas emerged for them from the session and especially what they will act upon and apply forward in their work. Ending with actions helps to close one learning cycle and drive forward future experiences when they put it to the test! The session received great reviews and it got me thinking - we could really apply these principles to most informational sessions that tend to put content before connection (and miss the mark). 🤔 What do you think? Would you take this approach to a Q&A? Let me know in the comments below👇 #ExperienceLearningwithRomy

This start-up turned Trash into Treasure at the Paris Olympics 🏅 Here’s how → With the 2024 Paris Olympic Games now concluded, it's time to reflect on the innovative contributions that made these Games truly special. Le Pavé® , a French startup played a crucial role in promoting sustainability by transforming plastic waste into functional and eco-friendly products used during the Olympics. Founded in 2018 by Marius Hamelot and Jim Pasquet, Le Pavé® set out with a vision to address the environmental impact of plastic waste. What started as an experiment in a repurposed steel foundry has grown into a pioneering enterprise at the forefront of sustainable innovation. Le Pavé crafted the Olympic and Paralympic podiums entirely from recycled plastic food containers. These silver-colored podiums were a first for any Olympic Games, showcasing a strong commitment to sustainability. To create the panels for the 68 victory podiums, Le Pavé used 18 metric tons of recycled plastic and plastic foam food containers. The company produced 11,000 bleacher seats for two Olympic venues using recycled materials like shampoo bottles and bottle caps, consuming about 100 metric tonnes of waste plastic in the process. Fun Facts: - Marius Hamelot began experimenting with melting discarded plastic using a pizza oven. This creative approach laid the groundwork for Le Pavé's patented thermal compression molding technology. - Le Pavé engaged local schools in the Ile-de-France region to collect bottle caps, involving 1,700 schoolchildren in the recycling process. This educational initiative not only provided materials but also raised awareness about environmental sustainability. - The company hired employees from Seine-Saint-Denis, including those who faced long-term unemployment, asylum-seekers, and former prisoners, demonstrating a commitment to social impact. Le Pavé's work aligned with the Paris Olympic committee's goal to make the 2024 Games the greenest in history. By repurposing plastic waste into durable products, Le Pavé set a new standard for sustainability at major sporting events. As the Games have concluded, Le Pavé stands as a shining example of how innovation and environmental consciousness can come together to create a brighter, greener future. 🌍 What do you think about this? Share your thoughts in the comments! #LePavé #Sustainability #Paris2024 #Olympics #Innovation #Recycling #GreenFuture *** Enjoy this? Share it with your network and follow me Vaibhav Sharma for more in future!   I write about interesting businesses, entrepreneurs, and high performance. Join my inner circle here: https://lnkd.in/gZKZ_Zdb

I've noticed a new trend appearing, so I wanted to mention it out loud after discussing it with our volume build clients over the past few months. LED Volumes might have been designed for Virtual Production, but they are increasingly being used for Live Events and Location-Based Experiences, too. We've seen an uptick in enquiries about using our spaces in LA and Melbourne in this way. And it's not really a surprise, if you think about it. As you can see below from the BYD event we did in Melbourne last year, volumes can provide a vibrant, dynamic and engaging backdrop for premium live audience events or pop-up location-based experiences. The wrap-around screens can immerse customers, audiences, attendees or fans in a completely different world, or any other stylized visuals you want, which could be responsive to music or other cues throughout the event. The tracking technologies we have throughout our volumes could also be used to facilitate any number interactive experiences. And the great thing about studios is that they usually have plenty of open spaces and most, like ours, also include adjoining production offices, corporate areas and green rooms, giving a large events team all of the spaces needed to stage something incredible. I've worked on a couple of things like this before and to me, the key to holding an incredible event in a VP space is to lean right into the sense of immersion and perspective it can create. Imagine walking into a key building/location from a major IP franchise - and everything you see outside looks like a live environment from that world, no matter how surreal it might be. Think a settlement from The Last of Us. As an audience, you could freely watch a story unfold or an attack happen through the windows while never feeling like you are in a volume. And then you could also have the ability to interact with the screens using props, or gestures tracked by our mocap systems. These are all brilliant capabilities that would be applicable to most of the largest volumes around the world. But I think there is another reason we've seen an uptick in interest in our LA studios, too. Most volumes are contained spaces that aren't great for large crowds or audience movement. But our Dynamic Volume System in LA changes that by allowing every wallPod, or section of LED wall, to quickly be driven into any configuration that fits any unique plan; you could even change the config and experience on different days to keep things fresh. Being able to create a nice wide, open arc, or an enclosed immersive space with the same volume components - or floating sections that encourage exploration, gives event planners a virtually unlimited canvas with which to get creative. The only thing I'd like to see is more creative events people turn their minds to the possibilities here. Exclusive dance events, striking product reveals, gamified storytelling experiences or fan engagement opportunities; it's all possible in a volume..

One of the most underused strategies in business development is bringing people together around a theme. Think about it. Everyone is busy. Everyone gets invited to another reception or cocktail party. Most people say no because they know the value will be surface level. But when you create something intentional, something smaller and more thoughtful, people notice. They make time. A dinner for women GCs in private equity. A roundtable of next generation dealmakers. A conversation between founders and investors who have successfully scaled. These kinds of gatherings give people the chance to connect with peers who understand their challenges. They create space for conversations that don’t happen in a big room. And here’s the part many professionals miss — when you’re the one convening, you’re not just building your own network. You’re helping others expand theirs. You become known as someone who creates opportunities. That’s memorable. It makes people want to stay close to you and your organization because being connected to you means access to something bigger. But it doesn’t end with the event. The real business development happens in what you do afterward. ✔️ If two people hit it off, follow up and connect them directly. ✔️ Share a quick recap of themes from the evening to keep the conversation alive. ✔️ Create touchpoints — an article, a coffee, an invite to the next dinner. ✔️ Build continuity with a series so people look forward to the next one. ✔️ Share high level highlights on LinkedIn to reinforce your role as the connector. Bringing people together in the right way isn’t just about networking. It’s about creating community. And the professionals who do this well strengthen relationships, build influence and grow their business in ways that feel natural. Let me know when you think of this tip and if you will try it! #BusinessDevelopment #ClientDevelopment #Networking #LegalMarketing

Growth mindset = lots of experiments = a flood of data   Events, properties, customer interactions - they pile up fast   And then the questions start: * Where’s this event going? * What does it track, exactly? * When did we add this property, and why?   To avoid drowning in data chaos, we use a Taxonomy It’s our internal source of truth for all things tracking   What does it cover?   Every single event, with crystal-clear details:   - event name - what we’re calling it - description - what it actually means - firing rules - when it triggers - source - where it fires from (server/client) - destination - where it sends the data - properties - all the juicy metadata and what it tells us   Having this mapped out means: ✅ No guessing ✅ Clean analytics ✅ Smarter decisions   If you’re running growth experiments and don’t have a tracking taxonomy yet, start one today Future you will thank you