The EcoSend Podcast

S4E4
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[00:00:00] James Gill: Welcome to the eco send podcast stories from marketers founders and change makers Leading businesses for a better world.

[00:00:27] Hi there, welcome to another episode of the Ecosend podcast. It's great to be back. I'm James, your host. And just for those of you who are new to the podcast, this is a show we do it weekly. And it is always a great conversation with someone who is doing something to make the planet a little bit better.

[00:00:45] Sometimes in the world of charity, sometimes in the world of business. Uh, I'm always honoured to speak to wonderful guests on this show, and this, uh, week is no different. I am this week joined by Karina from Event Cycle. Now, uh, Karina is a seasoned technical production manager with a decade of experience at high profile event agencies recognized a growing sustainability trend among clients and a desire to reduce waste.

[00:01:13] I think we've all been to events where we've seen so much waste going on. So Karina is working to solve this and I don't want to say too much more because I think Karina could do a much better job of explaining what she's up to but I'm really excited to have you on the show Karina. Thank you for joining me.

[00:01:29] How are you doing today?

[00:01:31] Carina Jandt: Good. Thank you for having me, James. It's uh, it's uh, really great to be able to speak on this, this podcast. I'm doing great. Yeah.

[00:01:38] James Gill: Awesome. Awesome. Good stuff. And I think, am I right in saying that we actually bumped into each other at an event, uh, which was the Very true. Yes, the, the Net Zero Festival, wasn't it?

[00:01:51] Absolutely. Yeah, it's nice to, to meet someone in here that I've met in person before. So

[00:01:58] Carina Jandt: it's usually the other way around. You meet digitally first and then you meet in person. So this is a nice one to turn around.

[00:02:05] James Gill: A hundred percent. A good sign that events are worthwhile. Indeed. It always makes sense to get out to one.

[00:02:13] So, um, Karina, it's great to be speaking. Um, do tell me more about, about what you're up to at the moment with Events Cycle. And maybe then we can talk about why, why and how you got into that. It'd be great to hear, hear more. Yeah. Yeah,

[00:02:29] Carina Jandt: uh, so, uh, I'm Karina, uh, I'm a co founder and managing director of Event Cycle and, um, at Event Cycle, we help event professionals implement, uh, practical solutions to sustainability challenges they face, uh, while creating a positive social impact and a lasting social legacy.

[00:02:49] Um, that is sort of the, the, the gist of it. That's the elevator pitch, yeah. Yeah, that's the quick one. Um, but yeah, you were asking about how I got into sustainability, and it's not as glamorous as a lot of other people's answers are. Um, I, like you said, I used to be a production manager, um, working with all sorts of, uh, different agencies in different countries.

[00:03:12] Um, and as a production manager, you definitely, like, see firsthand where Where things are not operating as efficiently and how wasteful certain aspects of it is and you know it whenever you stand at the end of a show and You are faced with a whole lot of stuff that you know evidently is going into the bin.

[00:03:34] It's just so painful It's really painful and All it really says is that you've not planned it properly. Essentially, but like I know I like I used to be a culprit for that a lot and you know sometimes you have it all figured out and I that there's one specific event that I remember um, which It was sort of the, yeah, the, the instigator for me to, to look into this a bit more in terms of sustainability and also, uh, for the third sector was that I, we had this event.

[00:04:06] Um, it was all done. Uh, all the, the big trucks had been, you know, packed full with scenic stuff and it was all heading back to the supplier and it was great. You know, the whole was clear. I turn around and then suddenly I see four IKEA shelving units and some side tables and I'm like, A, where have they come from?

[00:04:24] B. I did not buy them. Where were they even at the event, and why are they here? Because obviously we're going to get charged an extra fee if we can't clear this hall by this time. I have no more vehicles left that are going to be able to collect this. What's happened, all of these are perfectly good to use and now I'm going to have to put them into the bin because over the next hour, I can't just let it flog them out somewhere.

[00:04:48] So that for me was like, this is so, it's so stupid. Like it's so silly to have all of this great stuff and then just not have a solution for it. And so, yeah, that's, that's sort of how we got started because I mean. It's, yeah, we don't want that. And we realized there wasn't really a solution for the events industry for that.

[00:05:11] Um, at least not in the UK. And, and so we're like, all right, well, I guess with both my business partner and I being very practically minded, we're like, well, let's, you know, let's do it ourselves, essentially.

[00:05:24] James Gill: That's, that's incredible. So. I guess, yeah, so many people, I'm sure everyone listening on this podcast has been to some sort of conference or event before, and I guess as an attendee, you don't, you don't think too much about the setup or the, the pack down after all of the stuff that goes on behind the scenes, but I can

[00:05:42] Carina Jandt: imagine It's not just delegates, that's the problem.

[00:05:44] It's not just the delegates that don't really think about the pack up after it. I mean, a lot of events think about the pack up once they've built it. Yeah, yeah, a bit late. And then, I mean, the, the, the easy answer, which I know that a lot of, um, people in the events industry like to do is say, all right, cool.

[00:06:03] We'll pack this all up into the truck. Cause we know we have one truck going back into storage. Um, so let's, you know, shove all of this stuff back into storage. Um, and then, you know, during the pandemic, we got to see that. Very clearly, all of the people who knew what items were in storage. So this is from samples.

[00:06:21] This is, um, lanyards. This is like the amount of Henry Hoover's that keep getting bought for different shows is insane. Um, it's plinth, it's, it's larger scenic items. And during the pandemic, all of that knowledge was made redundant. All of the project managers, the production managers, they all. Left, or were left.

[00:06:42] Oh, right. And so, this is actually, this is actually how my business partner, Shantel Keshepard and I, we set it up because We were like, okay, who's going to look after all of the stuff that's in storage? And there wasn't anyone doing it. So we're like, okay, well, I guess we'll be the solution. But it was the whole thing of who's going to deal with it.

[00:07:01] Like there is a mountain of stuff that's still good to use. Like something has to happen. Yeah. And at the same time, my business partner and I, we were Volunteering quite a bit as well. And it wasn't just about volunteering. It wasn't about monetary donations. It was all about stuff as well. You know, the digital divide meant that people had to stay home, but needed all of these services, like from, um, medical care or just have access to other people, um, and they didn't have it.

[00:07:28] Um, and so that's where we put two and two together where we're like, okay, the events industry has so much stuff coming off of it. The third sector needs so much. Let's just combine the two, and that's sort of how we, yeah, how we started. Yeah,

[00:07:43] James Gill: it's, it's, it's incredible to think about that divide actually as well, isn't it, when I can imagine at some events the scale of it's so big that it's like, oh well, what's another like ten, uh, chairs, or like twenty, I don't know, uh, the extent of all the stuff that you might have after an event, but maybe even like screens and things like that, and whereas to someone else it's like The idea of having one, one good chair, or one good, um, Uh, laptop or screen or whatever is, is an incredibly valuable thing.

[00:08:15] And there's just, I can imagine so much waste that has happened in the past through just the scale of some events where what's another ten when we've got hundreds of these things

[00:08:25] Carina Jandt: around. Yeah, when the budget is there anyway. The thing is, especially in the charity sector, people are like, yeah, but they can get grants and stuff.

[00:08:32] And it's like, yeah, but they don't really, they get grants for their services. So if you look at like a food bank, they'll get the money to help deliver out the food or they'll help, they'll get the money to pay the staff to do certain things, but you know, they won't have the money to buy a couch for their volunteers back of house where they can just chill out for a second, you know?

[00:08:50] And that's stuff that. Yeah, what am I, I've bought this couch now, what am I going to do with it? Well, chuck it out, because I'm not going to put it back into storage. Because my client's not going to pay for another 12 months.

[00:09:01] James Gill: My goodness, yeah. And I guess we all know what happens when things go into storage.

[00:09:05] You just, you do forget, uh, about this.

[00:09:08] Carina Jandt: I think it's like lying the witch in the wardrobe, is that where the Yeah, it just goes into Narnia and it disappears until it emerges again after several years.

[00:09:19] James Gill: When someone's like, what are we paying for that storage container for?

[00:09:22] Carina Jandt: But that's the thing, it's out of sight, out of mind and, um, yeah, and we don't, we don't like that.

[00:09:28] James Gill: Yeah, absolutely. So, um, Yeah, so, so that's just incredible. So like, you got started on this track, so you had that background. Um, I know one of the things you were, you were saying you put the E and the S in ESG, so I, I was intrigued by to hear you expand on that a bit, Corina and just Yeah, sure. Yeah, that you hear that.

[00:09:52] I mean, we all hear that phrase ESGA lot and I feel like a lot of businesses tout it as a checkbox item sometimes. Some take it more seriously than others, but it sounds like this is obviously quite, well, a core to your whole ethos.

[00:10:07] Carina Jandt: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, what, what's ESG, right? ESG, they're also, apart from the fact that there's not actually a proper, um, assigned definition for it, but it's basically financial criterias to measure how well your business is doing.

[00:10:20] So, E being environmental, S being social and G being governance. Um, and a lot of the elements of ESG are things that have been in place for, for years and years and years, you know, the, the government's part, it's, it's things like anti bribery. It's things like, um, you know, corruption, um, for the S it's things like child labor and making sure that you have good rights as an employee and E being more the environmental aspect now.

[00:10:52] Not everyone, but a lot of companies are saying like, great, you know, we've measured our carbon footprint. We've, we've done E and it's like, well, it's, it's not just about calculating your carbon footprint because you've might've calculated it, but what have you actually done about it? Nothing at that point, you've, you've measured, you know where you're at, but you've not made a change.

[00:11:13] Um, and if you, if you look at companies or at that ESG model, you're looking at it in how is your company doing with the environment? How is your company internally dealing with the social part? How is it internally governancing it? But the thing is we've. We've moved away from the aspect of, of working together as a community.

[00:11:36] And, and, you know, everyone seems to be sort of these lone wolves secluding themselves and thinking like, it's all about, you know, keeping it internal. And I think it's, it's, it's so important to not just have that inward look, but also look outward and, and immerse ourselves more into the community and. Um, and with that create more understanding and compassion and to drive everyone to be, you know, making this a better place for everyone.

[00:12:04] And that's where the 3Ps come in, the people, planet and profit. It's not just about who you are as a company yourself, but also how you integrate into the communities with that.

[00:12:16] James Gill: Yeah, absolutely. I, I mean, there's such a positive sort of, um, way of thinking. And I know we've sort of been through that journey ourselves a bit because I, I dunno, I, I feel almost ashamed to admit like these days, but, but earlier on in our business journey, we sort of.

[00:12:35] Didn't think anywhere near enough about the aspects of running a business where you can have so much more positive impact outside of your own business, how you can think about more than profit and more than just revenue, but all the good you can do as a business and for, you know, often almost entirely for free, but sometimes with very little effort outsized impact as a, as a business and I think we've often found this way I think for a while, we just always assumed like, Oh, well, the charitable sector does the good stuff and like the selfless stuff and the businesses we don't we don't focus on that we focus on making money.

[00:13:17] And I think when you when you bring those two together, and businesses can, especially when you think about the kind of talent and the kind of connections that many businesses have, could be used for good. I just think it's it's such a, an exciting opportunity to see, to see that happening more and more.

[00:13:37] Um, it feels like more of a movement happening, but I don't know if you, if you share that view.

[00:13:42] Carina Jandt: Yeah, I mean, uh, I was on a, um, I was on a panel, um, in November and It was all about trying to move away from calling it a journey because we'd hope that at this point, we're already on this journey and already doing stuff, but yes, there has been a shift and there is, um, there's definitely more people coming into the industry that are, um, Demanding it.

[00:14:05] So a lot more stakeholder involvement, you know, young talent that's coming in. That's not going to work with you unless you have certain measures in place. It's regulations that are coming in that will, you know, tie in your senior leadership team. And, um, and you know, in some places it might even affect bonuses and stuff if you're not, if you're not doing what you're setting out to do.

[00:14:28] Um, so there's, there's, and then, you know, and then even your clients. Your clients will be in the same predicament and even if you're a small company and you're like, yeah, that won't affect me. Like your, your clients are going to be running through it. If they are big enough and if they're making a certain amount of money, they're going to have to abide by all of these new rules and regulations.

[00:14:46] And it will trickle down into your. Um, into your supply chain, and you are scope three in that sense, so you will have to prevent, provide the same elements, and if you don't, then again, they won't, like, use you as a, as a supplier. Yeah,

[00:15:00] James Gill: yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah, it, uh, yeah, absolutely. So I, I guess, um, for, for you, for you, you started the whole business with this all in mind, and like, had a fresh slate to really build the business from day one as, Approaching this like that, that must have been an incredibly exciting opportunity like to start from, because I guess there's a lot of businesses where they've already got so much legacy, so many contractual things like, and I guess maybe many more excuses that they could make, especially in the events world, I imagine, uh, uh, uh, in a big, in a big way.

[00:15:44] So I guess, For, for you, like there's been just like, you're kind of almost able to define what an ideal business should be from day one, which I think is quite, quite awesome.

[00:15:56] Carina Jandt: Yeah. But I mean, that is to say that, um, other people can't do the same cause I, I like to, I like to, um, compare sustainability with health and safety, especially in the, um, in the events world.

[00:16:10] Health and safety used to be something that. You didn't have to do much. You didn't have to fill out paperwork. It just, you know, you try to be, you try to do the common sense thing, but it wasn't like there was much, you didn't have to have a health and safety, um, uh, consultant or someone who was in charge of that during your event time.

[00:16:31] It would just happen. Something, an accident happened then. Well, you know, you report that somewhere or something over the time. The regulations for it, the legislation, um, you know, the fact that you have to write rams, you have to write all of these documentation bits and, and, you know, if you put in, Hey, we need a health and safety supervisor, then the majority of your clients will not even bat an eyelid because that's what you have to do.

[00:16:58] And I'm hoping that at some point, that's where we're going to get where it's, it's not just a, Ooh, yeah, it would be really great if we helped the environment. It's like, no, it's part of what we have to do anyway. And so that's why. It's not just about building it with those set goals from, you know, from when you set up the company.

[00:17:17] There's always ways in which you can integrate sustainability and we tend to say just start from the very beginning, you know, set yourself some guiding principles. Um, some sustainable guiding principles, um, whether that's for your company or for individual events or projects. And then if you adhere to these and you have the buy in from the senior leadership team, that's really important.

[00:17:40] Then that will trickle down into everything you do and it will just be the normal thing. Um, but it also means that you're adding a much bigger emphasis on sustainability within itself. So it, you know, it's not just about, Hey, you know, our company. I don't know, our company does trucking and we won't ever get out of that and we won't ever be able to do something sustainable.

[00:18:00] That's not true. If you, if you set yourself some, some guiding principles, you can even in a, in a, in a, in a business that might, um, maybe not trucking, but in a, in a business that might not be as sustainable, you can still make big strides and, and really make an impact. Um, you just have to put your mind to it.

[00:18:18] Yeah,

[00:18:20] James Gill: yeah, I mean, yeah, make some progress. I guess, um, something we talked about on the show quite a lot over many episodes has been people's fear of making mistakes on this, on this side of things too, like that's been a big part of it. I think everyone's worried that like, they're trying to do the, even if they're trying to do the right thing, if they talk about it, if they tell others about it, there'll be something they're not doing right.

[00:18:44] And yeah, someone will come and pull them up on it. Like, how do you think about that in terms of your business and what you see going on in the events

[00:18:53] Carina Jandt: world? I think it's, it's really important. I think you have to, you have to make mistakes. Um, you have to make mistakes in order to learn from it. Um, you don't always have to be perfect.

[00:19:04] You know, even if you, if you just implement 10% Of what you set out to do that is more sustainable, that's still 10 percent more than what you did the last time. So, you know, every little helps. Yeah, it's a, it's a good start. It, you know, and it's a stepping tool that once you've done those 10 percent and you're happy with it, you know, next project you can do 20 percent because you already know what the 10 percent looks like.

[00:19:29] Um, and it can be more sustainable or, and, or socially beneficial. Um, I know that a lot of people are worried about. Making mistakes, um, in that sense that they also don't want to, you know, really talk about it and communicate it. Um, or that some people who are, what I found in the industry is that there are two sets of camps, one camp that are like, Oh my God, we're doing so much, we are no longer printing our emails and you know, all of our lights are now led.

[00:20:03] And you're like, okay, well, not printing emails. I don't think that's so much of a thing, you know, fair enough. If you've, if you've gone major, like the majority of what your business is now digital, great. Changing the lights to LED. You're not going to find replacement lamps anymore. So that, that was actually more of a, you know, operational point to have LED lights.

[00:20:25] So, you know, it's great that you're talking about it and shouting about it. But it means that a lot of companies that are doing really, really great stuff and are worried about communicating about it aren't, and it should be a bit more of a flip. It should be those that are doing things that are innovative and that are new, where they've taken risks and, and, and found new solutions.

[00:20:49] that they are not talking about it as much as those who, you know, have done very little, but are chatting about it very loudly. Um, and you can, I find you can always tell by someone's sustainability policy.

[00:21:04] James Gill: Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I, I, yeah, I, I think there's, yeah, I couldn't agree more. I, I think it's also an aspect, um, touching on what you said earlier about like, The, the social and community, the community side of things where I think the more you sort of step into doing trying to do the right thing, um, and, and when you do make mistakes, like the, from what we've seen, um, the amount that you get support from the community, you know, I think there's always this fear that you are going to get hounded by someone out there on the internet somewhere.

[00:21:43] But I think from what I've seen, the, yeah. approach a lot of people have is wanting to help and you often find those mistakes by making progress and, and people will point things out, but often say, if you don't, if you just try not to make the same mistake twice, then, then you're going to continually be improving and innovating.

[00:22:02] And I think there's a very supportive community out there. I mean, as evidence, I think by going to that net zero festival as a start, like I found it a very supportive and constructive. Um, plays to, to talk to people and, um, get feedback on things and, and people just genuinely seem to want to help each other out, which I thought was just really, it's easy to take for granted, but when compared to some other industries, I think, I think it's not always the

[00:22:30] Carina Jandt: case.

[00:22:31] We, we went to an event which was all about the, the sporting, uh, sporting realms, sporting events, uh, football clubs, uh, sport clubs, et cetera. And as part of a conversation where they were saying that, you know, we're really worried about publishing our sustainability report because, you know, we'll get hounded down by the public for certain things that we've done or haven't done.

[00:22:54] And it made me chuckle a bit because. In a few years, they'll be hounded down for not publishing their sustainability policy because people will want to know and the, the beauty of it is with the making risks, making mistakes and taking risks and, and, you know, having, trying out new things, you don't have to be perfect.

[00:23:15] There will be sections that you just can't do just yet. And some of them might be, you know, for us. We would really, you know, in the, in the very future, we would love to have like a fleet of electro vehicle Lutons. That can just go around and, and deliver stuff for us. However, the, the, um, technology isn't quite there yet.

[00:23:35] The technology isn't quite there yet, nor is the infrastructure. So we can put that into our sustainability policy and say, look, this is where the dream scenario would be. But it's not possible just yet, and we are waiting for innovation. We are waiting for things to happen. Same with, um, Hey, you know, our event, we were able to calculate the carbon, the carbon footprint of all of these items.

[00:23:59] We weren't able to collect it from our delegate travel just because that it was too last minute. We weren't able to set that up. Be transparent about it. Communicate that aspect because that way people, you know, even if they hound you on it and say, Hey, but you didn't do the full calm footprint. You can say, yeah, but it says why.

[00:24:18] And we thought about it. We know that we should have, but we couldn't. And, and, but you know, see all of the other stuff that we've been doing. And that's where it's like, engage with. Engage with the community, collaborate with people, um, and, and find out ways in which you can potentially solve those issues that, or those elements that you still have open that you haven't done yet.

[00:24:40] And I find a lot with, especially with suppliers. I feel like it's improved a lot more but back then it still used to be the thing of, um, well you didn't ask me whether I had any sustainable options, you just asked for the same as last year. So why would I offer you something new that, you know, might change the way that this quote works?

[00:25:00] It's like, okay, but, but you, that means you already have all of these great new sustainable solutions. Like, tell me about it. And with that, you're engaging with your stakeholders. You're supporting new products. Um, you're supporting up and coming businesses. The more you support them, the cheaper stuff we'll get, the more the non sustainable elements.

[00:25:21] Will be, you know, rolling out. It's, it's great, you know, um, it's positive, but you can only do that through collaboration and community and that communication aspect, because you might, as with net zero festival, you might find people that are not in your own industry that might have solutions that you need that you haven't even thought

[00:25:39] James Gill: of.

[00:25:40] Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Very cool. Um, uh, yeah, no, it's, it's awesome. I, I, I, so I, I guess with, um, with your business then, uh, with Event Cycle, like, say I'm putting on, Big new event. Uh, I'm very excited about it. New Year. And, uh, what, what, how would it, how would it look if we want to do the right thing here and how would it, how would it work working with event cycle?

[00:26:12] Like what, where do you start? Where do you stop? Um, how involved do you get? I, um, like in practical terms, like Yeah, I mean, how do you make the good stuff happen?

[00:26:23] Carina Jandt: Try as much as possible. Um, no, I would say it depends a bit on where you're at with your event. If this is a brand spanking new event, um, then we would say start from this, like, start from the very beginning.

[00:26:35] Um, and we can help you from the start all the way to the finish line. So, you know, whether that's how I mentioned establishing some sustainable guiding principles, um, or sustainability policies or helping, you know, with sustainable procurement policies, that way you're set from the very beginning to make sure that whatever choices you make.

[00:26:55] Um, and this is without having produced anything, whatever choices you make means that you're, you're buying from the right way. You have the right mindset and your entire team is thinking the same way. So that's, that's the very start of it. And that can be within your company or for your individual events.

[00:27:10] Easy. Um, we can also help you during the actual production part. So whether that's, um, uh, life cycle analysis of certain items, whether that's discussing materiality, whether it's looking at different waste streams and doing assessments on that, uh, whether it's consultation about how to become more circular within your projects, it's really looking at, okay, you've chosen what you're going to be doing for your event.

[00:27:37] Now let's make sure that you have a, you have a solution for it before you even buy it. You know, make, we, we have this tool called the accountability tracker, which is super easy. You just write down what you're going to do, whether something has been made from recycled materials, whether it is recyclable and where it's going after the event, so whether that's going back, it's a higher item and it's going back to the client, uh, sorry, uh, to the, to the supplier, whether it's something that the client's going to keep, whether, you know, it's something that you're going to put in storage for next year, whether it's stock material that you have yourself.

[00:28:11] Or whether it's, you know, we've had, we've had a situation where someone wrote landfill question mark. And that's where, that's where we can help though, because it's before you've bought it. So you can see, okay, is there maybe a different material that means that it's not going to go into landfill, but into recycling, or is there something that we can buy or purchase that means that.

[00:28:31] We, you know, we can repurpose it or upcycle it with a social enterprise in the end. Um, so that's where you have a really great overview and you also know what sort of waste you're looking at. Um, that, that speaks to my former production manager heart. Um, just knowing what you're dealing with, right? Yeah.

[00:28:50] James Gill: So you don't do that all once you're packing down, you do that, you do that early. And you

[00:28:54] Carina Jandt: already know everything, so, you know, it's not like a last minute scramble of trying to sort things out, it's a, cool, I know that this truck is coming then, or I know that these items are destined here, and, you know, you don't have to stress about it.

[00:29:08] Which is, you know, I find very helpful. Yeah, absolutely. But we also do some other elements as well, where, where we help to like integrate social value into the projects themselves. Um, so where we try and engage the local community, um, and that's really pushing out the envelope for the S part of the ESG in that community element where, you know, we, um, you could have a social enterprise that builds you items for your event, like at the Net Zero Festival, we had that, that fun selfie wall, um, which was built by a community group.

[00:29:43] Supporting men's mental health and then the material itself was from the Commonwealth games from the the scrim and then We had another charity that supports women with restrictive access to employment that then cut up these strips and wove them onto, onto this metal cage, um, made the NZ, uh, uh, NZ logo.

[00:30:08] Um, and then people were able to use it to take photos. Um, they're going to be reusing it next year as well. And once. It's hit the end of its life. Then, um, the material is going to go back to that charity and they're going to make draft excluders out of them for the local community. So it's really looking at the 360 way of a giving money back into the community, um, reducing waste, um, looking at that social engagement and commitment.

[00:30:34] And no, it doesn't have to be items that are made. It could be educational sessions. It could be. Yeah, all sorts of different aspects. So those are really fun ways in which you can tap into great stories and, um, yeah, have some really creative ways of, of integrating that as well.

[00:30:52] James Gill: So as she said, yeah, that was something so cool that really stuck out, stood out for me, but yeah, but it was like.

[00:31:00] I didn't know about it necessarily, though, until we talked about it, but like, the idea that something is, you know, relatively Oh, okay, that's nice, there's the logo for the event up on the wall there, like In a, like, normal scenario, that would probably be something that gets printed and built and maybe, I don't know, at the end of it, chucked away or whatever.

[00:31:22] And then with working with you, like, there's like all of the things you do, all of those charities and social causes there that you talked about, like the amount of good happening from just something as, as simple as that was just so inspiring. Um, uh, yeah, it's just so cool. So I guess that's a really important aspect then of like making sure you are connecting.

[00:31:45] You're like this hub between people wanting to. Yeah, matchmakers between, yeah, businesses wanting to do it and then, and then. All of these charitable and social causes, like, so, do you have like a big pool of, like, charities and social enterprises then, like, that you're, you've got, are you looking for more to work

[00:32:07] Carina Jandt: with?

[00:32:08] Yeah, I mean, we always look for more, um, people to work with, uh, basically we have a, quite a big network around the UK, and, and, We operate all around the UK. We've also started operating globally as well. Um, but especially in the UK, you know, if, um, it's super easy for charities. One aspect that I didn't actually touch on was that end of life element where we help to find new homes for items that have been left over with charities, community groups.

[00:32:36] Community groups, schools, and social enterprises. And so we always are looking for new, uh, charities, community groups, schools, and social enterprises in our, in, you know, in the UK that are looking and needing stuff. Um, it's super easy for them as well. All they have to do is sign up, um, to our website, um, at eventcycle.

[00:32:55] org. Top right corner, there's a button saying sign up for your sign, sign, um, sign up basically, and you have to just say who you are, who you support. Where you're located and what you need. And if we have those items in the local area, then it's super easy for you to get them. And we deliver them for free as well.

[00:33:14] It's, it's no cost at all. Um, so yeah, if any one of your listeners, um, is working with the charity is, or volunteering or know someone that might be interested in, or, you know, or have a project that's going on. And it can be anything from your parent teacher association to a charity supporting refugees.

[00:33:35] To a care home, to a primary school, to a sports club, I mean, you name it, um, we might be able to help them out with stuff that comes around and, um, and it's super easy for them. But for, for, for the event side, again, like we, we work off, we, we get a list from our clients. Um, we, we prepare a quote for them, tell them how much it's going to be to rehome it.

[00:33:57] And then we sort out the rest and what they can get from it is, is not just obviously their items taken away, but they can also get write ups of, of where the items have gone. So you get like that marketing piece as well, where it's a, uh, more of a qualitative approach and something that you can actually shout about and say, look, we've helped all of these people.

[00:34:18] Um, and that legacy piece is quite big as well.

[00:34:21] James Gill: That is so, like, everyone wins. No one is leaving out

[00:34:26] Carina Jandt: here. Yeah, exactly. It's a win win.

[00:34:29] James Gill: Amazing. No

[00:34:30] Carina Jandt: reason why not to work with us.

[00:34:32] James Gill: Exactly. I mean, I'm not being paid to say this. I just, like, why would you not? So, um, Carina, I feel like our time is up. What has flown by, but I, I, before we wrap up, just a few more things to ask.

[00:34:49] We always like to talk about, or have a little bit of a nod towards the future. I guess for you, the future of events, the future of your business. What, what do, if with a crystal ball, what do you? What do you think that will be looking like in, in the next few years?

[00:35:02] Carina Jandt: Uh, so my dream scenario, I would, I guess there's, I have three things.

[00:35:08] One would be increased circularity. So whenever we make something, we make sure that it's made from something else. Um, so using recycled materials, um, cause that in turn encourages more recycling because then you have your own no longer raw materials. Um, yeah. That items can be recycled post project. Um, so encouraging that reuse and repurposing economy and, and.

[00:35:35] Yeah, being more circular. The second one is in an ideal world, at some point we will have quotes from our suppliers, from any supplier, to be honest, and it'll not just have the price at the bottom right corner, but it'll also have the CO2 footprint of that quote. So all of the items. Um, have a value next to it with what the CO2 footprint footprint of that would be.

[00:35:58] Um, whether then, uh, that is gets used by the project to say, okay, all of our quotes have come in, all of our suppliers have, you know, this calm footprint. We already have a carbon footprint of our event before it's even happened, or they can make choices in terms of like decreasing certain aspects, um, by exchanging, I don't know, a projection screen to an LED screen or what print versus digital would be or whatever, you know, so they can, or using HVO fuel instead of normal.

[00:36:30] So that would be an ideal thing. Um, and then I guess the last one is a bit more strange. Uh, it wouldn't be for our company to exist anymore. Like we, if we don't need to exist, that means that there's no more. Charities won't need anything and people are really taking care of their waste from the get go.

[00:36:51] Um, but I understand that that's probably not going to be as possible soon. Um, so we then would, you know, we'd love to help our, our clients all over the world, wherever their events are, um, have a vast charity network and, and be able to provide for those who are in need, um. You know, for items and support to free, um, and providing them like efficient ways of actually getting stuff.

[00:37:19] Um, but yeah, ideally we wouldn't exist because then no one ever needed charity anymore and the whole world was. You know, beautiful, but

[00:37:26] James Gill: yeah, yeah, I feel conflicted. I want you to, I want you to exist, but I also agree that I don't, you know, there must be another option. Yeah. Um. Amazing. I, uh, and Karina, I know you've got, uh, you also do have some advice.

[00:37:49] I guess you've, you've already learned so much from all of your experience in this, uh, well running event cycle, but also in, in, in being in this world for so long. So, uh, what would your advice, what would your advice be to others? If you have any,

[00:38:04] Carina Jandt: I would just say stop. Like just get on with it or, um, I like to say this a lot, um, like Elvis would a little less conversation, a little more action, um, actually do things that you'd not just, um, but yeah, be the change, you know, be the change that you want to see, um, and talk about it, communicate it.

[00:38:26] Um, that way you can, you know, inspire other people to follow your lead and. Um, if you, if you start from the very beginning, you can just, you know, that you can make the greatest impact because it will affect your entire project or event and yeah. Talk about it, get started, and even if you tackle little bits of it, at least you're tackling little bits, and you're starting.

[00:38:48] And the rest of it will become a lot easier the more that you're already doing what you need to do.

[00:38:54] James Gill: Here, here. Absolutely. Well, that is, uh, what a wonderful show this has been, Karina. It's been incredibly inspiring and very practical. And, and entertaining too. Great to finish on an Elvis quote. I mean, I don't think we've had that yet, so that's the first.

[00:39:10] So thank you so much. Thank you for being a wonderful guest. Um, and for anyone who wants to check out, uh, what Karina's doing, maybe you, uh, are running an event yourself. Maybe you are a charity or a cause that might benefit, um, do head over to eventscycle. org. We'll put the links in. Uh, the notes, um, and of course if you want to check out Event Cycle they're on LinkedIn as well and on Twitter and, and we'll just make sure those are all linked in the, in the notes and, uh, hopefully you can go say hi to Karina at another event sometime soon and, uh, yeah, I look forward to seeing you again soon, Karina, too.

[00:39:47] So thank you so much, uh, for, yeah, all the amazing work you're doing and changing a lot of events. It's, it's really, really, really cool to see. Really inspiring. So thank you and, uh, We'll catch you soon. Thank you for having us. Great. And thanks everybody for listening. If you've enjoyed the show today, uh, you know what to do.

[00:40:10] Uh, please give it a like or a thumbs up or a five stars if you do like it. Um, don't worry about telling us if you didn't, uh, no, I joke. Uh, but please do, uh, uh, subscribe and tell others about the show. It really, really helps us spread the word of the amazing, amazing people we have on the show. So thank you for listening and we'll catch you next time.