Author: Taylor Flores, Corporate Engagement Manager, Greener by Default

Studies show that defaults are a powerful tool that can help people make decisions that are better for their health, society, and the environment. By serving plant-based meals by default, event organizers can increase the uptake of plant-based food options by up to 60% and decrease the related carbon emissions by up to 40%. 

These are the findings that drive the work of Greener by Default, a non-profit helping event organizers and other institutions serve more plant-forward menus through behavioral-science strategies. 

Since event organizers are naturally designing environments that have an impact on guests’ meal choices, Greener by Default recommends setting the plant-based meal as the default to guide guests towards healthier choices.

How it works is the organizer simply makes the default meal for their event the plant-based option, and then gives guests the choice to either stick with the plant-based meal or opt-into a meat meal by checking a box on the RSVP form. Organizers can also provide a field to input other dietary restrictions if desired.

For buffet or family style events, the organizer just needs to have a separate meat station and post a sign that the meat protein is only available for those who indicated they wanted it during the RSVP process.

In addition to reducing diners’ carbon footprint, this strategy also helps increase the inclusivity and health of event menus. Plant-based food is more inclusive of those with lactose intolerancy, the majority of whom are people of color. It also is more inclusive of certain religious populations who may be vegetarian or don’t eat certain animal products. Lastly, it’s more inclusive of the estimated 1.5 billion people around the world who are already vegetarian or vegan.

And when it comes to health, plant-based food is on average much lower in saturated fat and calories and higher in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals than animal-based food. It can also help keep attendees feeling energized and engaged for long conference days or weddings that last into the night. 

Overall, serving plant-based food by default is one of the most effective and easy strategies that event organizers can implement with little change to operations. It can drastically reduce your events’ carbon footprint, increase the inclusivity and health of your menus, and maintain diner satisfaction, simply by switching the default.

To explore other low-intervention strategies to serve more plant-forward menus, visit greenerbydefault.com/events.