ANAHEIM, CALIF.—VidCon, the annual convention focused on online videos and their stars, is known for drawing a Gen Z-heavy audience with its eye-catching sponsor activations, colorful photo ops and diverse programming tracks. As the show's U.S. edition prepares to return to Anaheim, Calif., in person for the first time since 2019—after pivoting to an innovative summer-long virtual convention in 2020—the event will embrace another topic its young audience is passionate about: sustainability.
Taking place June 22-25 at the Anaheim Convention Center, this year's VidCon will feature several new sustainability measures, including an event-wide environmental statement and mission, a comprehensive recycling program for the duration of the show and in-room recycling programs at the partner hotels. Organizers have also asked caterers to minimize waste and take part in the recycling program, and suitable foods are being donated to local charities or food banks.
VidCon 2022 takes place June 22-25 at the Anaheim Convention Center.Photo: Courtesy of VidCon
BizBash caught up with Julia Maes, VidCon US's executive producer, to learn why sustainability is top of mind this year, and get her tips for other event organizers.
Why was it important for the VidCon team to focus on sustainability at this year's event?
Sustainability has always been a personal priority. When examining mega-events in general, some can create huge amounts of garbage and food waste or use a lot of electricity and water. I wanted to make sure VidCon reflected how I try to live my personal life. It’s also crucial to me that we use our platform to demonstrate, not just talk about, what is possible and what our responsibilities are to preserve resources and prevent waste at events and large companies.
Everyone has a green policy on their website, but whether people are actually taking action is a different story—and I want VidCon to be a leader in showing what big actors are capable of. Ideally, we get others to follow suit.
How did you choose the eco-friendly steps VidCon would take this year, and how challenging has it been to institute those ideas?
I was so excited to get a nudge from the internal Paramount Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) team and for their assistance in starting this process in a real way at VidCon 2022. In particular, I’ve relied on Emma Friedl from the ESG team tremendously; she’s helped me hone what is the best first-to-do list, given me resources, shown examples of what other Paramount brands have done and generally just given me a lot of her time!
What we came up with is that this is primarily an audit year: What is already in place, what are our most achievable right-now improvements, and where do we most need to do better next year and beyond? With a baseline like that, we can clearly demonstrate our progress over time and continue to identify new ways to improve.
One cool idea is the lounge featuring zero-waste furniture from Rewilder, made from recycled VidCon materials. Can you tease what that space will look like, and how that partnership came about?
We’ve been storing old materials for a few years now—banners, T-shirts, lanyards—that we weren’t prepared to toss because most of them are in fine shape and we didn’t know how to recycle them, but that we couldn’t reuse for their original purpose (especially since our rebrand in 2020). Along came Rewilder—also via Emma, as they’ve done reuse projects with Paramount before.
They’re making a couple of cool things for us, most notably furniture for an Expo Hall lounge, which uses our colorful old banners as upholstery and T-shirts for stuffing. They’re like bean bags who went to art school and are cool adults now. Rewilder also tells a story with each product about what diverting the materials from the landfill means for carbon emissions, garbage entering our water sources and so on, so VidCon attendees can directly understand what reuse can do for overall sustainability goals.
What tips would you give other event organizers who want to focus more on sustainability?
If you don’t have an ESG team within your organization, find someone who can form one, or form one yourself. Also reach out to your venues, your vendors or any other production partners you might have, because you might be surprised what good, quiet work they’re already doing and what you can build on together.
If all that is too daunting, just start with something small: Evaluate your party catering or paper printing, and see what you can cut back on. Then keep going from there!
What else can fans can expect as VidCon returns in person this year?
This is really going to be a banner year—the first year back in person in Anaheim since 2019—and it’s honestly a bit surreal to be so close to the finish line on an actual live event! We have tons of new creators and sponsors who’ve never been to VidCon before, so expect some stuff that’s totally different and fresh. But the heart of the VidCon magic will still be there, as it’s always been, and we’re so excited to share it with everyone again.
