A consortium of venues has been recognised for its efforts to soften its environmental impact.
EEF Venues – part of EEF Ltd, the manufacturers’ organisation – has gained ISO14001 certification across its three venues: Woodland Grange (Leamington Spa), Engineers’ House (Bristol) and Broadway House (Westminster).
The internationally recognised standard relates to management systems that control the impact a company has on its environment, and covers such issues as minimising waste, the use of raw materials and energy, reducing pollution and improving efficiency.
In 2013, the organisation spend £900,000 on refurbishing its venues. Conference hire at EEF venues contributed £4.9m to EEF in the last financial year, an increase of 12% on the previous year.
David Vaughton, director of venues for EEF Venues, said that the venues’ incremental growth for the period January 2014 to July 2015 (19 months) has been £899,000. He is forecasting £1 million incremental revenue growth for the two-year period of 2014/2015.
He said that 91% of EEF Venues’ revenues are driven around external commercial business, with the remaining 9% coming from servicing the parent body, EEF.
Vaughton said: “The value is that clients will migrate to like-minded organisations who care about the environment and sustainable practices. The majority of the requests we receive for quotations from prospective clients now include a checklist of environmental practices to see if we are in tune with their own CSR ethos. Having ISO14001 accreditation is an important factor in our business growth and on-going success. Our reputation means everything to us and to be known as an ethical player with a strong commitment to sustainable practice is a valuable asset in this highly competitive sector.”
