Conference News talks to three experts in the industry on the shifting attitude around sustainability, innovations, and common mistakes made by venues in their efforts to ‘go green’.
Looking around the industry, sustainability seems to be on everybody’s mind. Sustainability is a complex and multi-faceted challenge, and even well-intentioned venues can fall short in their efforts to go green.
Common mistakes made by venues
Selina Donald, founder of sustainability consultancy The Bulb, says very often, the focus is too narrow, concentrating too much on environmental elements and not enough on the wider context. She says: “In our experience, the most common mistake that venues make is focusing their sustainability efforts solely on environmental impact. Sustainability is about people and the planet, and venues need to consider the social value and impact of their operations. Measuring the carbon footprint of an event is fantastic, but coupling this action with ensuring the event is inclusive for all attendees and can help local communities or a partner charity is even better.”
Donald also mentions that another major mistake she sees being made is overlooking the impact of an energy supplier. She says: “Switching to a green energy supplier is one of, if not the biggest, changes that venues can make. Such a change requires little time and effort, especially with all the support available when looking to switch to a ‘green’ provider, and the positive impact on a venue’s carbon emissions output can be huge.”
What to look for in a venue
What should organisers be looking for when finding a sustainable venue? Paul Martins, head of business development at Make Venues, says evidence of sustained progress is a good place to start. He says: “They should be seeking a venue that actively promotes a reduction in negative environmental impact, minimises unnecessary waste, saves power and water, and has or is developing a reputation as an eco-conscious business. This can be seen from certifications, but equally, knowing a venue has a host of tangible sustainable business practices for the workplace is helpful.”
Martins notes that not all venues can be as sustainable as every other, but there are certainly more simple measures that can be universally accessible and effective. He continues: “These measures can include switching all lighting to LEDs, having motion sensors for lighting, reducing phantom power usage, and recycling and going paperless. Further measures that make a difference can be switching to rainwater harvesting systems, sourcing office and kitchen supplies from local providers, adopting renewable energy solutions, and educating employees on the importance of sustainability and carbon offsetting.”
Donald adds that having a ‘sustainability checklist’ on hand is helpful when making an inquiry or visiting a venue, so you know what questions to ask. She says: “When thinking about your checklist, there are some key areas of sustainability to consider, such as green credentials, waste management, food, accessibility, and social impact.” She outlines each point:
Green Credentials: “Certifications add weight and legitimacy, so investigate whether a venue has ‘green’ certifications such as an ISO accreditation, GreenKey, Greengage ECOsmart, or Green Tourism.
Waste Management: “It is imperative that an efficient waste management process is in place. Look at whether the waste management plan ensures that waste is appropriately segregated and whether they are working with a local waste management organisation or the council to ensure that everything is not going straight into landfill.”
Food: “Ask whether the venue has a sustainable menu. Supplying a vegetarian menu ahead of a non-vegetarian menu is key to reducing the carbon footprint of an event. For extra transparency, consider whether the venue includes carbon footprint labelling on their menu, and whether the venue works with local, independent suppliers.”
Accessibility: “Sustainability is about people and the planet, so it’s really important to choose a venue that has worked hard to ensure it is accessible to everyone. Ask questions about their facilities and whether they have appropriate resources in place to support attendees with both visible and invisible disabilities, such as the use of BSL or captioning for presentations and AV, a sensory room or quiet room, skilled support staff as part of their team, and a designated disability access officer.”
Social Impact: “Venues have an amazing opportunity to work with or partner with local communities, charities, and businesses to improve lives. Consider whether the venue has a focus on social impact, perhaps offering jobs and work experience to local people, offering free space to communities and groups, or having a designated charity partner whom they support.”
As chair of the Westminster Venue Collection, Martins has seen a high number of member venues champion sustainability extremely well. Make Venues is part of the wider Make UK group, and the full organisation has pledged to the SME Climate Hub to halve emissions by 2030 and to achieve Net Zero by 2050. Martins explains: “With help from Inspired Energy, we have recently completed the collation of Scope one, two, and three emissions data for both 2022 and 2023, and a company-wide task force was set up to view strategy and implementation of carbon reduction initiatives.”
Martins shares insight on some tangible examples of these initiatives: “For energy saving, we use a combination of LED lighting, ‘switch off’ signs, and automatic light sensors to save on electricity; we always seek the most energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions when upgrading equipment; we have a ‘lights off’ and ‘engines off’ in car parks policy. At our largest venue, we have a Voltage Optimisation System in place which aims to systematically control and reduce the voltages supplied to electrical equipment. We have reduced the number of deliveries to our venues, introduced staff car-sharing schemes, electric vehicle parking points, and an Electric Vehicle salary sacrifice scheme to encourage staff to move to electric vehicles.”
Shifting attitudes around sustainability
However, are clients asking for venues to be sustainable? Gabriella Weekes, supplier and sustainability lead at Sleek Events, says that they broadly are. She notes: “As sustainability becomes an increasingly important factor in our clients’ RFP’s, we’re observing a significant trend: more clients are setting specific KPIs related to sustainability or requirements for Sleek to adhere to.”
She continues: “And while we’re not demanding our suppliers to operate more sustainably today, in the next 2 to 3 years, with legislation set to change in Europe and the UK we will no doubt be looking to our supply chain to provide green credentials as we cannot achieve our own sustainability goals and targets without their support.”
Sustainability is now seen not just as a nice-to-have, but as an essential aspect of event planning and execution. But the question still stands, has the attitude around sustainability changed? Martins believes it has. “Absolutely. From being a topic that was an added unique selling point where possible, now sustainability policies and innovations are a prime focus and a key factor in business decision-making. In addition, the education, awareness, and need for responsible actions have meant that all industries cannot and should not get away with merely greenwashing, as seen in certain cases.”
Weekes adds: “The reality is sometimes we are limited in what we can do, because a client might have already selected their venue as happened recently, and other times we are working with venues like ExCel London who use 100% renewable electricity on site and who have been operating a zero waste to landfill policy since 2012. What’s key for us is training our team to start challenging our suppliers, especially venues on their waste policy, energy usage and food and beverage consumption so we can start to encourage change across even more of our events, not only the largest ones.”
