With an increasing demand to host events in eco-friendly conference venues, we’re shining a green spotlight on eco-friendly venues and event spaces and looking at some of the ways companies can make their events greener and more environmentally friendly.
Five ways to reduce your carbon footprint
1. Recycling
There are many different ways to recycle which can contribute greatly to reducing a company’s carbon footprint. Reducing the use of products with excessive packaging helps minimise the volume and weight of goods needing to be transported to landfill sites, while also reducing the amount of products which are taken to the landfill site in the first place.
Re-using products for as long as possible is an easy and helpful option. Items such as containers and pens can be reused many times instead of buying new ones. Recyclable materials include polythene, glass bottles and aluminium tins!
Alongside this, replacing plastic straws with metal reusable straws is another way to reduce plastic pollution in the ocean which unfortunately results into added litter on beaches and the harming of animals.
Composting is another beneficial way to help the environment while fertilising soil which makes plants and vegetables grow better. Garden waste, kitchen waste and sometimes shredded paper can all be composted.
2. Reduce Energy Use
Turning off your computer when it’s not in use and switching lights off when you leave a room helps to reduce energy use.
Some handy tricks and tips for reducing your company’s overall energy use includes making sure everyday essential appliances such as microwaves, laptop chargers, phone chargers etc are all unplugged when not in use. Although you may have switched them off, they can still be using standby power and therefore consuming unnecessary energy. Changing light bulbs to LED ones is also another great option and uses approximately 75% less electricity than normal bulbs!
3. Reducing Fuel Use
Commuter travel and public transport, along with any business journeys can all seriously contribute to your carbon footprint. More sustainable ways of travelling can include encouraging a carpool scheme to reduce the amount of people driving to meetings and events, the use of green taxis and introducing a cycle to work scheme. Venues with great rail network links may be a consideration when you’re planning for a large conference or exhibition and you have delegates and guests travelling from across the UK.
4. Sourcing Food and Products Locally
To ensure you are offsetting emissions as much as possible, sourcing locally grown/made ingredients and products can make all the difference. It helps reduce the transportation emissions and diminishes any other factors which take place before the product is delivered to the venue or your place of work. This also has the added benefit of supporting the local community too.
5. Sustainable Procurement
Adopting sustainable procurement principles and ensuring all the suppliers you are working with are eco-friendly will have a huge impact on your overall carbon footprint. This can include your stationary supplier to the factory you get your food from. Working alongside suppliers to ensure they are following a similar code of conduct, while changing any current suppliers to far more sustainable ones can be a very easy way to help the environment. For example, swapping your coffee supplier to one which is fair-trade.
Following on from the theme of how to go green, we take a look at three venues which are striving forward with green policies and following sustainable values for recycling, waste, energy and efficiency.
IET Birmingham: Austin Court for an eco-friendly conference venue
Located near the heart of Birmingham, the IET Birmingham: Austin Court is an ideal size for exhibitions, seminars, meetings and presentations.
This venue is located between the National Indoor Arena and the International Convention Centre and within walking distance of the city’s main attractions, making it ideal for those looking to reduce driving time to help the environment.
Dedicated to ensuring your conference or meeting runs smoothly, the team have plenty of experience in delivering events and are passionate about adhering to their environmental policy. With the aim to reduce their impact on the environment, the venue operates an on-site water purification system to eliminate water bottle transportation, uses conference pads and pens made from recycled materials and gets a big eco-friendly tick for using low energy light bulbs where ever possible.
The venue can host a maximum of 150 delegates and offers a great range of backdrops to choose from whether you’re looking for a large or small event space.
Day Delegate Rates start from £42.95.
Royal Armouries & NEW DOCK Hall
With over 20 years of experience hosting high profile events, the Royal Armouries is committed to providing a great service from start to finish; one which is friendly, helpful and responsive to all of your event needs. Set in a modern waterfront development, it’s situated in a great location close to the vibrant Leeds city centre and has excellent rail transport links making it easier to reduce your company’s carbon footprint by not having multiple cars arriving via the M1.
Dedicated to their sustainability policies, they are doing everything possible to ensure the demands they place on the environment can be met without affecting the environment’s future ability. For example, sourcing foods from local farmers to reduce transportation which will essentially reduce their carbon footprint. This venue also purchases fair-trade tea and coffee.
Awarded gold in Green Tourism, the team at Royal Armouries are happy to advice organisers on how to make events greener and what measures a company may wish to take to offset the effects to the environment when thousands of people attend a conference or large scale meeting.
For large events, the NEW DOCK Hall offers the ultimate wow-factor and accommodates up to 1,500 delegates for a reception. A great selection of smaller rooms meet the needs of event organisers looking for meeting or conference rooms. WiFi is free and included throughout.
Day Delegate Rates start from £34.00.
Woodside
Woodside is a great option for an eco-friendly event in Kenilworth, Warwickshire – just outside of Birmingham.
Awarded Gold for Best UK Management Training Centre and Best Value for Money Conference at the 2016 M&IT Awards, the venue is set in 22 acres of grounds which provide a gorgeous backdrop away from the busy city surroundings.
With a mission to deliver the best facilities, service and meeting environments in the hospitality industry, the team at Woodside aim to sustain the environment for future generations.
A few of the initiatives proudly put into place include extensive recycling to help reduce their impact on landfill, an on-site purification system which enables the hotel to filter their own water and reduce plastic bottle usage, plus they support and help reverse the declining population of honey bees by homing over 500,000 bees in the venue’s grounds.The team at Woodside also ensure food is ethically sourced and where possible, locally produced.
The Redwood is the largest space for up to 120 delegates attending a theatre style event offering natural daylight and optional blackouts if required. For a smaller option, the Elm, Holly, Juniper, Lucombe, Maple and Oak rooms are ideal for up to 32 corporate guests. Green Meeting packages are also available.
Day Delegate Rates start from £29.50 and 24-hour rates are available from £120.00.
To browse even more eco-friendly event spaces, click here.