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Sustainability Statement

At BeaconHouse Events we recognise that the events industry has a direct impact on the environment. We are committed to providing a high quality of service whilst minimising the environmental impact, both of our own company, and of the events we organise.

The ways in which we try to reduce the impact of our events include:

  • Assessing the social, economic and environmental impact at the start of the planning process
  • Including sustainability clauses in contracts
  • Reducing, reusing and recycling wherever possible
  • Communicating electronically rather than by paper
  • Minimising the impact of travel
  • Thinking about the well-being of our delegates, our suppliers, the local community and any other stakeholders
  • Raising awareness of our efforts and sharing best practice

Transport

In order to reduce the need for and impact of travel, wherever possible we:

  • Consider whether video or teleconferencing is a viable alternative
  • If not, consider where delegates are travelling from and choose a location which minimises the requirement for travel, particularly by plane/car
  • Recommend accommodation within walking distance of the venue or use a venue which also offers accommodation
  • Try to find venues close to public transport and promote the available public transport links to delegates
  • Provide a link to a map and tell delegates how they can reach the venue on foot
  • Offer a shuttle service as well as encourage taxi-sharing where the venue is not in walking distance of public transport
  • Encourage car-sharing, for those travelling by car by putting delegates in touch with others travelling from the same areas
  • Offset carbon emissions or encourage delegates to offset their own

Venues

  • Where possible, we try to use venues which have sustainable or environmental policies or have an environmental management system certified to a national or international standard, such as ISO 14001, BS 20121 and BS 8555:2016 or are registered with the Eco-Management & Audit Scheme (EMAS)
  • We ask hotels if they are registered with the Green Tourism Business Scheme which provides a comprehensive green audit of accommodation facilities, or if they have won any Sustainable Business Awards
  • We try to use venues of appropriate size for the number of attendees to limit excessive heating and cooling
  • We encourage the use of in-house equipment thus reducing the need for transportation
  • We choose venues which maximise natural lighting thus reducing the need for electric lighting
  • We make sure all electrical equipment and power supplies are turned off when not in use
  • We use heating and air conditioning sparingly and use natural ventilation where possible
  • Arrange stands/displays etc to maximise use of natural light
  • Provide clearly labelled recycling bins for different types of waste and advertise their presence

Suppliers

We work with environmentally conscious and sustainable suppliers, where possible who comply with our sustainability policy:

  • The supplier will use energy and water as efficiently as possible
  • The supplier will comply with the event organiser’s waste management requirements, including a recycling policy
  • The supplier will comply with the event organiser’s sustainable catering requirements
  • The supplier will measure their impacts relating to the event, e.g. food miles, energy use, waste produced and recycled, water used
  • We use local suppliers in regards to the location of the event, to reduce unnecessary transport

Catering

Where possible, to reduce wastage, we encourage attendees to sign up for meals in advance to reduce wastage and ask which sessions they plan to attend.
We ask our caterers as far as possible to:

  • Serve fresh produce in season
  • Consider produce meeting farm assurance standards, such as Red Tractor, LEAF Marque or equivalent
  • Fish from sustainably managed sources
  • Use fairly traded products, such as coffee, tea, bananas and chocolate
  • Provide options and choices suited to specific dietary requirements
  • Produce healthy and nutritious meals, avoiding foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar
  • Provide fresh fruit as an alternative to prepared desserts
  • Serve food in bulk rather than individually packaged
  • Offer tap water to drink. If bottled water is unavoidable, buy water in biodegradable corn-based bottles or, as a last resort, ensure the bottles are recycled
  • Operate a recycling scheme, including composting
  • Reuse crockery, glassware, cutlery, tablecloths etc

Communication

  • Where possible, we communicate local attractions and amenities to our delegates to benefit the local economy and educate delegates

Paper Waste

  • We avoid excessive paper usage by carrying out all marketing, correspondence and registration electronically
  • We ensure that all paper waste is collected and recycled
  • We reuse used paper for printing drafts
  • We use double sided printing and non-glossy, recycled paper, with vegetable based inks, where possible
  • We print documents in black and white rather than colour
  • We avoid single use printing by omitting dates on branded signage that could be reused

Handouts

  • We format handouts to minimise the amount of paper required by reducing the margins, font size and printing double-sided
  • We provide links to downloads of literature rather than providing large handouts, or offer documents as electronic downloads, where possible
  • We have a laptop and printer on site so that literature can be printed out on demand if delegates require hard copies
  • We use whiteboards rather than paper flipcharts, where possible
  • We use sustainably sourced, FSC certified paper stock for the production of our name badges, signs and display materials and collect these items after the event for reuse where possible
  • If reusable materials are not appropriate, we use recycled and/or recyclable materials for packaging, paper etc
  • We use reusable or recycled bags rather than plastic, and advertise the benefits on the bags
  • We return all unused sponsor items to sponsors for reuse

Raising Awareness

  • We make delegates aware of the sustainability measures being taken to improve the image and reputation of the client and to protect the environment

Evaluation and accreditation 

  • We evaluate the success of the measures taken and learn for next time
  • Where possible we offer delegates the opportunity to provide feedback
  • We are proud to be early adopters of TRACE to help the event industry reach Net Zero. TRACE is a carbon measurement platform for tracking and reporting on our carbon impact of events. Our dedicated platform lead ensures we gather all data required to report on each of the events we track. This helps us benchmark our event impact and reduce our impact year on year.
  • We are proud to be Planet Mark certified. By achieving the Planet Mark certification, we have committed to measuring and reducing our carbon footprint, engaging our employees, and telling our story so others can follow suit. We chose to be Planet mark certified because we know it’s time to show the world how much we care and how much we do. Now, we have the mark of a responsible business. Planet Mark support the UN’s ‘Decade of Action’, which recognises that the 2020 to 2030 are critical to arresting the climate crisis. Our journey with Planet Mark shows how we can help, and guides us through every step of reducing our impact.
  • We are committed to the ‘Green Meetings‘ tourism accreditation – recognised by the MIA and Venue Directory as a leading standard in sustainability, Green Meetings was created in 2021 in response to growing demand in the Meetings and Events industry for sustainable events venues and providers.

Giving back  

  • Where possible we offer delegates the opportunity to donate towards sustainability focused charities and social enterprises using donation tickets on ‘Eventbrite’.
  • Where possible leftover delegate bags, lanyards and other event items are sent to charity, or advertised as available on freecycle, Facebook marketplace or OLIO