Environmental Sustainability Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this Environmental Sustainability Policy is to outline our commitment to reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions (hereafter referred to as GHGs, emissions or CO2e) and reducing our waste footprint, within our organisation, and in the events we deliver.,

This policy focuses on environmental sustainability, rather than attempting to also address financial and social sustainability. These highly important, and interlinked, elements form part of our wider business strategy and shareholder / stakeholder reporting, and are also addressed in our vision and values.

We will communicate this policy to all our stakeholders, including clients, suppliers and staff. We will do this to enable them to work with us in achieving our ambitions in this important area.

We recognise that the environmental impacts from our operations and events mostly derive from emissions from fuel usage for travel, transport and energy, and waste from single-use items.

We therefore hope to increase environmental awareness across our organisation with this policy, and embed carbon reduction and zero-waste practices in our everyday business.

Statement of Intent

Net-zero Goals

We will communicate this policy to all our stakeholders, including clients, suppliers and staff. We will do this to enable them to work with us in achieving our ambitions in this important area.

We recognise that the environmental impacts from our operations and events mostly derive from emissions from fuel usage for travel, transport and energy, and waste from single-use items.

We therefore hope to increase environmental awareness across our organisation with this policy, and embed carbon reduction and zero-waste practices in our everyday business.

The Circular Economy

In addition, we are committed to becoming a Circular Economy business. This means we will reduce waste across all company owned operations with a view to diverting 90% from landfill and incineration. We are also committed to running “Circular Events” across deliveries. This means we aim to divert 90% from landfill and incineration.

Monitoring and Reporting

We commit to monitor, review and report on our progress and use the ongoing learnings to inform our approach to reducing emissions and waste across our operational and event activities.

What is Net-Zero and the Circular Economy?

Net Zero

The term Net Zero is often interchanged with Carbon Neutrality, but there is a subtle difference.

Carbon Neutrality refers to carbon ‘offsetting’ or ‘balancing’ emissions resulting from an activity. This has the effect of, on paper, “neutralising” the emissions created.

Net Zero first reduces emissions from an activity as far as possible before carbon balancing. This means that emissions are first reduced and then offset. The ambition is to achieve a 1.5°C future.

In order to claim Net Zero emissions, emissions must first be reduced, in line with global targets, before being balanced. If carbon emissions are balanced before being reduced, these cannot be constituted as Net Zero.

It is essential that the entire globe reaches Net Zero carbon emissions as soon as possible to limit the global temperature rises to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

A rise of just 2 degrees has catastrophic impacts for life on this planet, including humans, and may be irreversible. We are currently on trajectory for a 3-4 degree rise so actions must be taken quickly.

The UK has now set in law to cut emissions by 78% by 2035, and to Net Zero by 2050. We wish to accelerate this transition in line with broader global ambitions to reach Net Zero as soon as possible.

The Circular Economy (CE)

The CE is a system aimed at eliminating waste and ensuring the continual use of resources.

The practice prioritises redesigning products and processes to reduce and eliminate waste. This is followed by reuse and repurposing of existing products or assets, before looking at alternative ways of using or processing products - like refurbishing.

This is the same approach as the Zero Waste Hierarchy which supports the Circular Economy. Recycling comes quite low in the Zero Waste Hierarchy due to the energy intensive processes required.

We prefer the term Circular Economy to Zero Waste as “Zero Waste” is often confused with “Zero Waste to Landfill”. These are two different concepts. The first is a practice that reduces and eliminates waste and the latter means that waste is diverted from landfill and is incinerated for energy instead. This practice is known as Waste to Energy and emits considerable carbon emissions and threatens the transition to a waste-free society.

Achieving status as a Zero Waste business means that the business will be diverting 90% from landfill and incineration.

Our Commitments

We are committed to responsible environmental operations and event planning and as such commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and waste across both our operational activities and our event deliveries. In order to achieve this, we are committed to:

We commit to the following at a company and event level:

Pledging to the Net Zero Carbon Events pledge and halving our greenhouse gas emissions before 2030 across all company owned operations. To do this we will set 2022 as our baseline year and set a year-on-year reduction target of 7%.
Achieving Net Zero emissions in our company operations well before 2050 and as soon as possible.
Disclosing our progress on a yearly basis
Reducing waste across all company owned operations with a view to operating as a Circular Economy business by 2030.
Measuring greenhouse gas emissions for all event deliveries from 2022 and carbon balancing these emissions.
Reducing carbon emissions across our event programme as far as possible and by at least 7% year on year, incorporating company growth into adjusted targets.
Achieving Net Zero events well before 2050 and as soon as possible.
Reducing waste across all event deliveries with a view to operating Circular Events by 2035.

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