Sustainability

Years of intense effort often go into making an event happen. But once everyone has packed up and gone home, there’s still work to be done. The uncomfortable truth is that events are extremely wasteful. Hundreds of tonnes of materials that could be recycled, or even reused, end up being disposed of or destroyed – often at considerable cost to the environment, the local community and the bottom line.

The time has come to take a stand, to put an end to unnecessary waste. That’s why we’re working hard to create a legacy of sustainability for the whole events industry. That means not just evolving our own processes, practices and materials, but educating others too.

We’re proud to have achieved ISO 20121 certification, but we recognise that our work isn’t yet done. We’re constantly reviewing how we work and operate, taking into consideration our impact on the environment, our local communities and our people.

View our sustainability policy here.

Here’s a snap shot of what we’ve been up to:

Corporate social responsibility

We are the first and only, full-service events provider to earn APEX/ASTM Level 2 Certification and ISO 20121.

Sustainability is part of our core values. Since our first sustainability certification in 2011, we have led the way on Certified Sustainable Practices. Achieving this certification is an example of our commitment to living out our values in a palpable way every single day.

Our commitment to sustainability means that when you choose usas your event partner, you’ll have the best resources and practices for achieving your sustainability goals right at your fingertips. It also means your event will be run with sustainability measures in mind every step of the way, minimizing your impact on the environment.

Environmental sustainability

Every month, we save almost 100 tonnes of waste from going to landfill – that’s 95% of our monthly waste. If it can be reused, recycled, or repurposed – it is.

All of our brochures have now been digitised, not only reducing our paper use, but also reducing our carbon footprint by not sending them around the world.

98% of our carpets are recycled after they’ve been used, and if we can use them again – we do.

Our reusable SmartWire electric cable system results in absolutely zero waste. The days of cutting wire from reels and throwing it away after a show are long behind us.

We’re investing in greener vehicles to reduce our fleet’s carbon emissions.

Anti-slavery policy

One thing we take very seriously is our legal and moral obligation to the people who work for and with us (both directly and indirectly). This is in addition to our aim to be socially responsible, ensuring a fair working environment and a fair deal for all.

As an example of our cooperation with legislation and our commitment to our principles, purposes and values, we take pride in the steps we take to seek to ensure that within the company and supply chains we have effective systems and controls in place to safeguard against slavery and human trafficking taking place. This commitment is in addition to having in place policies within our business on issues such as bribery, malpractice, child labour, human trafficking, diversity and training.

The Executive Management Team is responsible for reviewing the systems and controls in place to safeguard against slavery and human trafficking on a regular basis. Integrity is maintained through regular reviews, as well as internal and external audits.

In accordance with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, we will ensure a statement is prepared and published annually setting out the steps that have been taken during the financial year to seek to ensure that slavery and human trafficking are not taking place anywhere in the business or supply chains.

A copy of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (UK) can be found here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/

Social sustainability

To help young people develop their skills and get on the career ladder, we’re offering apprenticeships across our entire organisation. Working with our customers, suppliers and trade associates, we share sustainability best practice. This helps to raise the level of knowledge across the whole industry.

To increase awareness of these issues, sustainability forms a key part of every sales tender and employee induction. To help pull the slum community of Namuwongo out of poverty, we have teamed up with the events industry to create the charity Events for Namuwongo. We actively encourage our staff to go over and forge relationships with the community, working together with them to build a clean and safe environment providing basic amenities and support .

The beating heart of our business is our people. It’s their dedication, commitment and passion that makes the impossible possible. A reflection of this dedication is our Investors in People status..