Making a green impact!
From paperless conferences, wellbeing walks and community litter picks, we’re going that extra mile to deliver greener events.
This month, both the campus-based Conferences and Events team The Exchange team were rewarded for hitting their sustainable goals, winning Bronze and Silver accreditation by Green Impact SOS.
Both completed an online toolkit designed to encourage organisations to put sustainability at the heart of life in the workplace and home.
By taking part in the Green Impact Challenge, we’ve contributed to an estimated 130 tonnes of CO2 saved on campus. It’s a fantastic achievement demonstrating our commitment towards sustainability, and the University of Birmingham’s ambition to be net zero by 2045, particularly as we’re one of only 17 universities taking part in the challenge.
How did we do it on campus?
- Colleagues were encouraged to car share, cycle or use public transport. With the University Station, excellent bike routes, car-share parking and electric car charging points across campus, there’s plenty of accessible routes for our staff (and conference attendees).
- Our committee transformed a disused space within the office into a social staff area, encouraging staff to take time out, donate old books and share pictures on the walls.
- We arranged a plant biodiversity tour for colleagues at Winterbourne House and Garden.
- We organised monthly bake-offs and sunflower growing competitions to raise money for charity.
- We emphasised the importance of saving water, energy and recycling waste, including creating designated battery and stationary recycle points.
- Our events management team has initiated a paperless operations system, encouraging clients to avoid unnecessary handouts i.e. making abstract submissions available online than providing printed copies.
- We arranged monthly wellbeing walks taking the time to explore campus – and get those extra steps in!
- We organised an office wellbeing month asking colleagues to take part in multiple challenges which included reading a book, walking 10k steps and drinking 2L of water.
How did we do it at The Exchange?
- We introduced a quarterly sustainability newsletter with friendly tips and highlighting the team’s efforts to work in greener ways.
- Our team led a litter pick initiative to remove rubbish around the venue.
- We started a ‘lunch brunch’ group encouraging colleagues to bring in their lunches and enjoy together – and save money!
- We came up with a creative solution for first-aid ice packs – we used ice boxes from our old humidifier!
- Encouraged cycle-to-work schemes.
A step towards a brighter future.
We’re making sustainability a priority! Our dedicated Events Management team can help transform your event and work alongside you to achieve your own green ambitions:
- Our venues can host hybrid events in our meeting spaces at The Exchange which are equipped with integrated Owl systems enabling smart connection with Microsoft Teams and Zoom.
- Both campus and The Exchange boast accessible and major public transport routes i.e. 1,800 bike spaces across campus and safe low-traffic cycle lanes, University Station, multiple bus routes and electric car-charging points.
- Edgbaston Park Hotel has been accredited Gold for Green Meetings by Green Tourism. They’ve phased into a paperless CRM system, removed all single-use plastic and use locally-grown ingredients for all menus.
- Our caterers, Food Fellows – which delivers all our food, won a Gold accreditation from the Green Impact Challenge. All milk is Red Tractor certified, eggs are free range, and all meat is UK-sourced. Huge efforts to reduce food waste are taking place, and menus will be 50% plant-based by 2024.
- Our in-house AV team work with sustainability in mind and use suppliers to incorporate more greener solutions i.e. LED lights.
Get in touch with the Conferences and Events team to discuss how we can support you.
