These days more and more organisers are looking a little deeper when weighing up the success of their events. It’s no longer just a question of how many tickets were sold, how many likes and followers they got on social media or even how much money they made. Here at W12 Conferences we’ve noticed a shift towards our clients asking more questions about our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and examining their own in more detail.
There are lots of areas of business that come under the umbrella of CSR and here at W12 Conferences we take our credentials very seriously. If you’re looking for a venue with whom you share such values, take a look at our round-up of questions you should be asking to assess your alignment and discover how we handle these areas of our business.
Lots of companies donate a certain amount of their profits to charity. Find out how much your venue gives away and where it goes. W12 Conferences is part of the NHS and all of the funds it accrues go directly back into its services.
Catering companies can do a lot to help uphold a venue’s CSR. At W12 Conferences, our chefs source all of their ingredients as locally as possible to keep their food miles down. They also create seasonal menus for the same reason and their ordering system is such that waste is kept to an absolute minimum. We also use sustainable Kenco coffee and use onsite boreholes to access our water supply.
Travel can have a huge impact on the environment, but booking a venue with really good public transport links can minimise the need for taxis and private cars. W12 Conferences is just a short walk from the tube station with great links to the National Rail network and Heathrow Airport.
Keeping waste to a minimum is obviously the starting point for any recycling policy, but what does your venue do with any unavoidable rubbish and surplus? We recycle everything we can including paper, glass, metals and plastics.
While older venues might be full of charm and character, it’s quite likely that they aren’t particularly energy efficient. W12 Conferences was built with events in mind and its new facilities and refurbishments meet a 35-55 Gj/100m3 energy efficiency target and all existing refurbished facilities will achieve a target of 55-65 Gj/100m3.
Almost all communication can be undertaken electronically, and we go to great lengths to ensure the Events Team only users the printer when absolutely necessary.
Not all venues will have the same opportunities or starting points from which to create a good CSR policy, so it’s always worth asking the Events Team what their targets and goals are. At W12 Conferences, we’re working hard to become one of London’s greenest venues.
If you have any further questions about our facilities please don’t hesitate to contact the Events Team on +44 (0)20 3313 1606 or info@w12conferences.co.uk.