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Our Sustainability Commitment

Posted by Sarah Threlfall

Within our lifetime, our planet and the way we live is already changing and it will be unrecognisable for the next generation if we continue to operate the way we are.

We are in a climate emergency and doing nothing (Or very little) and hoping for the best is not an option anymore.

Drastic and wholesale change, in the big and small decisions we make every day, is needed and exactly as we approach event risk assessments, we need to apply these principles to our climate impact:  focus on activity with the biggest impact (flying) and / or the most likely to happen (food). 

However, we cannot let perfection stand in the way of progress!    

There are a multitude of free, creative and easy changes that can be made across the event landscape that, when replicated around the world would gain that vital 1% 

Brightspace has ambitions to become a B-Corp certified company but that takes time.   

In the meantime, here are the changes we have made / are making to reduce our negative impact and, where we can, to take it a step further and use our business and our events as a force for good in the world.  

NO-FLY COMMITMENT 

Flying is, without question, the most damaging and dangerous thing we do and we will:

  • No longer attend networking events, educational trips or trade shows that involve flying
  • Take trains whenever reasonably possible (particularly for mainland Europe)
  • Always assume site inspections will be virtual or conducted by local partners 
  • Build local delivery teams to reduce numbers who need to fly from the UK

If we HAVE to fly for event critical reasons or because the alternative would seriously impact on the quality of delivery we will:

  • Always fly economy, fewest travellers as possible, fly direct, look at fewer, longer trips if appropriate
  • Use researched carbon offset schemes 

EVENTS & SUPPLIERS

Clients have the final say but we will:

  • Include ‘impact’ information on destinations / venues at proposal stage 
  • Focus on destinations that reduce travel impact for attendees
  • Actively seek out and propose venues who are making positive changes 
  • Suggest meat free or vegan menus
  • Interrogate our supply chain and pass on the message that this matters 
  • Suggest local providers, research small businesses and support ethical businesses
  • Prioritise working with suppliers who have made similar commitments 
  • Call out ‘greenwashing’ when we see it to encourage best practice

EVENT STUFF

  • Remove or reduce stuff produced for events 
  • Focus on re-usable if that’s not possible
  • Choose recycled and recyclable materials if possible
  • Consider airmiles and production impact of all stuff as well as waste
  • Use or provide waste and re-use or recycling solutions for food and stuff after the event

OUR CLIENTS

       We will:

  • Prioritise working with clients who genuinely share our passion
  • Seek to educate and shift their priorities to include reduce impact 

US

       We will:

  • Constantly research and share the latest ideas and best practice
  • Change to electric vehicles when vehicles used for company business need replacing
  • Arrange virtual meetings
  • Review all business policies and procedures through a ‘sustainability’ lens

At Brightspace Events,we’re already sharing joy and happiness with 2023’s class of corporate Christmas party organisers. From venue finding, to entertainment sourcing, to taking care of every intricate detail imaginablefor fabulous, future forward festivities, we’ve got your back.

Check our our sustainability hub for tips and tricks, to suppliers who share our passion and information on ‘no fly’ destinations and programmes, this resource is a hub of useful links and references. We’re also collecting and unravelling all of the acreditations and organisations springing up to help with our goals.

Need help and advice? get in touch, and we’ll help if we can or point in the right direction. 

Sarah Threlfall

Sarah's worked in the corporate event industry across hotels, global event agencies and now at Brightspace for over 25 years and has been lucky enough to deliver some jaw dropping delivered events from Antigua to Zambia. She now leads the agency and is heavily involved with all the projects and is wildly enthusiastic about every client and every event; relishing the challenge to get under their skin and deliver real value in their event strategy. Health and well being are central to her life so she prioritises all sorts of activity with running as her first love and most recently, joining a ladies cricket team. She's also very likely to be found on the touchline of junior football / rugby and cricket matches as well as indulging her love of live theatre. (p.s. as 2 separate hobbies; her kids would disown her if she were bursting into song / bringing out the jazz hands on the sidelines!)