Businesses are increasingly conscious of making their events sustainable and at Rothamsted Conference Centre, we are proud of our credentials as a sustainable events venue. The ISO 20121 definition of sustainability:
“In a nutshell, sustainability is about how an organisation continues to run its activities in a commercially successful way whilst contributing towards a stronger and more just society and reducing its impact on the environment.”
How we support our clients to run sustainable events:
- BREEAM rated ‘Excellent’ – BREEAM, from the Building Research Establishment (BRE) is the world’s longest established method of assessing, rating, and certifying the sustainability of buildings. Our buildings at Rothamsted are BREEAM rated ‘Excellent’, which means our conference centre building has been planned with the environment in mind, and has a smart heating/cooling system. We are part of the top 10% of BREEAM accredited buildings.
- 20PercentLess Pledge – We are wholeheartedly supporting the 20% less plastic movement, in line with the Meeting Industry Association‘s pledge for 2020.
- Sustainable DDR – We offer a sustainable DDR package which provides delegates with our excellent service and facilities while reducing plastic and waste.
- Sustainable menus – Back in 2019, our chefs overhauled our menus to limit the amount of meat we serve. We now offer many vegan and vegetarian dishes every day in our public restaurant and conference centre.
- Local is best – We actively source and use local food providers wherever possible, thus reducing our carbon footprint.
- Our profits drive climate change research and agricultural technology – All profits generated by Rothamsted Enterprises are ploughed directly back into the agricultural research into climate change and food security carried out at Rothamsted Research.
- Virtual showrounds – We encourage event planners to discuss their events with our team over the phone and view our rooms by virtual tour, rather than visiting in person to limit unnecessary travel.
- Virtual events – We offer state of the art audio visual and video conferencing technology as well as being able to host virtual conferences, to minimise unnecessary travel for delegates.
- We encourage use of public transport to our venues – we are a short 10 minute walk from Harpenden train station which is on the direct line from London St Pancras International – just 25 minutes away.
Examples of sustainable events held at Rothamsted include Sainsbury’s NERC Conference, Net Zero 2050 Climate Change Seminar for Bim Afolami MP, and the LEAF Education and Public Engagement Conference.
As well as the conference centre, we have also launched a free Walking Tour of Rothamsted, perfect as an outdoor event to take in the sights of the local area, and introduce the agricultural research and science taking place at Rothamsted to your delegates.
In addition to our approach to sustainability at the Conference Centre, Rothamsted Enterprises support a wide range of tenant businesses on site, who work across science, farming and agricultural innovations to tackle climate change and improve food security.
If you would like to work with a forward-thinking, sustainable events venue, contact Rothamsted Conference Centre.
