In October, Chrissie and Hannah ventured over to the Brighton Centre to chat about the incredible progress they have made towards Brighton and Hove City Council’s target to be carbon neutral by 2030. As a venue owned by the council, steeped in rich history on Brighton’s seafront, they have done an excellent job to support event planners and stakeholders to make their events more sustainable.
For context, Brighton and Hove is part of a unique UNESCO biosphere and the Living Coast Project, which encourages residents and visitors alike to engage with the local environment. They do this by funding and providing projects for locals and tourists to engage with such as the Bumblebee Citizen Science Project and the KP Projects’ TLC Undersea Experience. The Brighton Centre was also nominated for ABPCO's 2022 Sustainable Conference of the Year, you can watch the nomination video here. This film describes the sustainable journey of #PrAConf22 working with VisitBrighton, the Brighton Centre and the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership.
At the Brighton Centre, all new clients receive a ’10 Top Tips’ document, which shares some initiatives that can contribute to lowering an event's emissions, and leave a positive impact on the local community. These tips include utilising local brands in goodie bags, using their stock of digital signage rather than printing, and examples of ways to leave a legacy for delegates and the community, such as hosting a beach clean.
In addition to this, the Brighton Centre have:
Committed to zero waste to landfill.
Installed LED lighting throughout the venue.
Installed water-saving systems in the toilets.
Committed to purchasing energy only from renewable sources, no fossil fuels.
Used technology to reduce gas usage on hot water and heating.
Installed water fountains throughout the venue, so guests can use reuse refillable bottles.
Installed carpet floor tiles, so if any need to be replaced, it’s a one-tile-job, rather than taking up the whole carpet.
Placed segregated recycling bins throughout the venue.
At the Brighton Centre, catering and refreshments are supplied by Seasoned, an organisation that are doing some incredible things to support the local community and the environment, such as:
Not serving any beef on their menus – the highest contributor to greenhouse gases of all meats.
Enforcing meat-free Mondays.
Supporting the Aldingbourne Trust by providing skills training to those with learning disabilities and autism to support them in gaining confidence in the kitchen and in gaining skills that could lead to work opportunities.
Donating 60 hot meals to the Four Streets Project Team at St Paul’s Church to support the homeless population in nearby city, Chichester.
Using100% carbon neutral coffee bags from Dutch Coffee Pack.
Preventing more than 120kg of wonky fruit and veg going to landfill by using it.
Serving bottles of Toast Ale which is brewed using surplus bakery bread.
Recycling 630 litres of waste cooking oil.
Working with Life Water UK, all water sales at the venue have contributed to building two water wells in villages in developing countries.
Seasoned have made a passionate and well-informed effort to partner with sustainable suppliers and charities to support their mission and have worked in collaboration with them to create positive impacts. All meals are accredited by the Soil Association’s 'Food for Life Served Here' Award, recognising Seasoned’s commitment to providing visitors with freshly prepared food that has been made on-site and made from sustainable ingredients that promote good health.
For the whole team at the Brighton Centre, events are about bringing people together, and doing so whilst making them feel part of the destination that they are visiting, and engaging them in community activities to leave a lasting legacy. We are really impressed with the work that the Brighton Centre is doing, and we are grateful to the team for giving us an insight into their passion and commitment when working towards the future.
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