MICEBOOK - POWER 50 GREEN CHAMPIONS COVER 1 - Flipbook - Page 19
Page 19
Sarah Thackray
Sam Morgan
Sammy Connell
Executive Head Chef, The Venues
Collection
Conferences and Events Manager,
NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union
Sam is Executive Head Chef for The
Venues Collection – a group of six
purpose-built UK conference centres with
onsite hotels / accommodation – and
part of Compass Group, which has an
ambition to be CO2e Net Zero (Zero
carbon emissions) by 2030.
Under Sammy’s leadership, The NASUWT
conferences and events team organises
over 60 events each year attracting
teachers from across the UK. In 2021, the
Union committed to becoming a Net Zero
carbon organisation. This resulted in a
review of the events programme and to
identify the changes necessary to help
make this possible.
With food a key area of focus, Sam is
leading to ensure that targets are met. In
2022, the venues served approximately
50,000 lunches to delegates. Based on the
UK average of 1.6kg CO2e per dish this
equates to 85,000 kg of CO2e per year. In
the next three years it has set an
ambitious target to get this to a low
output of 0.5kg CO2e per dish, saving
60,000 kg of CO2e per year.
This will be achieved through initiatives
including reducing dairy, increasing
plant-based options, and eliminating use
of any air freight ingredients and food
waste. Sam implemented the Klimato
carbon labelling system on menus,
becoming the first UK venue group to do
so. Understanding the impact each meal
has on the climate gives organisers more
ownership and control over the total
carbon footprint of their events.
Sam’s approach is to educate customers
and offer alternatives, rather than ban a
food altogether. He has introduced a
chicken burger and chicken and pork
steaks this year as lower impact alternatives to the beefburger and Rib-Eye steak
and these options are becoming increasingly popular, which will have a positive
impact on carbon emissions.
He is now working with his team of chefs
to
encourage them to create their own
menus – unique for each property and
adapted to their individual clients’
needs - but taken from the bank of
recipes he has developed with Klimato.
Klimato enabled Sam to measure the
CO2e of the 21,000 Christmas dishes (a
combination of starters, mains and
desserts) served in 2022 and show that
they saved 11.7 tonnes of CO2e when
compared to the average Christmas
meal.
The NASUWT needed to start making
responsible decisions across supply
chains, processes, people and materials
and embracing and embedding these
choices into the creative design and
delivery of its events, rather than seeing
sustainability as a cost and a barrier.
Sammy presented a plan to the Union’s
senior leadership outlining a wide range
of proposals which included: asking for
sustainability credentials of potential
venues and using this information as part
of the procurement process; asking all
event suppliers to procure food responsibly; reducing the amount of printed
material; and encouraging staff and
members to reduce car travel.
The first big test of the new sustainable
approach was the Annual Conference
2023. The event was held at the Scottish
Exhibition Campus, a venue well known
for its commitment to sustainability. From
the start of the planning process,
sustainability was at the heart of
everything, and additional measures
included: hosting a paperless event by
using a dedicated app; reusable
lanyards and recyclable badges; and
contractors were encouraged to reduce
their own carbon footprint by limiting
physical materials. This included the
exhibition carpet and materials being
re-used or recycled and promoting the
use of public transport and car sharing
where possible.
Having taken all the steps possible to
minimise the carbon footprint and
promote sustainability, NASUWT
partnered with Greengage to utilise their
EVENTsmart tool to measure and offset
the remaining carbon.
Founder and director, BeaconHouse
Events
Under Sarah’s leadership, BeaconHouse
Events launched its four-year ESG strategy
in early 2023 with the ambition of
delivering considered, achievable actions,
to help the business reach responsible
carbon neutrality and drive sector-wide
change from inside the organisation.
Sarah worked closely with innovation
sustainability manager Katrina Appleyard
to develop the strategy, which is based on
key UN SDGs. It outlines key commitments
to the environment, people, governance
and financial resilience, including steps to
reduce carbon emissions by 5% year on
year, with the aim to be a carbon neutral
business by the end of 2027.
Plans include a focus on supply chain
engagement, carrying out research into
sustainably sourcing materials, finding
digital solutions to limit single-use print
and providing staff training to up-skill the
team on the future of events both
in-person and online. Alongside this there
is a commitment and ambition to
educate and empower the next
generation of Northeast talent, supporting
local charities and education initiatives.
The agency has adopted isla’s TRACE to
gather data on the carbon impact of
each event and has put sustainability
clauses in all client contracts. By achieving
the Planet Mark certification, BeaconHouse
Events has committed to measuring and
reducing its carbon footprint, engaging
employees, and telling its story so others
can follow suit. As a business it is also
committed to the ‘Green Meetings’
tourism accreditation, an accreditation
recognised by the MIA and Venue
Directory as a leading standard in
sustainability.
Sarah was recently invited to take part in
an NECC Net Zero for business roundtable
and was also a speaker on a panel
discussion on sustainability in the
hospitality sector, at a Northeast
Hospitality expo (HITS) in May. The agency
has now been asked to get involved as a
partner in Newcastle Gateshead Initiative’s
Net Zero ambition plans for the city.
