MICEBOOK - POWER 50 GREEN CHAMPIONS COVER 1 - Flipbook - Page 21
Page 21
Selina Donald
Steph Aviss
Stephane Bazire
Founder & CEO, The Bulb
Account Director, Top Banana
Selina Donald founded The Bulb in 2015,
following an ‘epiphany moment’ while
producing the London 2012 Opening and
Closing Olympic and Paralympic
Ceremonies. She saw that no one was
providing compelling, expert sustainability
consultancy to change the antiquated
way events were planned and delivered
without consideration of the impact they
had on people or planet.
Steph has been at the forefront of driving
sustainability efforts within Top Banana, so
when the opportunity to work with a
like-minded client arose, she was ready to
lead the charge. Steph’s Power 50 entry
focused on her work with The Body Shop
At Home™ to deliver a climate-positive
event and establish a sustainable event
management approach that would
become framework for future events
delivered by the agency.
Head of Business Sustainability &
Partnerships, Silverstone Circuit Ltd
Since then, The Bulb has constantly
expanded its offer to meet the changing
needs of its clients, creating awardwinning sustainability strategies, action
plans and engagement approaches to
support them in delivering events and
experiences that have a legacy for all the
right reasons. It’s now a female-led and
female-driven business with an expert
and passionate team made up of six
talented women who all bring a different
skillset, and a culture of mutual support,
authenticity, collaboration and
empowerment.
Steph's unwavering commitment to
sustainability and The Body Shop At Home
™’s values meant that she was able to
allocate a substantial portion of their
budget to cover the costs associated with
the event being more sustainable. She
forged partnerships with the Telford
International Centre, the chosen venue for
the event, to ensure the elimination of
plastic bottles and other unsustainable
products, and with local charities to
donate any leftover food, minimise waste
and benefit those in need.
Over the years, Selina has worked with
some incredible people and
causes - from Dame Vivienne Westwood
to #MarchForWomen - and some great
brands who are genuinely doing their best
for people and planet. Successes include
winning three awards for ESG strategies
created, developed and implemented by
The Bulb team and creating an
industry-changing, award-winning events
sustainability strategy for a global player
that’s transforming events for household
brands.
When it came to travel and
transportation, delegates were
encouraged to take public transport and
carpool where possible. By leveraging
technology, the event’s reach was
expanded to 6,000 participants who could
engage with the event remotely, which not
only increased accessibility but also
significantly reduced the carbon footprint.
An initiative to serve a meatless meal to
the 1,200 delegates, resulted in water
savings of 7,220,400 litres and a reduction
of 200,400 kg of CO2 emissions.
The Bulb was appointed as Amplify’s
sustainability consultant for the Sky Glass
roadshow, a nationwide tour promoting
the first certified Carbon Neutral product,
Sky Glass television. The team worked
closely with the Amplify to address
environmental considerations at each
stage of the planning process, put a
strategic framework in place with
measurable goals and ensured that
responsible procurement decisions were
made.
The content discussed during the event
was carefully curated to cascade The
Body Shop At Home™’s vision and values
regarding the planet and inspire
attendees to take sustainable actions
themselves, creating a lasting impact
beyond the event itself. With the success
of this event, Steph has also been able to
influence and train the wider team at Top
Banana, and the agency has received an
influx of enquiries from clients seeking
more sustainable venues and
experiences.
The Bulb also consults on large-scale
events and recently led the Sustainability
and Social Values Strategy for the
Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the
Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
In 2022, Silverstone, the home of British
motor racing and host of the Formula 1
British Grand Prix, launched its
sustainability strategy Shift to Zero with
the ambition to become a sustainable
business and leisure destination,
supporting Formula 1 in its efforts to be Net
Zero by 2030.
As the first Head of Business Sustainability
and Partnerships ever recruited at
Silverstone, Stephane Bazire is on a
mission to make it the most sustainable
racetrack in the world. Since he joined,
Silverstone has obtained the FIA 2*
Environmental Accreditation with the aim
to reach the maximum level of compliance 3* this year.
In 2022, Silverstone invested 3% of its
annual turnover into sustainability
initiatives. It has installed 2764 solar
panels, which reduced emissions by 13%,
installed water saving technologies,
reducing water consumption by 14%, and
switched to a 100% renewable energy
provider in April 2023. All Silverstone owned
and operated generators now use HVO
(hydro treated vegetable oil), leading to a
reduction of 89% of carbon emissions, and
50% of the site is now equipped with
energy efficient lighting with the ambition
to be 100% LED by 2026.
Supporting the local community is also
one of Bazire’s priorities, and 100% of
surplus food is donated to local
community food larder Towfood –
Silverstone donated over 11.5 tonnes in the
last year, helping local people and
families who have been impacted by the
cost-of-living crisis.
Education is also an important part of
Silverstone’s sustainability strategy – it
launched a Green Champions committee,
educating 500 Race Makers (volunteers)
on sustainability and establishing an
internal Sustainability Task Force. It has
also hosted five events focusing on
sustainable development, transport and
lifestyle opportunities, attracting close to
3,000 attendees interested in working
together to build a more sustainable
future for their businesses.
