Environmental Sustainability Policy

Purpose

Our Environmental Sustainability Policy outlines our commitment to reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions (hereafter referred to as GHGs, emissions or CO2e) and reducing our waste footprint, both within our organisation, and when delivering events. 

This policy will be shared with all our stakeholders, including clients, suppliers and staff. This will enable them to work with us in achieving our ambitions in this important area. 

We recognise that the environmental impacts from our operations and events mostly derive from emissions from fuel usage and waste from single-use items. This policy will increase environmental awareness across our organisation and embed carbon reduction and zero-waste practices in our everyday business. 

Statement of Intent

Net-zero Goals

As a responsible business we want to create a future fit for everyone. We support a 1.5°C future and are aligning our climate mitigation targets to reach Net Zero Global emissions by 2050 at the latest across our company operations. 

We will mitigate our operational emissions by offsetting these with an accredited carbon offsetting partner.

The Circular Economy

We are committed to becoming a Circular Economy business. This means we will reduce waste across all company owned operations with a view to diverting 90% away from landfill and incineration. We are also committed to running ​“Circular Events” across all event deliveries. This means we will divert 90% of waste from landfill and incineration. 

Monitoring and Reporting

We commit to monitor, review and report on our progress on an annual basis to use this information to inform our approach to reducing emissions and waste across our operational and event activities. 

Our commitments

We understand the importance of responsible environmental operations and event planning and as such we will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste across both our operational activities and our event deliveries. In order to achieve this, we are committed to: 

  • Pledging to the UNFCCC Race to Zero 
  • Halving our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 across all company owned operations, incorporating company growth to respectively adjust targets. To do this we will: 
  • Set a year-on-year reduction target of 10% 
  • Achieve Net Zero emissions well before 2050 and as soon as possible 
  • Disclose our progress on a yearly basis 
  • Integrate positive climate activity in business strategy 
  • Reduce carbon emissions across our event deliveries as far as possible, incorporating company growth to respectively adjust targets. 
  • Achieve Net Zero events well before 2050 and as soon as possible. 
  • Reduce waste across all event deliveries with a view to operating Circular Events by 2035. 

Achieving our aims

We will work to deliver our commitments by:

  • Requesting that our suppliers commit to reducing their emissions and requesting evidence of this in our procurement / tender process. 
  • Suppliers will be reviewed on both cost and environmental performance when making appointments. 
  • Switching our energy tariff to a 100% renewable energy provider [where business managed]. 
  • Optimising the use of building space in all operations and enabling employees to work from home, to reduce emission costs. 
  • Reducing non-renewable electricity and gas consumption by at least 5% year on year using 2023 as our baseline year until we have halved our emissions. 
  • Supporting our employees to switch to renewable energy in their homes. 
  • Implementing a low emission policy requirement for owned and leased company cars and vans and ensure that before 2030 all our owned or leased cars and vans will be ultra-low emission vehicles. 
  • Actively promoting lower impact travel options for staff travel. 
  • Setting limits and / or restrictions on flights for business travel to ensure reductions are in line with our 1.5 °C commitment. 
  • Implementing a travel pre-assessment for all flights to review necessity before approving travel spend. 
  • Offsetting our measured emissions via our chosen accredited scheme: Event:Decision
  • Implementing a work from home policy to reduce the need for staff to commute. 
  • Offering at least one plant-based option for internal and external meetings and parties. Purchase histories and menus will be audited on an annual basis to review our progress. 
  • Aiming to reduce the volume of food waste produced in our offices by providing education to our staff and teams on reducing food waste 
  • Ensuring that waste is segregated within all our buildings with contractors to manage the disposal of this. 

Event Deliveries

From the beginning of each project we will work to reduce emissions associated with services we are contracted to deliver. 

  • We will use a Decision Tree to think more sustainably about the event and offer reduction tips in a number of areas for our clients. 
  • We will offer and encourage the measurement of the emissions associated with every event using TRACK or internal tools. TRACK is a data capture tool designed to simplify carbon and waste reporting. The tool captures data across the following areas: 
  • Energy – from venue energy and temporary power sources 
  • Food and drink – calculate catering emission impacts for audience and staff, plus understand the food waste footprint. 
  • Travel – assess the impact of event location on travel and accommodation for audience and staff. 
  • Graphics and build materials – ascertain how different material choices impact your carbon emissions and track the lifecycle of these elements. 
  • Production logistics – understand your production transport footprint from trucking to couriers and overseas freight. 
  • Waste and recycling – profile your waste and recycling volumes and how these are being managed. 
  • Online events — calculate the emissions that virtual or hybrid events produce from uploading content and from those consuming it across the globe. 
  • When TRACK is used, a post-event report with emission reduction suggestions for future events will be produced. 
  • We will include offsetting in every event budget where possible. Clients may opt-out. 

Monitoring

We will monitor our performance against our objectives on an annual basis and report on progress. 

Progress and Improvements

We are committed to analysing where targets have not been met to enable us to overcome these barriers more effectively in the future. 

Where targets have been met we will celebrate this success and set higher targets for the following year, stretching our ambitions to deliver overall Net Zero. 

Policy review

We will review this policy on an annual basis and update targets and information as appropriate. 

Accountability Culture 

Achieving our objectives involves engaging our teams to support our organisational ambitions, and planning from the start of projects is required for all event deliveries. Successful implementation of this Policy requires every member of our team to play their part. 

We will continue to promote a shared accountability culture within our organisation, ensuring all team members work together to incorporate these sustainability goals into their day-to-day work routines and planning. This will be pioneered by our Sustainability Working Group and achieved through training for staff, embedding these objectives into our internal operational processes and engaging staff in the development of future objectives. 

Hazardous Waste

At Broadsword, we are committed to conducting our operations in an environmentally responsible manner. As part of our dedication to environmental sustainability, we recognize the importance of managing hazardous waste which includes but is not limited to: 

  • Substances subject to the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) regulations 
  • Batteries
  • Electrical Equipment
  • Flammable waste such as paper and timber 

We ensure that hazardous waste is identified, handled, stored, and transported in a manner that prevents spillage, leakage, or contamination of the environment. This includes using appropriate storage containers, labelling, and secondary containment measures where necessary. 

We actively work to minimize the generation of hazardous waste through our practices and will prioritize the use of environmentally friendly alternatives when feasible. Our internal project delivery framework promotes the use of environmentally friendly materials at every stage. 

We make every effort to recycle hazardous waste materials and ensure the disposal is carried out in strict compliance with all relevant regulations. 

Definitions

What is Net-Zero and the Circular Economy?

Net Zero

The term Net Zero is often interchanged with Carbon Neutrality, but there is a subtle difference. 

Carbon Neutrality refers to carbon ​‘offsetting’ or ​‘balancing’ emissions resulting from an activity. This has the effect of, on paper, ​“neutralising” the emissions created. 

Net Zero first reduces emissions from an activity as far as possible before carbon balancing. This means that emissions are first reduced and then offset. The ambition is to achieve a 1.5C future. 

In order to claim Net Zero, emissions must first be reduced, in line with global targets, before being balanced. If carbon emissions are balanced before being reduced, these cannot be constituted as Net Zero. 

It is essential that the entire globe reaches Net Zero carbon emissions as soon as possible to limit the global temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. 

A rise of just 2 degrees has catastrophic impacts for life on this planet, including humans, and may be irreversible. We are currently on trajectory for a 3–4 degree rise so actions must be taken quickly. 

The UK has now set in law to cut emissions by 78% by 2035, and to Net Zero by 2050. We wish to accelerate this transition in line with broader global ambitions to reach Net Zero as soon as possible. 

The Circular Economy (CE)

The CE is a system aimed at eliminating waste and ensuring the continual use of resources. 

The practice prioritises redesigning products and processes to reduce and eliminate waste. This is followed by reuse and repurposing of existing products or assets, before looking at alternative ways of using or processing products — like refurbishing. 

This is the same approach as the Zero Waste Hierarchy which supports the Circular Economy. Recycling comes quite low in the Zero Waste Hierarchy due to the energy intensive processes required. 

The term Circular Economy is preferable to Zero Waste as ​“Zero Waste” is often confused with ​“Zero Waste to Landfill”. These are two different concepts. The first is a practice that reduces and eliminates waste and the latter means that waste is diverted from landfill and is incinerated for energy instead. This practice is known as Waste to Energy and emits considerable carbon emissions and threatens the transition to a waste-free society. 

Achieving status as a Zero Waste business means that the business will be diverting 90% from landfill and incineration. 

Reduction Targets

Our commitment to GHG emission reduction is not just a response to external pressures or regulatory requirements; it is an integral part of our corporate identity. We believe that sustainability is not just a buzzword but a fundamental principle that should guide our business decisions and practices. We recognize the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability, and our GHG emission reduction targets are a testament to our holistic approach. 

In this section, we outline our specific GHG emission reduction targets, providing transparency about our objectives and our roadmap for achieving them. 2023 has been set as our baseline year, although we have been measuring our GHG emissions since 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant Impact on the events Industry and our aim Is to avoid any data being skewed because of this. 

We firmly believe that by aligning our business practices with sustainable principles, we can create long-term value for our stakeholders, enhance our resilience in a changing world, and contribute positively to the communities and environments in which we operate. Our GHG emission reduction targets are a testament to our commitment to building a better future for all. 

  • Target 01: From base year of 2023, Increase % of total third-party vendor spend with suppliers classified as acceptable or higher (based on Broadsword supply chain sustainability classification) by at least 25% by 2025 
  • Target 02: From base year of 2023, reduce Metric tons CO2e per employee working within a Broadsword premises of scope 1 & 2 emissions by at least 25% by 2025 
  • Target 03: Achieve over 80% rating from client feedback on quality of our knowledge and approach to sustainability. This target will be reviewed on a quarterly basis.