Manchester Central’s sustainability journey started back in 2012 when it became one of the first major conference and events venues in the UK to achieve ISO 20121 Event sustainability.

Today, its strategy, “Our Central Future” aims to innovate and deliver initiatives that enhance the sustainability of the venue and the services provided to all stakeholders. It spans four areas: Business, Environment, Community, People.

Sustainability & Safety Advisor, Lauren Hudson explained that she was attending a sustainability training course at Reset Connect when she first met Green Circle Solutions (GCS).

“It can be difficult to work with a consultant who does not have experience of the exhibitions industry,” said Lauren. “That is why we chose GCS as they have extensive knowledge of the events world, and they made sustainability seem simple and easy to understand.”

Lauren worked closely with GCS to help her better understand the venue’s carbon footprint and its biggest emission factors. “I wanted to understand our carbon footprint in detail, so I used the GCS carbon calculators which break down each element of emissions making it relevant to each event and our own business.”

The next step was to help educate the leadership team. GCS were engaged to present to the CEO at the time, which was a critical step in our journey, explained Lauren. “Leadership teams need to be educated on what is net zero and what does carbon neutral mean.”

“You have got to make it relevant to the business,” she said. They asked what does a ton of carbon look like, for example, and GCS were able make it so simple to understand and relevant to everyday life.”

“Training the sales team was also key. This enabled them to be able to have meaningful conversations with customers about sustainability and when asked specifics, they knew what to say, without having to come back to me,” she said.

Whilst staff training is not fully completed, it was certainly one of the biggest turning points, explained Lauren. “GCS walked employees through the carbon journey - from the starting point of signing a contract with a customer right through to delivering the event and, how carbon is involved. It has had the biggest impact, and we are all more confident in talking about sustainability and carbon awareness.”

Lauren explained that in the latest staff survey 80% of respondents said they wanted more training on sustainability, so she has developed a new online training to help staff further understand the venue’s goals and carbon journey.

In 2021, Manchester Central became a signatory of the industry’s Net Zero Carbon Events pledge which is a collaborative effort within the event sector to reach net zero.

To help achieve this commitment and halve its emissions by 2030, the team set targets to reduce the big emission factors like electricity, water use, and food waste. Annual carbon reporting also highlighted the impact of business travel on overall emissions. “It was interesting for senior leaders to see how just nipping down to London could increase our carbon emissions. It was a real education,” she said.

As an outcome, Manchester Central has now introduced a sustainable travel policy, along with a sustainable procurement policy, with support from GCS.

Sustainability is now embedded into every tender that goes out, Lauren explained, with 15% of the decision-making criteria associated with sustainability. If a supplier wants to be a preferred partner, they must have a sustainability policy and ensure they are aligned with our goals.

Alongside calculating its own annual carbon footprint, Manchester Central is now able to provide each event with its own emissions report as standard. GCS was instrumental in helping develop this value-add offering.

“Many people think sustainability is just about being green, but it is about so much more and that has been due to support from our senior leadership team,” she said.

Today, sustainability is embedded into every aspect of Manchester Central’s operations.

For example, from the outset sustainability was a key consideration when opening Junction a new bar, restaurant, cafe, and social workspace at Manchester Central. As one of the biggest emission factors is food and drink, GCS advised the team to work with local, sustainable suppliers and share the carbon footprint data of food choices so visitors can make their own informed choices. It is just one of many examples of how GCS can help embed sustainability deeply into an organisation.

To help calculate and reduce waste, weighing scales have been installed so the cleaning team can now weigh every bin, separating event waste from general office waste.

In addition, Manchester Central nominates a charity to support every two years. Currently it is working with St Ann’s Hospice and has raised over £10,000. If an event does not have a designated charity, we often recommend that they support our charity and integrate social impact on our journey, Lauren explained.

“Organisations cannot afford to ignore sustainability,” said Lauren. “Look at the new generation coming into the industry. They are asking about sustainability at the interview stage and are choosing to work in places that care about the planet and people.”

So, what’s next for Lauren and team. “Meeting our Net Zero goal is our priority, she said. “Making sure our reduction plan is in place and achievable, continuing to work with our organizers and GCS, of course. The key to success is collaboration,” she concluded.