As one of London’s top sustainable conference venues, having recently been awarded the ECOsmart Platinum Venue Award, our in-house service partners’ green credentials are fundamental to us. That’s why we were thrilled when White Light (WL) announced that following rigorous assessment, it had become a certified B Corporation.
We can’t say we were surprised at this wonderful news, knowing that last year, WL gained ISO14001 accreditation, the international standard for environmental management systems (EMS). Every year, we conduct an extensive Health & Safety Service Partner Audit, which has a section focusing on environmental policies and practices. This assesses everything from waste stream management to the business’s commitment to continual environmental improvement. At the last audit in December 2022, WL scored 100%.
We chatted with Alex Wright, WL’s Senior Account Manager at Central Hall Westminster, to find out some more about the B Corporation and what being a ‘B Corp’ really means.
“Essentially, it’s a growing, global movement of companies that strive to use their business as a force for good. The assessment process is extremely in-depth and requires us to evidence very high standards across four main criteria – social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. When WL first started looking into the B Impact Assessment process, we found that the essence and objectives of the movement aligned perfectly with our company mission and core values. We were also very encouraged to learn that to qualify, we didn’t need to change our behaviours or sustainability policies; we just needed to formalise them.”
“As a B Corp, we’ve committed that we will do everything in our power to positively impact all stakeholders – including staff, communities, customers, and the planet at large.”
We were also interested to know about some of the specific measures that WL has implemented to ensure that delivering events in our venue is as environmentally friendly as possible.
Some of the key areas WL focuses on include:
- Paperless communications – for every project, all design plans and H&S documentation are shared and signed digitally among crews and third-party suppliers.
- Transport – maintaining a sufficient inventory of onsite equipment to minimise the requirement for ad-hoc deliveries. For larger-scale projects, partnering with specialist suppliers that use HVO Biofuel for their fleet.
- Investment in LED – WL’s permanent AV installations at the venue heavily feature this greener technology, as it consumes less energy and produces fewer carbon emissions. There are exciting plans to further upgrade the Great Hall’s infrastructure with LED – watch this space!
- Scenic – using the reduce, reuse, recycle approach to creative events design, maximising the lifespan of materials and exploring with clients where lighting and digital signage can prevent single-use wastage from the production of set pieces.
A breakdown of WL’s B Impact assessment scoring can be viewed here
