Author: Rebecca Hurley

This week we hosted an intimate & successful roundtable with key Platinum Inner Circle members for Greengage. Greengage works with event agencies, event managers and venues to reduce the environmental impact of meetings and events. The approach includes carbon emissions measurement, best practice knowledge-sharing, educational sessions and training.

We were delighted for our venue to be classed as “one of the UK’s most outstanding sustainable meeting venues“, as quoted by Andrew Perolls, CEO at Greengage.

The meeting focused on identifying the best in sustainability innovation, looking at the pathway to net zero for venues and how to market yourself as a sustainable venue.

And here we all are (above) in our stunning Courtyard with our biodiverse lawn in the background 🌻 and below as Winners of ‘Best Accommodation & Meetings Sustainability Initiative’ at their 2023 Awards ceremony.

💚 Here’s to celebrating, collaborating & sharing our sustainable wins!

BMA House is proud to have retained it’s Platinum ECOsmart status for two consecutive years.

Here we are receiving our Platinum ECOsmart award back in 2022

The venues team are on a roll having been shortlisted as finalists in not one, not two, but three categories for prestigious industry awards, the London Venue & Catering Awards. Our magnificent venue will be fighting for a winning trophy in the following three categories:

⭐ The Sustainability Award for Venues – up to 400 attendees reception style

⭐ The Sustainability Award for Caterers (joint entry with Company of Cooks)

⭐ Best Summer Party Venue

These awards recognise and reward outstanding achievement in London-based venues and catering companies. A considerable amount of time, hard work & love has been invested into making BMA House the incredible venue it is today.

Up against strong competition from Friends House, RCP London Events, The View at The Royal College of Surgeons, Tobacco Dock, IET London: Savoy Place, The HAC to name just a few, we feel very lucky to be shortlisted in these three categories.

We’ll find out if we’ve been successful at the awards ceremony on 24th November 🤞 but for now we’ll enjoy these three achievements and well done to everyone involved at BMA House and Company of Cooks for your hard work in getting us this far.

Event Overview

Reimagine Sustainability London 2023, organised by emc3, was a remarkable event focused on promoting sustainability within the marketing and events sectors. As part of the Reimagine series, which aims to explore different themes in various locations, this event specifically emphasised sustainability in close alignment with The Economist’s Sustainability Week.

The primary objective of the whole suite of Reimagine events is to provide networking opportunities for industry professionals and clients, allowing them to connect and learn about sustainable practices while also promoting other events organised by emc3.

Venue Selection: BMA House

According to the emc3 team, “BMA House was the ideal choice for hosting Reimagine Sustainability London 2023, not only because of its stunning architectural setting, but it also aligns perfectly with the event’s sustainability focus. BMA House stands out among other sustainable venues due to its historic charm, often seen as a unique characteristic that can be challenging to combine with sustainable practices. However, BMA House successfully achieves this balance, ensuring that sustainability is a priority throughout its operations.”

During the site visit, the event organisers were thoroughly impressed with our sustainable credentials. BMA House’s sustainability policy, encompassing every aspect of our operations, left a lasting impression. The catering offering stood out because it embraces a wide range of sustainable practices, receiving great feedback from the attendees. A key part of this was BMA House’s commitment to minimising food waste by utilising every part of the produce, from “stock to stem.” Such attention to detail and sustainability not only impressed the guests but also fostered meaningful conversations about sustainable practices during the event.

Differentiating Factors

Reimagine Sustainability London 2023 aimed to go beyond environmental sustainability by adopting a holistic approach to sustainability. The event organisers made deliberate choices that distinguished it from other sustainability-focused events. Firstly, the use of multiple spaces within BMA House added an interesting dynamic to the event. Despite unfavourable weather conditions that prevented the use of the outdoor space, the indoor Garden room was still able to be used to provide a delightful setting that complemented the sustainability theme.

Also, the Snow Room was used for the presentations, which allowed attendees to explore different areas of the venue, enhancing their overall experience. In addition, the incorporation of an Accessibility Coordinator guaranteed the event was accessible to all individuals.  The result was an event that demonstrated commitment to CSR beyond sustainability, in this example – inclusivity.

The event featured speakers from various industries, including Philippe Homsy, co-founder of L0CI, a sustainable fashion brand, and Saskya Liney, co-founder of consultancy From Now, who both shared insights on sustainability from their different perspectives. BMA House’s very own Business Development Manager, Hannah Robinson joined the panel giving expert advice from a venue perspective, alongside Samuel Gordan from IAG Group. These speakers were complimented by a wealth of other experts, creating a truly inspiring content line-up.

Further Collaboration

Waste Knot, a partner of BMA House was involved with the event from the outset.  Waste Knot, known for repurposing surplus food from farmers and supermarkets, played a vital role in ensuring the produce used was “rescued” adding another dimension to the event’s sustainability credentials.

A True Success

Ultimately, Reimagine Sustainability London 2023 held at BMA House achieved remarkable success in promoting sustainable practices. Through careful planning, venue selection, and collaboration with sponsors, emc3 created an event that stood out in terms of its sustainable credentials, diverse speaker line-up, and engaging discussions. Attendees praised the event’s emphasis on sustainability and appreciated the efforts made to ensure accessibility for all.

The partnership with BMA House, a historic and sustainable venue, proved to be a perfect match, exemplifying the fact that sustainability and heritage can coexist seamlessly.

A partnership that delivers a lasting legacy Vital Stats Date: 13 October 2022 Attendees (in-person): 210 Attendees (on-line): 70 Sustainability highlights: The Global Good Award founder, Karen Sutton wore a dress for the 2022 event made from bubble wrap collected from deliveries! In previous years Karen has worn a dress made from crisp packets and recycled paper. In 2022 The Global Good Awards helped to protect four hectares of rainforest canopy for one year by supporting CoolEarth’s carbon capture projects.

Background / Brief

Time is running out to stop complete climate breakdown.  The Global Good Awards throws a spotlight on organisations and individuals who are driving change in social and environmental sustainability.  Ultimately, showcasing the companies trailblazing and sharing best practice across all sustainability sectors is a way of supporting and encouraging others to follow. 2022 was the eighth year of the awards, with previous winners including: Octopus, WWF, Triodos Bank, ITV and Polestar. Entering and winning an award supports an organisation’s ESG score and acts as a 3rd party endorsement.  It increases employee morale, whilst motivating and attracting new talent.

Solution

BMA House was chosen to host the event due to the venue’s strong focus on sustainability, which include a variety of award wins and accreditations.  In addition, the venue’s focus on measurement highlighted that it reduced carbon emissions by 69% per delegate and reduced water usage by 5.4 million litres per year. 2022 was the fifth time the venue has hosted the awards (though the 2021 awards were virtual due to the COVID pandemic). The simple event format included: 18:00 Guests arrive via reception and register 18:00 Jazz trio to begin playing 18:00 Drinks and vegan finger food served in Courtyard (weather permitting) 18:55 Call to ceremony 19:10 Welcome and opening address 19:20 Key-note speaker 19:45 Awards begin 21:05 Ceremony ends 21:05 Bowl food service 23:00 Carriages

BMA House, in addition to providing all the necessary space, technological support and logistics were an event sponsor, whilst in house catering partner CH&CO were joint headline partners with Revive. The teams from both organisations worked closely with the Global Good Awards to provide a vegan menu.  In 2022 this went a step further through the venue’s partnership with Waste Knot, who ensure surplus fruit and vegetables make it from the farmer’s field to chefs’ kitchens. Specifically, the chefs at CH&CO. personally worked with Karen to devise delicious vegan delights.  An entirely plant-based menu plus interactive dessert station was created, cementing the Award’s and BMA House’s dedication to reducing reliance on meat and saving / caring for the planet. All the beverages were also vegan including beers from Toast Ale – made from fresh surplus bread with all profits going to FeedBack, a charity combatting global food waste.  Non-alcoholic spirits were provided by Bax Botanics. Both Toast and Bax Botanics are previous GGA winners. From a technological point of view, BMA House ensured that the Awards were delivered as a hybrid event, meaning more than 70 people were able to join online, which avoided un-necessary travel emissions.

Moving forward, the Global Good Awards will continue to evolve with the creation of an all-day conference called  “Winners’ Showcase: What GOOD looks like.” This will ensure even greater delivery of educational content whilst eliminating excess travel and its associated environmental impact for non-winners. Finally, the circulatory of successful partnerships is demonstrated perfectly in the BMA House / Global Good Awards relationship.  BMA House’s popular clean air walking route was originally drawn up for guests attending the awards. Since then BMA House has established a close working relationship with the Cross River Partnership to devise its walking route, with 57% less pollution. Feedback Karen Sutton from the Global Good Awards commented, “Most important to the successful delivery of this event is the need for honesty, ideas, passion and a focus on sustainability.  BMA House continually delivers all of this and more.  They are a core partner for our Awards and we look forward to developing that relationship even more in the years to come.”

A long-term relationship built through trust and professionalism

Brief

Birkbeck, London’s only evening university with in-person teaching need extra space to deliver modular training as close as possible to their main campus every night from Monday to Thursday.

The chosen venues needed to reflect Birkbeck’s own brand and high standards to ensure positive student feedback and ongoing course uptake.

Solution

Over the last eight years Birkbeck has used around a dozen different venues within walking distance of the main campus.  However, BMA House has continually sat at the heart of the external sites with regular use of 8-10 rooms a night, Monday to Thursday for 22 weeks a year.

In particular, the Birkbeck team value BMA House’s high standards of customer service, reliability and professionalism.  As a purpose-built conference centre with dedicated and trained staff the Birkbeck team also appreciate the ability of the BMA House team to manage the access and attendance of 200 plus students each evening.  AV support is also always on hand with a technician available on-site to support the technical needs of the lecturers.

When the pandemic decreased Birkbeck’s need for external space, BMA House continued to be one of the two external venues still used because it was the most popular amongst students, had the lowest rate of complaints and was the most reliable.  In particular BMA House has developed a reputation for fantastic customer service within the student body – notably because of the venue’s decision to significantly increase the number of staff on-site at the start of each new term.  Working as human-signs, these individuals assist new students as they navigate an unknown building, ensuring their experience is positive from the outset.

Over time the relationship has grown to beyond the need for just teaching space to include open plan staff working spaces as well as occasional larger one-off events.

Feedback

“Ultimately, the Birkbeck team continue to feel that BMA House is the better choice, with a better level and care.  As the home of learning for the medical profession it has a rich history of education, which reflects Birkbeck’s own needs and creates a positive association.”  Anna Phillips, Deputy Director of Estates Resources, Birkbeck University.

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Vital Stats

• Event Name: EIN Sustainable Event Buyers Guide Launch and Briefing
• Client: Event Industry News
• Event Style: In person, panel debate and networking
• Attendees: 55

Client Brief

Event Industry News (EIN) wanted to launch the third edition of their Sustainable Event Buyers Guide to a room full of industry influencers and experts.  Specifically, organisers, brands and agencies demonstrably committed to dialling down their event’s pollutants.  With more than 10,000 downloads of the previous edition, the latest Guide was expected to be highly popular across the industry, so EIN needed to ensure that the launch reflected the content of the publication.

Solution

BMA House was chosen by EIN as an ideal location for the launch due to our ongoing efforts to increase the venue’s sustainable credentials.  With a number of sustainable award wins to our name, measurable sustainability improvements and a place amongst the EIN’s top ten sustainable venues we were the ideal choice.

To ensure the launch added real value for the attendees, EIN decided to include a panel debate led by experts in the field of sustainable events.  Led by moderator Alistair Turner (Eight PR), the panellists included: Cassidy Knowles (Chorus Agency), Felicia Asiedu (Cvent), Toni Griggs (isla), Victoria Lewis (BMA House) and Maya Mhatre (Reset Connect).  The debate focused on the need for all to be more proactive in their event sustainability, whilst acknowledging there are many options for positive change – no matter how large or small the budget.

Sustainability was incorporated into the event from the very beginning, with all pre-event comms being digital.  This even included pre-event client meetings, which took place via Zoom rather than require the client to travel to London from Leeds and incur either financial or environmental costs.

To support the sustainable nature of the event BMA House worked with our catering partners, CH&CO. to provide a PLANT BASED breakfast that included:

• Date and coconut rawnola, burst blueberries, soya yoghurt
• Crushed pea, mint and chilli on toast, with roasted tomato
• Plant based cream cheese bagel, nori marinated carrots, watercress, capers
• Super green smoothie shots
• Water (filtered and bottled on-site)
• Fair Trade Tea & Coffee

The event made use of the Paget and Snow rooms, whilst site inspections were offered throughout, giving the attendees a chance to see the rest of the venue whilst gaining a wider understanding of our sustainable credentials (more of which can be found here – https://bmahouse.org.uk/sustainability/)

Audio Visual equipment used during the event also supported the sustainable nature of the launch, with plasma screens used to replace pop-up stands and banners throughout.  The use of QR codes on screens also removed the need for paper as attendees were able to directly download the Guide and other content.

Even the delegate journey included sustainable elements as all attendees were encouraged to use public transport, including making use of BMA House’s Clean Air Walking Route, which took them on a picturesque stroll away from the busy Euston Road, whilst breathing 57% less air pollution.

The whole event is showcased via a video created by AMMP Media: https://vimeo.com/704449867/f1aa586f0a

Feedback

Alison Jenkins Founder and CEO of meetingsclub provided the following feedback from the event:

“I just wanted to say a big thank you to the fantastic panel at the Event Industry News Sustainable Breakfast Guide briefing at BMA House this week.  The whole piece around sustainability for meetings & events can mean many things to many people. It can be seen to be hugely confusing, complicated and expensive. The panel were able to bring their experience and knowledge to the room to help everyone understand more about this important and growing need and how it doesn’t need to be confusing, complicated and expensive. You just need to start and don’t be afraid to talk about even the small steps you are taking, they all count.”

“It was a great informative morning at a venue which has sustainability right at the top of their list and have been driving this for some time and not forgetting the absolutely delicious food from CH&CO.  Thank you to everyone involved.”

A verified meetingsclub reviewer also said: “I’ve worked with the venue on many projects in the past but this was the first time hosting an event.  All the staff from the minute go were clear, professional and organised from time/dates being accurate to paperwork on time and again clear.  Rebecca was amazing as always and I look forward to hosting further events in the future.  The in-house caterers were brilliant, the food was exceptional, highly recommended.”

Vital Stats

• Event Name: Tourism Means Business conference 2022
• Client: London & Partners
• Event Style: In person, VIP lunch, conference, breakout sessions and press briefing
• Attendees: 150, including Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London and press

London & Partners wanted to use their Tourism Means Business conference to announce several major new initiatives, including substantial forward-looking investment into tourism.  The presence of Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London and Laura Citron, Chief Executive of London & Partners was expected to create substantial press interest, which would therefore require press briefing facilities.  The event started with a VIP lunch and concluded with a drinks reception both of which required a sustainable menu that would minimise food waste – there was no requirement for a plant-based menu, instead a desire to demonstrate how sustainable options are available beyond vegan products.

Solution

BMA House is a long standing member of London & Partners and is well known as one of the most sustainable in their portfolio.  These were key factors in the reason we were chosen for the event, as was our ongoing commitment to sustainability and the close working partnership we have with our catering partner, CH&CO.  We demonstrated this in 2020 when we signed up to the Mayor’s 3 Commitments for Hospitality and Sustainability via London & Partners. This aims for a zero carbon London by 2050, zero waste commitment and best practice guidance for individuals. Along with this commitment, BMA House itself is aiming for net zero within 10 years.

The event made use of:

• The Prince’s room for a VIP lunch
• The Great Hall for the main conference
• The Snow and Paget rooms for arrival refreshments and afternoon canapes
• The Paget room for press interviews
• The Courtyard for part of the afternoon and evening drinks reception

To ensure the catering was sustainable, CH&CO. continued with the many sustainable practices they already undertake, many of which are listed below.  However, in addition they worked with Waste Knot, a social enterprise working to ensure all produce makes it to market rather than being wasted due to imperfections or surpluses.

Menu for the VIP lunch:

Main Course

Chalk stream trout, spring greens, new season potatoes, herb oil, carrot powder, buttermilk sauce

• Spring Greens from Waste Knot, Carrot powder using peelings from bowl food prep, potatoes from Waste Knot, herb oil using all herb trimmings and stalks and blended with British rapeseed oil

or

King cabbage, miso glaze, butternut puree, toasted seeds, shizo leaf (VE)

• King cabbage from Waste Knot, toasting the seeds from the butternut squash to minimise wastage

Dessert

Set oat cream, vanilla poached rhubarb, ginger and spelt crumble, torched meringues (VE).  Served with tea, coffee and water/ Rhubarb Fizz (soft drink)

• Meringues made from chick pea water, seasonal rhubarb used in dessert and all trimmings will be used to make rhubarb chutney for evening canapes, and the poaching syrup used to make a rhubarb fizz for the refreshing drink

Canapes served in the afternoon included:

Cauliflower and beetroot bhaji, spiced rhubarb puree and coriander salt (VE)

• Beetroot from Waste Knot, using all the cauliflower trimmings from lunch menu, utilising the seasonal rhubarb across the whole of our menu to reduce wastage and drying coriander leaves and stalks that may be past their best and Knot normally used – then blending with salt to produce a fantastic seasoning

Potato and celeriac tart, Montgomery cheddar, green herb sauce (V)

• Using Waste Knot products across our menu to reduce wastage, also using the bruised pieces of the amazing Montgomery cheddar that are Knot normally sold for retail based solely on appearance when they taste delicious

Gressingham duck, spring onion, Essex cucumber, Rhubarb puree

• Gressingham ducks are an amazing British product, we confit the legs and use the bones to make a reduced duck sauce showcasing how we minimise wastage and use every part of the duck, the rhubarb puree comes from the rhubarb that is featured throughout our menu again to minimise wastage and energy use

Miso fudge brownie, candied butternut seeds (V)

• The candied butternut seeds are usually a bi product from menus but we ensure every part of the vegetable is used

In addition to the catering choices at the event – some of BMA House’s ongoing waste reduction practices, which were appreciated by London & Partners, include:

• Food waste is collected by Paper Round for energy production
• Staff lunches use leftover or repurposed food
• Soups are made using leftovers and food that might normally be thrown
• We have used food bank collection for tinned and packaged food that has or is about to go out of date
• Reuse food where we can eg soups, wasted bread and pastry products to make bread and butter pudding
• Chutney made from peelings and waste fruit
• Any leftover cakes are taken to many of the teams within BMA House as a treat – great for morale!
• We ask for final numbers to be confirmed before the event so that we can make adjustments to production – reducing wastage

Feedback

“On behalf of the entire London & Partners team, may I take this opportunity to thank you for your hospitality and hosting of our event yesterday.  Your exceptional attention to detail and patience with our requests and requirements were most gratefully noted and received.  As stated verbally yesterday, it was the first time which I had worked with BMA House and it was seamless.  All the staff were attentive and responsive to any query and under Hannah’s direction the event results speak for themselves.” Donna Abberley, Corporate Events Manager for London & Partners

During the event, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan discussed his goals for London’s tourism industry, adding: “While it is promising to see more and more people visiting the heart of London, I know that it has been, and continues to be, a difficult time for the tourism sector in the capital, which is used to welcoming people from all over the world.

“I’m committed to doing everything I can to get London back on its feet after the pandemic, and I will continue to work alongside London’s businesses and tourism industry to encourage visitors back to our city. Now that restrictions for travellers coming to the UK have lifted, London is fully open once more, and our new £10m international tourism campaign will help to ensure we retake our place as one of the most visited cities in the world.”

🏆 A Silver Award in the COOlest Sustainable Venue category 🏆
Delighted with our recent award win at the COOL Event Awards! As always, this is a joint effort from our hardworking teams at BMA House including Estates, Porters, our catering partners, Company of Cooks, and Events.

Here are all the winners and more about the Awards.

To find out more about our sustainability achievements, click here: https://lnkd.in/eg6Cu7sv

Prestige Events Magazine

🌟 We’re shining the sustainability path again – crowned one of their Top Ten Sustainable Suppliers, check out our feature in Event Industry News and be inspired by our sustainability initiatives for your next event.