Olympia’s ESG strategy, The Grand Plan, focuses on three key areas across Community, Environment and Collaboration where the business can deliver maximum impact for the events industry, its local community and the environment.
Driven by 22 sustainability ambassadors from across the company and its service partners, the programme aims to drive meaningful change by reducing the venue’s footprint on the environment, serving as a hub for the local community and collaborating with all stakeholders to accelerate sustainable action.
The report revealed key insights into the venue’s reduction and waste management practices, reporting a 33% YOY reduction in food waste per cover and therefore associated carbon emissions between 2023-2024.
The venue continued to successfully divert 100% of waste from landfill for its 13th consecutive year and slightly increased its recycling rate from 98% to 98.22%. The venue also donated 2.4 tonnes of surplus food to local charities through its ongoing partnership with City Harvest.
Commenting on this progress, Siân Richards, head of sustainability at Olympia Events, said: “These annual reports ensure we are on track to meet the requirements set out in our roadmap to net zero and can communicate this progress transparently with the rest of the industry.”
To better inform its carbon footprint, the venue issued a bespoke emissions reporting tool to its top 75% emitting suppliers to gather more reliable data and help measure Scope 3 emissions. The venue also co-funded an industry-wide carbon literacy training programme, providing accessible education for event professionals to enhance their understanding of carbon impact and climate action.
Richards added: “There is still a long way to go to reach our goal of net zero by 2050 and with 92% of our carbon footprint coming from Scope 3 emissions, fostering collaboration with our network of suppliers and partners must form a key part of our approach going forward.”
Olympia Events made several contributions to the community in 2024.
A total of £55,000 was raised and donated to charity and through its charitable trust, the venue provided over £27,000 in grants to local schools and community projects, supporting education and enrichment programs for students and residents.
Additionally, Olympia staff volunteered 280 hours for various community projects throughout the year.
Read Olympia’s full 2024 Grand Plan report here and watch The Grand Plan video here.
The post Olympia publishes 2024 ESG report on pathway to net zero appeared first on Exhibition News | The trade for shows..