HI Narumi,
Are you a florist? Would love to see some of your arrangements, can you share?
Hi Victoria
What initiatives do you think had the biggest impact and led to your greenest and most sustainable venue awards?
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Thank you for your reply!
Yes I work for a company called Hybrid.
You can see photos of our works on below website 
https://hybridflowers.co.uk/
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Hey! Thanks for your question!
Some of the things we do that make us a sustainable venue include:
- Working with our supplier chain including CH&CO to ensure their practices are in line with our sustainability values
- We have waste and recycling facilities all around the venue to ensure staff and guests to do their bit. Any waste (food and recycling) is taken away by PaperRound and made into bio fuel and other products such as water bottles and notepads!
- Plastic usage has been reduced drastically where possible e.g. plastic bottles replaced with glass, reusable cups have replaced disposable, no plastic take away containers etc
- Zero waste to landfill status
- Sustainable champion from the venues team (me) to inform and train staff on initiatives and practices
- Prestigious Gold Green Tourism Award
- LED lighting throughout the building on sensors to reduce unnecessary usage
- Temperature controlled centrally in the building and set to eco 19 degrees as standard
- Water reduced toilet flushes
- Working with different industry associations e.g local Council and MIA to share knowledge
- Carbon balancing
- Clean air walking route to the venue from Kings Cross Station
- Plant based menus and packages
- Sustainable quarterly events - collaborating and sharing knowledge on how to be more sustainable
- Smart Flipcharts (no paper)
- Eco audit
Hope that helps! Any more questions or info let me know and I will happily provide 
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Hi Sasha!
All our produce is sourced locally and our menus are changed seasonally ensuring the carbon footprint is kept as low as possible, so just by choosing BMA House the catering options are considered!
I have also created a whole plant-based menu, along with a plant-based DDR package called the ‘Well-Grounded Package’ which includes some exciting and unique catering options made with no dairy or meat! We have priced this slightly lower than our usual DDR (£75.00 plus vat per person) and we have had nothing but positive feedback from clients who have enjoyed the food and found it to be a great talking point with their guests!
If you do not think you are ready to go fully plant-based, then consider more vegetarian options in your catering, and if you decide you need meat on your menu then opt for chicken or fish as research has shown these have a lower environmental impact than other meats such as beef and pork.
Hope that helps!
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Hi Narumi,
Thanks for your question, with all of our suppliers we would ask if possible for them to limit the packaging being brought into the building and that they make a conscious effort in their own practices to have a minimal impact on the environment. Examples of this would be sourcing locally and seasonally, using sustainable and recyclable packaging and minimising floral wastage! 
We are currently reviewing our suppliers list so if your practices are sustainable feel free to send us some more info about what you can offer! I see you have followed us on instagram, or you can email us on events@bma.org.uk
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Thats great thank you!
Your plant based DDR sounds perfect and great that it is a lower price too! I can’t wait to give it a try 
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Hey! Thanks for the question!
In terms of future projects for BMA House, obviously COVID has had a impact on the work we can do in terms of planning for sustainability. At the moment we are looking at sustainable and COVID - friendly boxed lunch offerings and how we can try and make our hospitality offerings as green as possible given the current climate.
We have an initiative that we were working on pre-COVID where we collect crisp packets (not currently recycled) and they are taken to a dedicated facility and made into furniture! We are always working on our suppliers list and ensuring that they adhere to our sustainability values and constantly updating small practices throughout the building to improve where possible!
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Thank you! That’s very interesting
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Thank you very much! We had a few inquires for weddings at BMA House, so that would be great to work more closely with you! We’ll be in touch further!
As a business, we are constantly trying to find innovative ways to be more sustainable, such as sourcing locally grown flowers and recycled containers etc, and we would be the first to admit that at the beginning it was an arduous task, but we have come to embrace it in our day to day running, and actually feel proud of our achievements. Are you finding that other companies within the industry are coming around to the idea or is it still a battle to try to be more sustainable in events ?
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Thank you for such a detailed answer! Very useful and sounds like you are doing so many amazing things
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Hi Jonny!
A very good question, it’s certainly proving a challenge, but we love a challenge!
We have put together some virtual and hybrid event packages so event can take place online minimising travel. We are also educating ourselves on sustainable technology as although events are moving online, the technological impact on the environment can still be high! Therefore we are looking into ways of minimising this too.
We require staff and guests to follow COVID procedures and bring their own reusable face-coverings to minimise waste of disposable ones.
We are looking to serve pre-made catering such as breakfast and lunch in reusable boxes/bags (such as bento-boxes) so we can still adhere to regulations and keep our delegates safe, but minimising the waste created along the way. We know we need to re-look at options and we still continue to encourage food recycling and ordering the correct amounts so as not to create unnecessary waste.
We have two outdoor spaces at the venue and encourage guests to use these wherever possible and we are continuing to collaborate with suppliers where we can to share knowledge and ideas.
Any ideas you have please do send our way
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Thank you so much!! 
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Hi Lau!
Thank you for asking this great question!
We had to submit lots of evidence as to why we are a sustainable venue, it was no mean feat! However, I would say the key points were;
- Clean-air walking route from Kings Cross
- Zero landfill status and extensive recycling facilities/processes
- Responsibly sourced ingredients/produce
- Training and knowledge-sharing
- Thames Water - water saving device resulting in us saving 5.4 million litres a year
- Reduced delegate carbon footprint by 69%
- Single-use plastic removal and take-away containers (biodegradable) carrying a 20p charge
Hope that helps!
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Hey! Thanks for a great question!
Yes actually, we are always looking to improve our sustainability wherever we can! One thing we wanted to do was purchase an up-cycled push bike for guests to have at their events to make healthy smoothies for their refreshment breaks!
This encourages a healthy alternative as a snack and gets the guests to do a bit of activity and get their legs moving after being sat down for a while, whilst having fun doing it!
However we have brought our virtual and hybrid event packages which has been encouraged and sped up by COVID. This is something we have never had so extensively before and means that in the future we can encourage guests to join virtually rather than travelling to the venue which helps reduce carbon emissions!
Watch this space though… more to come 
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Time is up I’m afraid! Thank you Victoria for your detailed responses and thank you all for taking part and for your great questions.
If you’d like to ask Victoria anything else, or discuss the BMA House virtual and hybrid events package, you can contact her on here @BMAHouse or at events@bma.org.uk. BMA House are always happy to share their knowledge to promote a greener future and more sustainable events.
Do stick around, browse the forum and feel free to contribute to the other conversations.
We look forward to seeing you next week, on 15th September 2020, for our next Ask Me Anything session all about sustainable waste management for events! Feel free to start asking your questions now and then join us next week for a live chat.
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Thank you! I just know you’re going to love it
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Thank you Legacy Team for having me! It was great fun and thank you all for your fab questions! 
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That sounds like a great healthy incentive! Look forward to hearing more
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