By Natasha Miller, Events Manager, White Label

Protecting the environment and addressing climate change have always been passions of mine, from being a nature-loving child to graduating with a BSc in Physical Geography from Southampton University. So, it is exciting to see these issues finally taking centre stage in mainstream conversations. From politics to chats around the office ‘water cooler’ (or more recently, internal Microsoft Teams calls), they are no longer just a trend and I am delighted I can use my knowledge to support White Label’s green ambitions as we move forward from COVID-19.

Our company has always made efforts to be sustainable but with staff preparing for a return to the office three days a week, it seems a good time to start with fresh new ambitions which are marked by the setting down of our vision in a policy.

The White Label Sustainability Policy will be a focus for what we can do to become greener, an audit of how we can improve, as well as a standard by which we measure our progress and record our achievements.

We aim to:

1. Reduce emissions from diesel and petrol vehicle movements – including commutes, travel to meetings and events, and deliveries
2. Increase recycling
3. Reduce print and production of materials, and focus on sourcing sustainable products and production methods
4. Improve the energy use and waste output of our office space and machinery
5. Champion sustainability in the content of our work, particularly across communications and events
6. Encourage our suppliers and clients to reduce their carbon footprint and combat climate change
Our new office/home balance means office electricity use and commuting footprints will be reduced from pre-lockdown levels, and Zoom meetings will continue with clients where possible and appropriate. However, staff will also be asked to consider sustainable journeys to work and when visiting clients. We are also introducing a cycle-to-work scheme and an annual Miles in a Month challenge to raise money for a sustainability charity by walking as many miles as possible, for work purposes and on lunch breaks.

Sustainable practices for the office will range from ensuring all monitors and equipment are turned off overnight to recycling and upcycling old office equipment. Our waste recycling record is good but we want to do more and ensure we are maximising the potential of waste food containers, paper, bottles, cans, ink cartridges and old office equipment.
We are also pledging to minimise our use of printed materials, use recycled paper when possible and source sustainable products for our office such as eco-friendly inks.
As an events manger however, I have noticed much room for improvement when taking our work to external venues and for me, the most transformative part of the policy focuses on this.

We are aiming to eliminate single use plastic at the events we host – no single use water bottles, cutlery or straws – and aim to use only recyclable or reusable decorations. Environmentally-friendly power sources, such as solar-powered generators, will be used where possible and we will hire items to avoid single-use. Souvenir items such as events bags will also be made from recycled materials where possible.
Our suppliers will be asked to submit sustainability policies with quotes, and to use renewable options where possible as we seek to work with locally-based businesses to minimise travel impacts and support local economies.
We will also promote relevant sustainable development goals across all events, news, projects and programmes. UN initiatives such as World Environment Day offer the opportunity for White Label and our partner businesses to share knowledge and receive ideas on sustainability.
Of course, change can be daunting, overwhelming, and for many businesses mere survival has been the agenda-setter of late. Indeed, White Label is a small company and when the pandemic struck we had to radically, and rapidly, pivot our business model from physical to virtual in order to survive. I mention this because I don’t believe the world needs a few big players with headline-grabbing initiatives tackling climate change. While it’s great to have these trendsetters, we also need lots of small companies taking small but vital steps towards reducing their footprint.

And the first step is this – the conversation – which makes people more aware and conscious of their decisions. For us, it began within our company and expanded to our suppliers and now with our events work, we are discussing sustainability with our clients. This will inevitably bring change and fresh ideas for our policy to adapt and evolve as we learn and grow from others, and it is incredibly exciting to imagine how we will create a greener, more sustainable, world through a truly collaborative and circular approach.