Is the adoption of a ‘disposable culture' to minimise the risk of passing the Covid virus on putting the sustainability of venues at risk, or is there more that venues can do? Find out more about the long term infrastructure changes the British Motor Museum has made so they can continue to operate as sustainably as possible.

In recent years, the ability for businesses to boast about their green credentials has been deemed a badge to wear with honour, with the Government actively encouraging them to undertake as many small measures as they can in a bid to protect the environment for future generations.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, sustainability has had both a positive and negative effect on the environment. A reduction in transportation has seen a vast drop in carbon emissions which has been fantastic for the global environment however, the adoption of a ‘disposable culture’ to minimise the risk of passing the virus on, including single use plastic and paper menus, could have a detrimental effect.

The drive to operate as sustainably as possible to reduce the impact on the local, national and global environment isn’t a new concept to Warwickshire-based conferencing and event venue, the British Motor Museum. Located just off the M40 in south Warwickshire, the British Motor Museum has over 3,000 sqm of internal event space and over 9,700 sqm of hard standing, external event space – in the midst of the very best in British automotive heritage.

In recent months in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the venue put additional new measures in place to operate as sustainably as possible, including changing its menu options to include single serve bowl food, as well utilising compostible packing and recycled bamboo cutlery. However, long before the pandemic hit, the venue invested heavily in its infrastructure to implement a number of less visible, but arguably more important solutions to ensure it had a real long term plan in place to ensure ‘go green’.

These measures include energy saving escalators which only work when the sensor is hit, changing all the lights across the venue to LED, installing new energy efficient hand dryers, cookers, chillers and fridges – all of which have led to a significant energy saving at the British Motor Museum. Additional measures include the installation of waterless urinals and sensor taps as well as utilising its in-house bottling plant to offer sparkling and still filtered table water in reusable glass bottles, both of which continue to save thousands of litres of water year-on-year.

With the venue now delivering outdoor events for up to 1000 delegates and small internal meetings of up to 30 attendees, the British Motor Museum is continually adapting its policies in line with the latest Government advice to ensure it has a robust plan in place for when larger indoor business events and conferences resume from the 1^st October.

Jeff Coope, managing director at the British Motor Museum, said: “The UK has entered survival mode as individuals and businesses put prompt, short term solutions in place to manage the immediate threat that Covid-19 presents.

“The pandemic has highlighted the impact that our behaviours and habits have had on the environment. Our commitment towards ensuring we have the correct infrastructure in place to minimise our impact on the environment and ensure we operate as sustainably as possible, has to include looking at all aspects of our organisation. It has always been our aim to be as eco-friendly as we can, so we have had to adapt and look at making smaller changes to support the environment in the new post-Covid world, whilst the larger initiatives we already have in place continue to have a major impact in the background.

“It has been the confidence in the large scale infrastructure which we already have in place which has allowed us to take a step back to look at what more we can do to make a difference, as we navigate these unchartered waters, to ensure our CSR policy remains as robust as ever, whilst ensuring the wellbeing of guests and staff.

“We would encourage any event organisers who are keen to run a sustainable, safe event in the near future to get in touch with our expert events team to find out how we can work together to make this a reality.”

For further information on the British Motor Museum’s top tips blog for meetings in a post-Covid world click here.