British Motor Museum conference facilities accredited ‘Silver’ for its eco-focused actions

Published: 28/10/2021

The British Motor Museum is the first Museum to be accredited with ‘Silver’ status by Greengage ECOsmart, the accreditation programme which recognises and supports eco-friendly hotels and conference venues that meet certified standards of sustainability. Silver status is awarded to venues who have taken steps to achieve a wide range of eco-focussed actions and can demonstrate an eco-friendly service approach in five key areas: Energy & Water Conservation, Waste Management & Recycling, Rooms & Facilities, Food & Beverage and Corporate & Social Responsibility.

The Museum is committed to continually improving its environmental performance and is providing greener ways to do business and host events. It has installed a building management system that automatically optimises the heating and air conditioning, all its lights are LED, it has Solar PV array panels on the Collections Centre roof which supplies the power to this low energy usage building. The centre has achieved Zero Waste to Landfill and endeavours to source all consumable products from local quality suppliers. It has also invested in 10 electric charging points for visitors and event organisers to use, with the infrastructure to support more. 

2019 saw a drive to eliminate 80% of its single use plastic, replacing plastic bottled water in their Café for cans of water, reduced their plastic usage by 1.21 tons (46, 644 bottles) in the first 12 months, whilst its own bottling plant provides still and sparkling filtered water in recyclable glass bottles for conference delegates. Partnership with Fair Trade coffee supplier Paddy & Scotts, who also run a Community Wellbeing Initiative in Kenya, has resulted in the Museum’s coffee sales to date contributing to the equivalent of 1688 school meals along with 2.8% of the capex required for the new roof and windows at the Ruiga School in Kenya.

Jeff Coope, Managing Director at the British Motor Museum said “The Museum is delighted to have been awarded silver status for its eco-focussed actions which we take seriously and are working hard towards a more sustainable future. We are developing a team of sustainability champions for this very purpose and green targets will form an integral part of our strategy for 2022 - 2026. Now more than ever we must actively seek to run our business in greener ways, this accreditation adds credibility to our sustainability initiatives so far. It must be a team effort and we look forward to working closely with both clients and suppliers to make better choices to benefit future generations.” 

Greengage Business Solutions Ltd supports environmental sustainability in business travel, meetings and events helping organisations make the right decisions to implement a sustainable business travel and events approach. 

Andrew Perolls, CEO of Greengage Business Solutions said, “We are pleased to have awarded the British Motor Museum silver status following their accreditation process. The ECOsmart award symbol reassures meeting organisers that the Museum has been assessed and has taken a range of eco-friendly steps to demonstrate their commitment to environmental sustainability”.

As home to the world's largest collection of historic British cars, the British Motor Museum is an independent Museum and registered charity which receives no central government funding.  All profits generated from the Museum’s commercial activities are donated directly to the Trust. Companies choosing to use the conference facilities are, therefore, contributing directly to the sustainability of the Trust and its aims for future generation. 

For more information on the changes the Museum has made to achieve this accreditation please visit hhttps://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/conferences/blog/greener-conferences

For more information about Meetings & Events at the Museum please visit  www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/conferences   or call 01926 649649. For more information about Greengage Business Solutions please visit www.greengage.solutions