ICC celebrates 10th year of environmental accreditation

The ICC is celebrating its green credentials after receiving the coveted ISO14001:2015 certification for the 10^th year in a row.

The certification is designed to help organisations manage their environmental responsibilities in a systematic manner and contribute to a clear sustainability policy.

Allan Boyle, General Manager, NEC Group Conventions said: “As an organisation we are really proud to have gained this important accreditation again and to receive it after such a difficult period for the events industry is particularly gratifying. Our sustainability policy is an integral part of event delivery; it’s not just a tick box exercise for us.”

The ICC’s sustainability policy is embedded into the organisation and ensures environmental performance is constantly being monitored. The companies steering group labelled ‘the green team’ oversee the venue’s environmental performance and have helped to ensure that areas like energy consumption and waste management are achieving the required targets. This has helped the ICC achieve zero waste to landfill and a consistent 80% recycling target. Other initiatives include an onsite CHP Generator that generates heat and power and has the capacity to reduce carbon emissions by up to 30% and a sustainable packaging policy which ensures that 100% of in-house caterers, Amadeus’ disposable packaging spend is on sustainable products.

The detailed ISO accreditation process looks at all areas of the business’s environmental management systems and the ICC was commended for its organisational strengths in the areas of leadership, training, record keeping and competency.

Allan Boyle concluded: “All our staff are committed to our sustainability policy and were recognised in the accreditation award. On the ground, they are the people making this work for our business, our events, our industry and our planet and I am proud of all the staff in our venue who place our sustainability policy at the heart of everything we do.”