Breaking the mould: modern solutions to sustainability in a Grade II listed building
Not hindered by its Grade II listed status, the historic Church House Westminster, situated next door to Westminster Abbey, is on course to become net zero by the end of the year, six years ahead of target. Our Head of Marketing, Cinzia Marshe, explains how they achieved this incredible milestone, and what all this means for event planners.
Think outside the (Grade II listed) box
We didn’t want to be hemmed in by pre-conceived ideas of what we could and couldn’t achieve in our historic, city-centre building, so we started by thinking big. The climate crisis is too important to ignore, and we didn’t want to kick the can down the road, so we set ourselves the ambitious (but achievable) target of becoming net zero by 2030. We owe it to our clients to do as much as we can, as quickly as possible, so they can be confident that when they host events with us, they’re doing so in a truly sustainable building.
Everything everywhere all at once
Back in 2022 when we began our refurbishment work of the venue, we grasped this opportunity for a thorough green overhaul. It was the ambition of the entire project team to achieve a carbon negative or neutral refurbishment of the Grade II Listed building, and together with our architects, ScottWhitbystudio, the refurbishment was masterminded to be as sustainable as possible. Every building material was considered for its green credentials, and if it wasn’t good enough, it was out.
This holistic approach led to us redecorating rooms with carbon absorbing Graphenstone paint, applying over 1,100kg of energy efficient spray cork insulation across the building, laying over 6,000 square metres of cork flooring, using natural clay plasters, sourcing desks made of recycled bottle tops and designing reception feature walls from 100% recycled and recyclable plastic, installing waterless urinals, and fitting carbon-saving LED lighting throughout the building.
Smashing green goals
We’ve been aggressive in our race to net zero, but it’s paid off. Incredibly, we’re on track to reach our goal of net zero this year, six years ahead of target. On top of that, 100 per cent of our electricity is now renewable, no waste is sent to landfill, temperature consumption has been reduced by around three quarters, water consumption has been reduced by 80 per cent, and we’ve achieved the Planet Mark certification for our green cleaning practices as well as a Silver Eco Church Award.
The refurbishment project at Church House has sequestered the same amount of carbon emissions as 1,067 return flights from London to New York.
What does it mean for event planners?
All of this means that event planners can be safe in the knowledge that they’re hosting their events in a venue that is not only full of history and beauty, but which has reached the highest standards of sustainability. This gives them, and their clients, peace of mind, and is a big draw for delegates too.
We have also partnered with Event Decision, a consultancy which specialises in providing support to corporations and agencies to help them deliver more efficient and sustainable events, to offer clients the ability to track the carbon footprint of their events and receive recommendations for improvements.
To add to this, we will be releasing a Green Events Package soon, offering our clients the opportunity to offset their carbon through our partnership with Hotels for Trees – who are committed to tackling deforestation – one tree at a time!
We all know that sustainability is no longer a nice to have, it’s a must have, and although we have more to do, we’re determined to keep learning and improving, and are dedicated to becoming as sustainable as we can be.