Services contractor Melville Exhibition and Events Services has been awarded the BS8901 standard through independent certification.

Working with sustainability consultancy partners Sustainable Events, Melville established key performance indicators for all onsite activities and developed a set of benchmark measurements forwaste separation, reuse, recycle and safe disposal of all major production materials within its UK operations.

The contractor used the services of independent auditing organisation SGS to ratify its application and ensure integrity in the process.

“It is a great achievement for such a large organisation to demonstrate real sustainability credentials by achieving third-party certification,” said Sustainable Events’ Rebecca Saunders. “The senior management team grasped the opportunity to integrate sustainability on all levels throughout the business. They have seen a tangible reduction in their impact on the environment and the community while benefiting the bottom line.”

A management system has been implemented for all aspects of sustainability and the company's sustainability policy has been made public on the company website. Alongside this Melville has created a cross-functional Sustainability Team, which has evolved from its ‘Green’ environmental team.

“We recognised the importance of sustainability in our industry, as have many key customers, and we are now able to help and support them to realise their own sustainability objectives through the knowledge we gained from the process of achieving BS8901,” Melville group operations director Gary Styles said.

The new Events Venue at Bluewater in Kent recently appointed Melville Exhibition and Events as its incumbent services supplier.

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