Barbican Business Events doubles down on sustainability

Sustainability has been a key part of the Barbican’s success story over the last two weeks with a win at the London Venue and Catering Awards, followed by the hosting of the Sustainable Events Show and the announcement of a major exhibition.

The Barbican won the Sustainability Award at the London Venue and Catering Awards, beating off stiff competition from other well-known venues. In particular, the judges recognised the Barbican’s wide-ranging activities on sustainability, going beyond just the environment to include working with local communities and staff.

The venue also hosted more than 800 attendees at the inaugural Sustainable Events Show, which included more than 50 exhibitors and 30 speakers from across the events industry.

In addition, Barbican International Enterprises announced Our Time on Earth – a major exhibition opening in May 2022 celebrating the power of global creativity to transform the conversation around the climate emergency. Through art, design, science, music and philosophy, the exhibition presents a range of radical visions for the future of all species.

Jackie Boughton, Barbican Head of Events, said: “I am so proud of my whole team this week. Just a few weeks after the conclusion of COP 26, we are excited that our sustainability efforts to date have been recognised by peers and industry experts. Winning this award goes beyond just our business events department to incorporate the whole of the Barbican’s wider team, particularly those working tirelessly to improve every element of our infrastructure and facilities. We recognise we’ve much further to go, but we’re dedicated to finding more ways to address our environmental impact and achieve our target of reducing carbon emissions from our own operations to net zero by 2027.”

Sustainable Event Show organiser, Wesley Mendy, backed this up by saying: “What better place to hold our inaugural show, just days after the venue was crowned the best in the business by an industry leading panel of judges. The Barbican supported us throughout the entire organisation of a carbon-neutral event – creating a real-life demonstration of their award-winning capabilities.”