Social Responsibility Case Studies

Cliftons Sydney achieves Platinum IACC Green Star Certification

Area of sustainability

Food waste, single-use plastics, green energy

Contribution by

Vanessa Green

Venue Name

Cliftons Event Solutions

Country

Australia

What were the objectives of the Social Responsibility or Environmental initiative?

Cliftons is working to reduce our own carbon footprint, as well as support our clients to reduce the environmental impact of their business meetings and events.

Detail of project

Cliftons Sydney has taken a multi-faceted approach to sustainability to help our clients meet their own ESG goals. Many factors go into making an event sustainable, and Cliftons recognises that there’s a lot we can do to take the pressure off our clients by ensuring our spaces help tick a lot of boxes to reduce the environmental impact. With this philosophy in mind, we’ve made several choices and changes to make our venues more environmentally responsible. Here are some examples.

– Introducing smart controls for lighting, temperature and elevator management in all our venues.

– Transitioning to green energy, progressively increasing our use as we move towards 100% green energy by 2027.

– Reducing paper use through digital options and encouraging clients to do the same through our digital event management platforms and equipping each meeting room with Wi-Fi.

– Sustainable food sourcing, prioritising local, fresh produce: We’ve designed our menus to use seasonal ingredients and reduce the carbon impact of travel.

– Reducing single-use plastics across a range of food and beverage service options: Our initiatives include serving water, juice and drinks from refillable bottles and self-serve glassware, phasing out bowls of wrapped mints and sweets to replace with self-serve sweet and healthy options in our breakout and cafe areas, and prioritising using permanent crockery and serving ware, only opting for compostable and biodegradable utensils if required.

– Smart menu design to reduce food waste: This allows for the crossover of produce in multiple dishes to reduce waste. Whilst the size of our crockery and equipment selection helps manage waste.

– Energy efficient cooking: We have equipped out kitchens with energy-efficient appliances, as well as cooking techniques to minimise energy consumption.

Stakeholders involved

A cross-functional team from Cliftons has been involved, with strong input from the leadership team. Our food and beverage teams, as well as our venue operations teams, have worked in partnership to develop sustainable options to reduce the carbon footprint of business meetings and events.

How did the project meet the original objectives and what were the successful outcomes?

Across our portfolio, our sustainable initiatives have boosted confidence in Cliftons, knowing that we are there to help you reduce the environmental impact of your event without compromising on quality. We have an average NABERS rating of 4.5 across all our venues, and will continue to work with our building owners to increase this rating by championing improved energy efficiency, building-wide recycling programs, and water and waste reduction. Our suite of event management platforms means we can support you with digital documentation, registrations and signage. In addition, all meeting rooms are equipped with Wi-Fi, reducing the need for delegates to be provided with pen and paper. These remain available upon request but are no longer provided at each place setting. Our holistic approach to ensure our food and beverage service supports sustainability goals for both ourselves and clients. Our seasonal and local ingredient menu design reduces the carbon impact of its travel, whilst our commitment to sourcing sustainable and ethical products shows positive outcomes. For example, our chefs have recently been using locally caught whiting, which is a well-stocked fish that is sustainably caught, and incorporating native ingredients, which also helps to provide revenue streams to Indigenous growers. Our smart portioning to reduce food waste has seen very successful outcomes. For example, while event delegates are welcomed and encouraged to enjoy all the food Cliftons offers, medium-sized plates help reduce food waste. Instead, guests can return for more, ensuring less food ends up in our bins. Our sustainable initiatives have resulted in Cliftons being awarded the IACC Green Star Certification. Our Sydney venue being awarded the Platinum ranking, the highest level of accreditation, making us one of only 6 IACC member venues globally to achieve this level.

What you would do differently next time

Our recent blog outlines smart venue choices Cliftons makes to reduce our event’s footprint: https://cliftons.com/blog/smart-venue-choices-to-reduce-your-event’s-footprint