Award-winning conference and events venue 30 Euston Square and its catering partner Searcys report market-leading success in their sustainability drive over the last two years, and release plans to build on these achievements with the launch of a new set of pledges in 2020 in order to reduce the impact on the environment.

Under the helm of one of Searcys’ Green Ambassadors, Deputy General Manager, Luiz Mazzari, 30 Euston Square have taken a number of steps to improve their eco credentials, from reducing emissions to integrating sustainability into daily operations. These efforts have resulted in the below achievements:

• A total of 32kg of used coffee grounds were repurposed and taken by clients to be used on their gardens, as part of a novel campaign launched by 30ES.
• Over 2,500 refills of coffee have been purchased, as a result of Café Caritas branded re-usable Keep Cup initiative, which offers a discount to anyone in the café when they bring in their own cup.
• All harmful Freon Gases have been removed from the refrigeration equipment, in order to combat the negative effects of F Gases which remain in the atmosphere for centuries and contribute to the global greenhouse effect.
• The unique herb garden and a vegetable patch were launched on the venue’s rooftop terrace, allowing chefs to have a supply of fresh ingredients at arm’s length, in line with 30 Euston Square’s pledge to source as locally as possible.
• Removal of plastic straws has taken place throughout the venue and been replaced with paper straws, meaning 5,000 plastic straws are no longer reaching landfill.
• To effectively reduce and manage food waste 30 Euston Square follows robust procedures which involve collecting all food waste from production, spoilage and plate waste, weighing and recording the waste and analysing the results on a regular basis to ensure this waste does not exceed 5% of total food and beverage purchases.
• All pre-packaged drinks in Café Caritas have been replaced with either glass or cans. The Café also uses crockery and glassware as standard where possible, to reduce the amount of disposables used.

Over the last two years, the venue has launched the ‘Grounds for Garden’ initiative, as coffee grounds become pH neutral and rich in nitrogen, it is perfect for nitrogen loving plants. 30 Euston Square has made waste coffee grounds available to all green-fingered clients to use for their compost or garden soil throughout the year.

All new employees joining 30 Euston Square take part in an induction, which includes ‘10 Green Behaviours’; an initiative designed to improve staff awareness of how small waste-saving actions/practices have big impact; a message which they can in turn pass on to clients.

Allan Heard, Searcys’ General Manager at 30 Euston Square Allan Heard comments: “While 30 Euston Square as a business has grown considerably since opening its doors in 2013, we have made the conscious effort of reducing the ratio of business vs. food, plastic and paper waste. This has been achieved by continued customer engagement, research and menu planning.”

Additionally, from the start of 2018, 30 Euston Square implemented 11 sustainability pledges set out by Searcys, which encouraged the team to be creative and provide better catering experiences across their vast choice of services.

In keeping with these sustainability pledges, 30 Euston Square buys the best ingredients available, working closely with British farmers and local producers to ensure that up to 90% of their seasonal fruit and vegetables are grown in the UK, and sourced within 48-mile radius. The company uses UK-reared fresh meat, flour milled in England, free-range eggs and milk from Red Tractor-certified farms, while Searcys signature smoked salmon is sourced directly from the family run and Royal Warrant-holding John Ross Jr. In addition, all tea and coffee are Fairtrade or Direct Impact sourced, with coffee beans coming from family-run farms in South America.

Searcys Managing Director Matt Thomas quotes: “This has been a wonderful journey for Searcys and 30 Euston Square. We are incredibly honoured to be working in partnership and share our commitment to provenance and sustainability, which, in turn, has been making a positive contribution to the conference and events community.”

For the New Year, the venue will also pledge to reduce waste from disposable food packaging by 20%, audited by the specialist NGO, Planet Plastic.