PEMBROKE COLLEGE: A SUSTAINABLE VENUE FOR YOUR EVENT As a working Oxford University College which is also available year-round for conferences and events, Pembroke recognizes the importance of committing to sustainable practices to reduce the damaging effect events can have on the environment. Written by: Ellen Brady
Photography by: Emir Hasham, Phil Sills, Ellen Brady, Quintin Lake
As a venue we don’t just focus on our stunning historic back-drops, state-of-the-art conference facilities & outstanding cuisine. We put responsible innovation at the heart of what we do, implementing initiatives to provide a better and greener experience for event organisers and their delegates - specifically focusing on sustainable procurement, recyclable materials, and the efficient management of energy and waste. In November 2019 we were absolutely delighted to receive a Special Commendation at the CN Academic Venue Awards for our work in this area as a catering service. What are some of the steps we take to be a better venue?
Think Green When Building Pembroke’s Rokos Quad opened in 2013 and has 96 bedrooms, a 170 seat auditorium, 3 meeting rooms, a Barista Café and an art gallery. It is linked to the historic College site by an elegant steel and glass bridge across the medieval South city wall. As part 66
of the environmentally-friendly design the College installed ground source heat pumps and a solar water system, the combined effect of which provides a 35% energy saving and 25% carbon emission saving. For this energy-efficient and sustainable approach to construction we were awarded the David Steel Sustainable Building Award. However we haven’t rested on our laurels – a recent programme invested £25k in LED lighting to reduce our energy use and costs even further.
Ditch Single-Use Plastic Approximately 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean each year. In our campaign to reduce single-use plastic we use compostable disposable cups, paper straws, wooden teaspoons and plasticfree teabags (not many people know that the average teabag contains plastic!) We have now completely replaced all plastic bottled drinks with glass or cans, including canned water provided by the innovative company Canowater. Re-using is always one step better than buying new, even with recyclable containers, so we have water coolers and
fountains around the site for refilling bottles, and our on-site Café offers a discount for those who bring their own cup. To encourage this further, the College sourced its own Pemboke KeepCups - offered to all staff and students on arrival, and available as a delegate gift to conference clients. We also now do not provide plastic bottled toiletries in every guest room – however we do have stocks available at reception in case you forget your own.
Source Locally We try to maintain the smallest carbon footprint possible, particularly in catering. 95% of our meal elements are homemade onsite in our 5* hygiene rated kitchen - from the bread rolls at the start to the ice-cream at the end - and our menus are unique to Pembroke, devised seasonally by our Chefs using fresh ingredients from local suppliers. For example, we serve a mouthwatering gin-cured trout starter which comes from ChalkStream on the Test River in Hampshire. We also stock our own ‘Pembroke Ale’ from Chadlington Brewery, 22 miles away and our cooler water comes from Blenheim, 12 miles WWW.B4-BUSINESS.COM
