The NEC Group is
trialling carbon
labelling across its venues as it aims to empower visitors
to make more informed, sustainable choices.
The trial is taking place across the National Exhibition
Centre (NEC) and the International
Convention Centre (ICC) where more than 1,800 recipes will be assessed for
their carbon impact and labelled to reflect that.
The project comes in collaboration with a study conducted by
the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which funded the project, and the
University of Birmingham (UOB) on food sustainability labelling and behaviour
change.
Food technology and sustainability specialists Foodsteps is
also involved in the trail to provide a cloud-based platform, as well as
labelling capability and QR codes. On the platform, food providers can upload
recipes and view the sustainability impact of each ingredient. It can be used
to monitor targets, develop new recipes and improve a menu or product's
sustainability.
NEC Group conventions and exhibitions managing director, Ian
Taylor, said: “We have a strong focus on sustainability and we’re delighted to
introduce this carbon labelling trial at the NEC and ICC.
“We know from customer feedback that our visitors love the
quality of food and service at both venues, so we’re excited that our carbon
labels will help them make low carbon choices and reduce their carbon
footprint.”
NEC Group food and beverage director for caterer Amadeus,
said: “Innovation is front and centre in our work across the live events
industry. We’ve been looking at carbon labelling for a while, but it is
something we were able to implement quicker thanks to the input of WMCA. We
want to empower our visitors to make more sustainable choices and educate
themselves about the carbon impact of food and this is a great step towards
that.
“We’re thrilled to be able to introduce this with the help
of Foodsteps’ technology and we’re really interested to see how this labelling
will affect customer’s behaviours. We’re constantly looking at ways to review
and improve our sustainability methods and it’s something we’d love to roll out
across our wider venue portfolio.”
Find out more about the project here.
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
