Strawberry launches environmental impact assessment for conferences and events

As part of the company’s strategy to achieve carbon neutrality in its operations by 2030, they are now introducing an Environmental Impact Assessment to reduce their own emissions and help their customers reduce theirs. This report is one of the first of its kind in the Nordic region and covers CO2, energy and water consumption.

The figures in the report are based on the specific conference facility and event, and show how customer choices influence environmental impact. The purpose of this report is not only to be transparent about the environmental impact of the conferences we hold, but also to increase awareness of how we, together with our customers, can reduce this impact.

– As one of the leading events and conferences players in the Nordic countries, we aim to provide both data and insights by offering our clients a separate environmental report. New regulatory requirements increase the pressure on companies’ own environmental reporting, allowing us to contribute to reducing our overall environmental footprint and helping customers reduce theirs. Hopefully it will become an industry standard for customers to receive an environmental report after a conference, says Elin Penttilä, Sustainability Manager at Strawberry.

In the company’s climate strategy, two areas stand out as having the greatest potential to make a positive difference: buildings and food and drink. Food and drinks are typically served in large quantities at conferences, making this a key area of ​​focus in the report’s development.

– We have been working on environmentally conscious food for several years, deploying a blue and red list system to facilitate responsible sourcing, and we have established a standard for all hotels to follow. We have also developed a close collaboration with purchasing, which has played an important role in this journey, says André Johansson, Head of Executive Chefs Nordic at Strawberry.

Customers at Strawberry are seeing an increasing demand for more sustainable menus and locally produced food. Working sustainably with food does not mean that in the future the entire menu will be vegetarian; However, the goal is for the animal products served to be as sustainable as possible.

– The reports can be used for our customers’ own sustainability reporting. However, what we really hope for is that they will be used to learn how we can organize even more environmentally friendly conferences in the future, concludes Elin Penttilä, Sustainability Manager at Strawberry.

The report will be launched on April 22, 2024 across all company hotels with conference and meeting facilities.