The Natural History Museum recently hosted a sustainability panel discussion for the events industry, in their new venue the Garden Kitchen. 

The panel explored how venues, clients and suppliers can together plan more sustainable events – from no-choice menus to cut down on food waste and donating used florals to London Zoo for animal food, to creating red carpets with lighting effects in place of fabric and exploring boxed wine that may have lower carbon footprint than bottled while still tasting great. 

Catering company By Word of Mouth’s Commercial Director Mim Etchells, and Harriet Palmer, sustainability lead for Event Concept were joined on stage by the Museum’s Head of Venue Hire and Catering, Robert Wetherell, and Head of Sustainability, Kimberley Lewis. Richard Joy from Full Circle Entertainment moderated the panel, with the audience encouraged to get involved with the discussion via interactive polls.

The Garden Kitchen, nestled within the Museum’s gardens, was transformed from daytime cafe into a stylish evening event space for the occasion. The building was constructed as part of a zero-diesel, zero-waste project, and is fitted with electric-based air source heat pumps to provide the space heating and majority of hot water demands in the space. 

Sustainability considerations were also evident throughout the event’s details. The pop-up bar and panel backdrop were both made from recyclable materials, and the boxed wine discussed during the panel was served. Guests didn’t get to just hear about ideas for planning more sustainable events – they were able to experience them first hand.