Sustainability Strategy of Encore EMEA

Our Path to Green Meetings

01 Preamble

As part of the Blackstone Inc. Group of Companies, Encore is embedded in the ESG Strategy actively managed by the responsible ESG Leadership team.

In January 2021, Blackstone announced its Emissions Reduction Program to reduce carbon emissions by 15% in aggregate over three years for all new assets where the firm controls energy usage. To accomplish this goal, Blackstone has developed what it believe is a robust decarbonization program designed to increase value by reducing energy use and carbon emissions at scale in a way that is measurable and tangible.¹

Blackstone is also developing a carbon accounting system and a capability to track and report on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reductions. This will allow the firm to measure its impact and provide its investors with critical data to help them to meet their own climate targets and financial goals.

The sustainable development of our industry will play an important role to reduce emissions and make the MICE business green for the future.

As a technology provider for meetings and events, we at Encore EMEA understand the importance of sustainable development as a process of change within both our industry and society as a whole.

That’s why we are actively involved in:

Shaping processes at Encore with the involvement of all status groups according to the principles of sustainable development.
Increasing the sustainable knowledge of all our team members and raising awareness for further improvements.
Implementing and maintaining an environmental management system.
Continuously reviewing, transparently presenting, and further developing our sustainable development goals and measures.
Striving to become as climate neutral as we can as fast as possible.
Reduce the carbon emissions by at minimum 15% before the end of 2025.

02 Objectives

As an overarching goal, Encore EMEA wants to reduce the consumption of infinite resources, avoid environmental harmful emissions, and reduce carbon emission specifically by at minimum 15% before the end of 2025.

The following key areas and objectives are defined:

Energy Efficiency
We intend to reduce specific energy consumption (electricity, heating, cooling) and optimise heating/cooling energy demand per heated/cooled floor space with the use of renewable energy sources.

Technology
We’re dedicated to using the latest technologies
available to reduce energy consumption whereever possible. Through careful consultation with our customers, we’ll establish energy optimised technology solutions to suit their needs. We also promote virtual and hybrid event solutions to reduce travel and event-based transport inefficiencies. New investments will be based on energy usage reduction measures.

Material Consumption (Paper, Consumables)
We intend to reduce specific energy consumption and increase both the recycling rate (recyclable:total waste) and the use of already recycled consumables.

Water Consumption
Specific water consumption is to be reduced.

Waste Generation and Management
The total amount of waste generated by Encore EMEA should be reduced and waste separation for optimized recycling must be standard.

Biodiversity
We intend to improve the biodiversity by near-natural and renaturalised areas in our facilities. This will include a specific focus on areas outside of our facilities and include spaces such as rooftops.

Emissions (Mobility, Transportation)
The CO2 intensity of the vehicle fleet is to be reduced. We will implement an advanced transportation optimisation system to further reduce the average transport distance per event. Our network of branches already supports the maximum transport distance per event of less than 50km (with some exceptions for larger events). We are also working hard to promote public transportation and cycling initatives with a view to sustainable mobility. We want to set positive incentives for reducing CO2 emissions from business travel and introduce monitoring of this.

Awareness & Communication
The perception of sustainability within our organisation is to be sharpened through environmental relevant training and events. This will educate staff and management at all levels to the issue of environmental responsibility and the role each individual plays in order to reduce negative environmental impact from our day-to-day activities.

Compliance
We are following all mandatory and voluntary regulations for compliance in all areas of business activities. Our implemented governing structures and processes are designed to foster regulatory compliance and strong performance.

Procurement
Sustainability is to be anchored in the specifications for procurement. We will establish Sustainable Procurement Policies to guarantee sustainable processes and compliance wherever possible within our supply chains.

Cooperation
We want to deepen our relationships with regional and local stakeholders as well as our industry and customer networks especially when considering the aspects of greenhouse gas emissions, use of ecosystem services and health.

03 Measures

As an overarching goal, Encore EMEA wants to reduce the consumption of infinite resources, avoid environmental harmful emissions overall and reduce the carbon emission specifically by at minimum 15% before the end of 2025.

The following key areas and objectives are defined:

Energy Efficiency

Expansion of energy supply (electric/ heat/cooling) from renewable energies.
Prioritisation of sustainability aspects in all new and existing buildings.
Optimisation and expansion of photovoltaic roof surfaces at our buildings (where possible) as well as self-use of the electricity thus generated combined with storage systems.
Further reduction in electricity consumption for lighting, e.g. switching to energy-saving light sources and installing motion/presence detectors.
Optimisation of energy requirements for heating and cooling/ventilation, e.g. by installing performance optimised systems, replacing outdated heating/cooling.

Technology

The most important measure for the use of technology is the Watt usage. In the future, we will state the Watt number on our customer documents to allow our customers to compare different technologies and select their product of choice.
Improvements in repair and recycle of equipment to reduce the waste in this specific area. Establish the repair rate as an indicator.

Material Consumption (Paper, Consumables)

Increasing digitization of all processes to reduce the usage of paper wherever possible.
Use of wastepaper/misprints for internal printouts, etc.
Use of paper with as high a recycled content as possible.
Increase awareness of efficient printing and utilise carbon-neutral suppliers where possible.
Use of recycled or recyclable consumables for all our services and products.
Use of accumulator batteries instead of one-time use batteries.
Use of recycled paper wherever possible for flipcharts, etc.
Use of water-based pens for whiteboards or flipcharts.

Water Consumption

Consider and/or optimise the use of rainwater storage and additional rainwater use in all possible areas of our used facilities.
Improved drink water management, e.g. by installing infrared water taps and further installation of economy flushes in the toilets.

Waste Generation and Management

Installation of regionally adapted waste bins to optimise the waste separation.
Further optimisation of the proportion of waste recycled or recycling rate by procuring products with a high recycling content.

Biodiversity

Establishment of biodiversity areas in the outside areas to increase biodiversity. Expand on these if areas are already established.
Maintenance, expansion, and care of further area independent measures to improve biodiversity in the surroundings of our facilities such as bat boxes, bird nesting boxes and insect nesting aids.
Specifications for the execution of green roofs in new buildings and renovations.

Emissions (Mobility, Transportation)

Perspective replacement of the current vehicle fleet (where appropriate) with vehicles using efficient drive systems.
Educate employees for energy efficient driving of vehicles.
Support our employees to use public transportation and/or bicycles based on the company bicycle solution.
Installation of transportation optimisation software to reduce the distance per delivery measure.

Compliance

Communication of the actual compliance system including the code of conduct and anti-bribery act compliance and modern slavery act compliance.
Further enhancements in all aspects of compliance and education of all team members in this field.

Procurement

Establishment of sustainable procurement policy and roll-out to all stakeholders in the supply chain.

Cooperation

Develop and maintain close relationships with all industry partners, suppliers, and customers to align in the sustainability strategy.
Support our customers to provide sustainable solutions for their clients or stakeholders.

04 Indicators

Direct indicators or direct emissions are defined as those that are directly caused by Encore EMEA operations. On the energy side, these include electricity, cooling and heating. We will also consider indirect indicators which represent emissions are not directly generated by our operations. This includes emissions from employees daily commutes from home to the office/ warehouse/location, business trips etc. These parameters are currently largely unknown and therefore part of future projects for measure and monitoring.

The following key indicators are defined: