Sandy Park aiming for Sustainable Future

In light of the 2021 COP26 UN Climate conference in Glasgow, Sandy Park recognises the importance of environmental sustainability and the responsibility of companies from around the world to reduce their carbon footprint.

We are continuously researching and innovating as a venue to consider new ways to reduce our carbon footprint, including recycling schemes, composting of waste in our kitchens and encouraging the use of public transport to get to our conference facility.

With plastic pollution and waste having a huge impact on our planet, contributing massively to the harmful pollutants contaminating our oceans, Sandy Park have been phasing out plastic bottles and exclusively use glass for our conferences and meetings. We use Tarka Spring water as a supplier who are local to our venue, less than 50 miles away and for our larger events, we use reusable cups that eliminates the need for over 330,000 single use plastics.

We take pride in using local produce in our kitchens, not only supporting local suppliers from the South West, but also ensuring that food miles are low. Waste is always kept at a minimum, we ensure good communication with clients to make sure exact numbers are known, reducing any excess food at any meetings or conferences. Our kitchens have separate food waste and recycling bins, and we work closely with DCW Waste Management, an Exeter based waste management company, who specialise in food waste recycling ensuring eventually, it can be recycled to produce energy powering farms and factories around Devon.

Sandy Park is situated close to two rail stations, just a 15-minute walk away. Using public transport can emit over 60% less carbon compared to cars. Sandy Park encourages the use of train and bus transport amongst its staff and delegates to reduce their carbon footprint. We also have on-site parking where we will be installing electrical charging points, catering for the positive rise in use of electric vehicles.

Investing in the future of Sandy Park is vital as we look to ensure a renewable and sustainable future, not only for our business but for the wider local and international communities. Sandy Park are looking at the possibility of installing Solar Panels, ensuring the energy we require is generated in a sustainable way, helping to reduce our carbon footprint our reliance on fossil fuels, which ultimately is the long-term goal for our business.