Our goal is for BH Live to be Net Zero.

We’re very aware of our environmental responsibilities as the South’s leading leisure and events venue and our role in community when it comes to protecting the environment.

Setting the Net Zero goal has been the catalyst for many new initiatives; like our renewable energy installation, energy & water conservation, waste management, our living roof, LED lighting and recycling practices.

By managing our environmental impacts and supporting others to do the same, we aim to improve the environment for the benefit of local community, customers, business partners and employees.

One of our key challenges is balancing green initiatives with the unsurprising refurbishment and upgrades that established buildings demand. For every new project we take a balanced and responsible approach to economic, environmental and social impacts to ensure we sustain venue excellence our customers and their visitors have come to expect.

Green Mark Accreditation

As part of our green commitment we achieved the Green Mark Level 1 Accreditation a few years ago, which helped us identify where in the business we could implement sustainable practices and create a procedure for assessing our own environmental impact.

Our team are currently hard at work, in the final stages of achieving Green Mark Level 2 where sustainable plans are developed further and put into action. As you can see from the document below, we’re already well underway.

What we've been working on...

CUTTING OUR EMISSIONS

We have taken steps to reduce our energy-related CO2 emissions, measuring Scope 1 (gas) and Scope 2 (electricity) through carefully planned management of our heating, ventilating and lighting.

CO2 emissions for 2023 – 2024

553 tonnes

compared with…

CO2 emissions for 2019 – 2020

801 tonnes

REGULATING HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING

We only run heating and air conditioning on event days in the spaces which are used. Regulating both via the venue’s Building Energy Management System (BEMS). And using localised air conditioning controls for improved efficiency.

LIGHTING CONTROL

Staff and event customers are encouraged to turn off lights when event spaces are not in use. All lights are controlled centrally, and staff are regularly reminded to notify the control room when a room is vacant.

ENERGY EFFICIENT LIGHTING

We are gradually swapping out the lighting throughout the venue for LED alternatives in a phased programme. If you’ve seen the scale of our building and the individual halls, you’ll appreciate what a big undertaking this is. And all the lights in our toilets are on sensors so only come on when toilets are in use.

ELECTRIC VEHICLE

The purchase of an electric van for business use will reduce our emissions further.

RENEWABLES

50% of the Bournemouth International Centre’s roof space is covered by solar panels. And all the energy generated by them feeds back into the building, thanks to our partnership with Empower. We have solar panels specifically for heating hot water and all other BIC grid electricity comes from renewable sources.

BIODIVERSITY ON OUR DOORSTEP

We hope to encourage more insects, bees and improve biodiversity on our own doorstep with the living ‘green’ roof currently being installed over the Purbeck Foyer entrance. (Find out more here)

WATER EFFICIENCIES

We have auto-flush sensors in all toilets and touchless taps to ensure time-controlled water flow and reduce water waste. It’s also more hygienic for everyone!

WASTE MANAGEMENT

We monitor our waste management and recycling levels via regular waste reports, to optimise our efforts and minimise waste. Numbers we’re continually looking to improve.

In a 12-month period (01/04/23 – 31/03/24) we recycled 89.1% of our catering waste and 87.5% of our event/visitor waste.

A total of 460.9 tonnes.

99.7% of BIC waste recycled

RECYCLING

We recycle paper, tickets (in bins within the ticket machines), cardboard, glass, plastic as well as the food waste in our kitchens.

We recycle bottle tops and crisp packets via our local terra-cycle centre
We responsibly dispose of all electrical items - with a plug, battery or cable - in accordance with the latest WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations. A big proportion being lamps, bulbs, tubes and disused LED lights.

What’s next…

RE-USABLE PLASTICS & FOOD WASTE

We’re looking at re-usable plastic receptacles for the bars to further reduce our waste stream and new ways for clients, conference delegates and exhibitors to separate food waste.