Sustainability Strategy
How are we
contributing to
the SDG’s?
The following graphics are from one or more of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are “a to-do list for people and planet.” You can read more about all the SDGs here.
Here’s how we are planning to use these as guides for our own sustainable development.
Better Materials & Minimising Waste
As this is one of the biggest sustainability challenges in the events industry, it’s the one we’ve made the most effort with over the last few years. These actions are a great start and have put us on track to be operating as a circular business* by 2030.
We design out waste.
This means designing based on either not creating waste or using any waste generated from one piece of set to create another.
We re-use key items again and again.
For Parklife, we’ve used the same steel arch armatures since 2016. These have simply been reclad with each year’s theme. Then, the cladding is stored until the following year when it’s repainted and re-used for smaller cladding, new signs, boxing in staging, etc. We’ve also touched up and repainted the Parklife wooden cutouts and characters to create different narratives in the VIP area. Some of these character cutouts have been with us for 8+ years!
We actively manage our waste.
This means that whenever we aren’t 100% sure about how waste is being recycled or if the process is not in line with our own recycling measures, we take the waste back to our head office for recycling. For example, this year, we collected 10kgs of ours, and other teams on sites cable ties and collected and sorted all our soft plastic for our local recycler. It’s a big commitment, but we’re happy to do it because we know it’s disposed of responsibly and minimises risks to the environment.
We train and encourage our team to play their part.
We believe the biggest impacts are from every single person doing their bit. From the designers ‘designing out waste’, to the CNC layout, from the carpenters building with off-cuts and reusing hardware, from the install team reusing packaging, to the on site team collecting every item we bring to site, and ensuring its safe return to be reused. And for our workshop team ensuring careful maintenance and inventory.
We are all responsible. And we all play a part in helping each other to do even more.
Increased Transparency & Annual Reporting
We keep track of our carbon footprint. Monitoring, recording, regularly reviewing, and reporting data on the amount of carbon dioxide we’re responsible for emitting into the Earth’s atmosphere can tell us where we’re making progress and which areas need to be improved. It also shows all our stakeholders that we’re genuinely ‘walking the talk’.
We did our first carbon footprint audit in 2022. You’re welcome to read the results. Just ask us for a copy!
We continue to keep track of our carbon data via a purpose-designed form for staff and suppliers and will be sharing our progress in an annual report from 2024 onwards.
We belong to industry networks that encourage honesty and transparency.
Contributing to People & Community
Our people and communities are central to Decordia’s success. So, we put a lot of time and effort into showing them that we care about their wellbeing and the wellbeing of their environment, here’s how:
We donate to charities.
We’re a silver corporate member of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust and enjoy getting involved with hands-on practical nature regeneration activities with them. We also regularly donate to Salford Food Bank and Start Inspiring Minds. Any paints and materials we can no longer use go to decorating projects for underprivileged communities in and around Greater Manchester.
Our management team will continue contributing to our community through local outreach and mentoring work.
We ensure our staff are safe and receive fair pay.
We empower our team with sustainability knowledge.
Any of our on-site crew can volunteer to be our ‘Green Ambassador’, which is an opportunity to earn a little extra and motivate everyone on the team to get involved with waste management. Also, Decordia staff are encouraged to make small incremental changes (SIC) to reduce negative environmental impacts outside of work. Our SIC guide offers lots of options for positive behaviour change.
We invest in community outreach, mentoring, skills development, and work placements.
Responsible Energy & Transport Use
These are difficult areas for most businesses to tackle in terms of sustainability, even more so in live events. That said, we’ve started making some headway on reducing our energy consumption and transport emissions with the following actions:
We’re measuring our energy consumption. Whether we’re working at the office or on-site at an event, we keep a record of our energy use so that we can get a clearer picture of where further reductions should be made.
We encourage the use of hybrid vehicles and car sharing.
We use bikes and electric vehicles on site.
This isn’t possible at every event, but we certainly choose these options whenever possible.
We dry hire and install kit ourselves.
We eat more plant-based meals.