Saving the world, one straw at a time

Climate change – the subject on everyone’s lips that isn’t going to go away anytime soon. Living in London, its quite hard to miss the protests and pleas happening every day, making the impact we have on the environment ever present in our thoughts.

With one in 10 jobs worldwide supported by travel, tourism and hospitality, embracing sustainable methods and reducing the carbon footprint in the hospitality industry is necessary and overdue. The industry is extremely important for countries’ economies, so finding a way to maintain a high standard while tackling climate change should be a priority for companies, especially in London, a global leading city in so many ways.

In light of this, one of London’s largest clubs, the 3,000 capacity Studio 338, announced it will be implementing an array of different measures that aim to vastly reduce its environmental impact, including donating profits and encouraging artists to donate a percentage of their fees to the conservation charity Rainforest Trust UK. The southeast London venue will also be commissioning a huge ‘Tree of Life’ installation in the garden using reclaimed materials. Partygoers can then donate towards the tree, and the money received will be used to place existing areas of rainforest under permanent protection through the Rainforest Trust UK.

Music and Events Director Dan Perrin says Studio 338 also has a plan to remove all single-use plastics, non-biodegradable and environmentally harmful materials from the group’s venues where possible and is consulting with environmental specialists to improve its overall footprint.

“We are creating a movement aimed at leading the way for sustainable clubbing, kicking off in Studio 338 with a view to starting a wave of change reaching far beyond London. We’re in the midst of a climate emergency. We all need to offset the detrimental effect of events and parties and our activities on the environment,” Dan says.

Companies and leaders in hospitality must see sustainability as a necessity and implement changes soon, or they will only be adding to the problem. While this is a global issue, making small changes in day-to-day life can help. The sooner everyone realises this, the closer we are to helping our planet and our future. So get recycling, invest in some gorgeous reusables and save the world!