Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant (PJP) took place on Sunday, June 5 2022, telling the story of The Queen’s 70-year reign and our transforming society. 

The PJP was determined to leave a positive legacy within communities, as well as the events industry. PJP committed to minimise carbon emissions and waste throughout all operations. To help achieve these ambitions, PJP consulted sustainable events specialists A Greener Festival(AGF). 

The Platinum Jubilee Pageant set out to achieve excellence in inclusivity, accessibility, diversity, environmental sustainability, creativity and celebration. Now, PJP has published a full sustainability report, demonstrating how these ambitions have been achieved, and where learnings can be shared for further improvements within the events industry going forwards. 

Sustainability Action Summary 

• Creative teams briefed and contracted for sustainable sourcing and reuse for all sets, props and costumes used on the pageant. 
• Maximum mains power usage and 100 per cent renewable diesel (HVO – Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil) used in all event generators 
• 2,600 meals collected and donated via City Harvest 
• 100 per cent plant-based food for performers and crew.
• 12,500 water bottles avoided through reusable bottles and water refill usage. 
• Free cycling provided Nationally with Brompton Cycles 
• Soft plastics collected and turned into furniture with ReFactory 
• 100 per cent compostable serveware and food waste segregated and composted with enVar 
• Zero waste to landfill with Kwik Sweep and NuKleen. 
• 100 per cent carbon emissions removed from the atmosphere using durable afforestation, soil carbon storage, cross-laminated timber for construction, high grade biochar, enhanced weathering and direct air capture, with carbon removals specialists Cur8. 
• 25 per cent reduction in event production CO2 emissions through mitigation actions. 

 In total, 24.15 tonnes of CO2 emissions were avoided, thanks to sustainability actions. This equals an event production emissions reduction of 25.9 per cent.  

CO2 emissions were saves thanks to diesel replacement, food salvage, vegan meals provided by Global Infusion Group, dairy milk replacement, avoiding plastic water bottles, and food composting.

In terms of social outreach, the pageant devised a strategy to ensure the event touched not just those participating in it directly, but also the wider community. This was achieved through community partnerships and projects that were chosen to have a sustainable social impact and would form an important part of the legacy of the pageant. To achieve this, PJP worked with: 

Creative Access: Creative Access enables people from communities under-represented in the creative industries, to access careers, progress and reach leadership. Creating more equity and inclusion within the creative industries. The Pageant specifically worked with six interns in key departments on the pageant team including sustainability, partnerships, logistics, operations, communications and creative. 

Ideas foundation: The Platinum Jubilee Pageant chose the Ideas Foundation to launch a creative brief for schools and colleges nationwide, to honour the Jubilee celebrations, teaching creative skills and giving students a voice during the celebrations. Kindness was a prominent theme throughout the pageant and ran through the policy and code of conduct.  Ideas Foundation reached out to schools and launched a creative photography campaign that celebrated communities, diversity and creativity. Under the theme of “Commonwealth of Kindness’” students took part in digital storytelling workshops, hosted by leading photographers, graphic designers and poets. 

The National Citizen Service (NCS): NCS is a voluntary personal and social development programme for 15–17 year olds established to shape, support, champion and lead a thriving National Citizen Service through a variety of activities and initiatives to grow, learn new skills and have a positive impact in their communities. This fed into the PJP mission to ensure community engagement that would leave a legacy. 

Engineering Development Trust (EDT) Industrial Cadets: The pageant worked closely with the EDT Industrial Cadets on a STEM activity developed in partnership. This was aimed at students between 11 and 16, tasked with planning a sustainable street party to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. The project’s aim was to educate, engage and excite students about the aims of The Platinum Jubilee Pageant and provide active learning experience in STEM related careers, giving them the opportunity to gain knowledge and exposure that will help them make decisions about their future. With all students completing the activity receiving their Industrial Cadets Challenger Award, they have now completed the first step on the Industrial Cadets Pathway.

Top Sustainable Event Tips from the PJP team:

Platinum Jubilee Pageant Ltd will no longer exist following the conclusion of all event activities. Therefore, learnings and recommendations are intended for the benefit of the event industry at large, relating to experienced obstacles and opportunities to achieving a sustainable event. 

The overriding recommendation is for events to consider sustainability at the earliest opportunity and to embed it into everything that the event does, from the design phase all the way through to production and post-production.  

Transportation:  

• Ensure data collection is built into existing registration and communication systems for audience, contractors, performers and staff’ transport showing a breakdown of vehicle type and distance travelled or fuel type and consumption, and the purpose of travel.  
• Encourage low carbon modes of transportation for audience travel, through incentives for public transportation, biking, or walking.  
• Discuss with the contractors responsible for the largest transport emissions options regarding routing, loading, local supply opportunities, and alternative vehicle types / fuels.  
• Identify challenges that may deter attendees from using low carbon modes of transportation and opportunities to address them.  
• Build partnerships with transport networks and local city councils for example who have a shared ambition for low carbon mobility.  

Energy reporting – venue hire 

• Where venues are hired, energy consumption should be monitored and shared with the hirer. The more that energy consumption is understood by both providers and users, the more smart we can be about its conservation and value. 

Energy specifications and consumption 

• Profiling of energy needs and demands should be closely monitored in advance of events in order to select the correct type and size of energy generation.  
• Ensure clear and detailed energy specifications are produced to reduce risk of over-specification and wasted energy production. 
• Cost and transport of additional equipment for hybrid and battery technology should be taken into account when deciding energy grids. 
• Events must gather more energy usage data in advance of the shows from power users to accurately specify the power need.  
• Always monitor fuel used if applicable for power generation. Detailed telemetry that further breaks down the peak and average consumption and load profiles allows greater understanding and more efficient systems to be built going forwards. 
• Continue to use low carbon fuels such as sustainably sourced HVO where combustion is necessary, and seek use of battery storage, hybrid systems and localised renewable energy production where applicable on site as a part of a smart power plan.  
• Ensure all energy data is monitored and gathered for continual improvements and share this with the power users so they can better understand their energy demands. 
• Improve and provide mains power connections on regular event sites. For example, a huge number of events come through London for example every year and they are all trucking in generators and burning expensive fuel which contributes to air pollution. 

Food and beverage 

Food, Beverage and Serveware 

• Continue to push for plant-based, whole food, seasonal, healthy, ethically sourced ingredients and match the quantity to the need as much as possible to avoid wastage.  
• Continue partnerships with food salvage organisations for any surplus. 
• Inform caterers that submission of all provenance documentation is required before they have purchased ingredients. 
• Measure the impact of food by categories (meat type/vegetables/pulses/dairy etc) in order to establish strategies to minimise or reduce impacts by designing low impact diets. Production of plant based diets generally have a lower impact on the environment (and carbon impact) than meat production methods.  

Procurements, materials use, and circularity 

Life Cycle Approach 

• Always plan for the afterlife of any reusable items before the event has passed.  
• Consider the reusability and recyclability of all items before purchase. Are they recyclable? Are they being mixed with other materials that will make recycling impossible? Is there branding being applied that will make the item unusable elsewhere and is that essential?  
• Find out or plan how/where/when each item will be reused or recycled. Keep an inventory of purchases with a note recording the afterlife plan.  

Production supplies and material 

• Collect details of build materials purchased and used from all suppliers, as well as anything bought directly by the procurement department and give guidance for provenance standards which avoid deforestation, human rights abuses and pollution to the environment. 
• Events can create a strategy with timeline and targets to reduce materials usages and increase reuse / reclamation. Incorporate monitoring as a part of this, for instance through using a Materials Flow Analysis. 
• Extend the strategy to contractors, exhibitors and visiting artists and performers (e.g. through contractual obligations).
• Wherever possible reuse materials and existing equipment and sets, and ensure an afterlife for all items that are created or used on the event. A sharing economy between event industry organisations needs to be further fostered and networks established to avoid the common purchasing and waste cycles that occur on many events.  

Solid waste and recycling:  

• Prior to any event complete a full materials flow analysis connecting material users with the waste management teams and facilities that are available to the event. Use this to ensure a closed loop for all materials with minimal waste, maximum reuse and high recycling and composting rates. 
• Ensure that materials brought to site match the bin and labelling provisions on site and the waste facilities where they are taken. 
• Ensure that staff are trained and informed about the waste management plan, including litter pickers, catering staff, security, site and production teams.
• Match signage to the waste stream that is being handled and the facilities where they are being taken for processing.  
• Greater visibility of segregation efforts for visitors and participants can be beneficial for events sustainability messaging and positive influence.

Water Use, wastewater and sewage 

• Explore strategies to reduce municipal water use, such as collecting and using rainwater in more permanent settings, and using low water systems such as vacuum and compost toilets, and water efficient push stop taps.  

Measuring, monitoring, and management 

• Implement systems to capture data throughout the planning and implementation stages to allow for a more complete picture.  
• Focus on those activities that are expected to have the most significant GHG emissions, offer the most significant GHG reduction opportunities, and are most relevant to the event’s goals. 
• Balance Residual Emissions: These are emissions that can’t be avoided. It is recommended for permanent removal of carbon emissions made by the organisation’s activities that cannot be avoided.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion 

• Have a communication plan around distribution and messaging to encourage as many responses as possible. The communication methods should vary for different demographics. 
• Share the survey link and/ or access to the survey multiple times, in multiple formats.  
• Use multiple channels/ mediums to suit the different ways people engage with content. 
• Support line managers /group leaders with tools/instructions on how to encourage participation (make them advocates to encourage survey participation). 
• Set diversity targets and inclusion metrics prior to developing a survey. This will help ensure the development of the right questions, that solicit the responses required in order to measure and analyse the results against any targets. 
• Plan sufficient time post-event to submit a feedback form to all those that participated. This could refer back to the original survey and to the policy in order to help the event more fully demonstrate the outcomes and the impact and check if targets had been met. 

Implementing event EDI strategies 

• Engage with EDI specialists/consultants from the beginning of a project to help guide and deliver on strategy in planning, delivery and implementation of EDI activities. These expertise are priceless and will help guide you to meet your EDI objectives. 
• From the beginning of the project, decide how you will monitor the project.  
• Never make EDI an “add on” activity. EDI should run through the core of everything you are executing (in the same way sustainability is considered at every step of the planning and delivery process) whether that’s writing a job description or project brief or writing policies or codes of conduct.  
• If you are seeking to obtain metrics, have an idea of what you want to measure from the start. Reflect on why you want a particular set of measurements or data and consider what you will do with the results. At every step, think about your why.  
• Try to use a benchmark to measure yourself against. If one doesn’t exist yet, still monitor your results as accurately and sincerely as possible so that you can create your own benchmark to build on year on year. Share the results with your industry. 
• Ensure you have an EDI policy that is meaningful, reflects the values of the organisation and other stakeholders and is aspirational but achievable. 
• Always have a code of conduct! 

Images: Platinum Jubilee Pageant