Resource Steps Towards UK's First Circular Economy Conference Theatre

LONDON, February 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Edging ever closer to its zero waste goal, Resource (http://www.resource-event.com/) the world's only event dedicated to the circular economy will deliver the UK's first recyclable conference theatre this March (3^rd to 5^th March, ExCeL London).

Working towards ISO2012/1 certification for Sustainable Event Management for the second year, the Resource team are to use a semi-permanent theatre, the focal point of the event, which can be dismantled and re-used at other events.

The theatres are all built from reusable or recycled & recyclable materials. The podium of the show's #ThinkCircular theatre is being made from materials recovered from the Science Museum, crafted into a lectern by the craftsmen of charitable enterprise Goldfinger Factory.

The furniture for the theatre is completely remanufactured. For one theatre, chairs are being provided by Out of the Dark. The chairs will form part of its new office range of high quality, refurbished pieces. Out of the Dark is a charity that recycles and restores pieces discarded by others; training, educating and employing young people in the process. Out of the Dark will have a demonstration area of some of their amazing creations made from discarded 'end of life' furniture.

For its second theatre, specialist remanufacturer Premier Sustain will furnish the stage with resurfaced, repaired office seats and table. Premier Sustain will be fashioning a lectern from discarded office materials.

2014 was an important stepping stone in Resource's quest to become the world's first circular economy event, demonstrated by their receiving the ISO2012/1 standard. Resource, along with partner show Ecobuild, were the first events by organisers UBM to successfully procure 100% recycled paper for their event guides, which reduced the carbon footprint of the event by 28%. Resource also designed the theatre area using principles of the circular economy, each component that made up the theatre was reused, recycled or recovered. Furthermore materials such as MDF, cloth, wood and Perspex were sent to local schools for the design and technology department to prevent it from going to waste.

2015 will see new innovations and ideas, all with the focus and intention of reducing the waste of the event.

• Carpet will be reused from an event the previous week.
• The theatre built used is semi-permanent so can be reused.
• The walls of the networking lounge are completely made from reclaimed materials, collected by London Reuse Limited, designed and built by Goldfinger Factory
• There is an app available for visitors/exhibitors to interact and network digitally to discourage printing of business cards

Resource will also be working with Giving World, a charity who deal with the excess stock and materials responsibly and free of charge.

The effort and intrinsic level of attention paid to every material used during the event demonstrates event organiser UBMs commitment to improving the sustainability of its events by reducing the amount of waste produced as much as possible.

Stephen Gee, a founding member of Resource has said: "We aim to set vastly new standards for large events. This means trying new things, pushing our supply chain and stakeholders to do things differently, and ultimately, experimenting. We don't know how our visitors will feel about having no carpet in parts of the show: we're going to try it, and gauge the feedback. We're excited to be working with our partners to achieve a result that is not only more sustainable, but which is creative, interesting, unique and provocative!"

Resource will take place from the 3^rd to the 5^th of March 2105 at London's ExCeL. Please visit http://www.resource-event.com/ to stay up-to-date with the latest news and information.  

Contact: Louise Boulden, +44(0)20-7560-4465, louise.boulden@ubm.com