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ASM Global sets ambitious sustainability target

The company is "raising the bar" by pledging to convert its venue portfolio into the most sustainable collection in the world

By James Hanley on 27 Mar 2023

Rob Bension, ASM Global

Ron Bension


ASM Global has announced an aggressive plan to convert its venue portfolio into the most sustainable collection in the world.

Through its corporate social responsibility platform, ASM Global Acts – and in partnership with Honeycomb Strategies – the company says it will dedicate its full resources to achieving measurable results using a comprehensive tracking system, “intended to reflect that scale and create substantial collective impact on every continent it operates”.

ASM already boasts the largest collection of certified green venues with more than 40 throughout the portfolio, and the firm’s global president and CEO Ron Bension says it is “now raising the bar even higher”.

“This entire program will be integrated into all of the relationships with our existing and future clients as part of our intrinsic ASM Global DNA,” says Bension. “As we stated when we first partnered with Honeycomb Strategies last summer, demand from our established and newer clients for state-of-the-art sustainability innovations has been consistently increasing. We are now in a position to work with them and lead the industry in this incredibly important space.”

ASM has committed to reduce energy consumption by 25% for all its venues, as well as achieving 20% of all energy consumed through renewable energy sources by 2025. It has also set the targets of being carbon neutral by 2050, diverting over 50% of waste overall by 2025 and eliminating single-use plastic in front of house, also by 2025, and reducing water consumption by 25% by 2030.

“The project has already begun. We’ve selected a group of pilot venues across size, type and continents that have begun reporting against the goals”

In addition, it will award 50% of its reportable spend to suppliers adhering to its environmental purchasing policy by 2030, and is bidding to increase plant-based menu options by 35% by 2024 within its Savor food division venues and decrease food waste by 75% by 2026 in those venues.

“The project has already begun,” adds Lindsay Arell, one of Honeycomb Strategies’ two principals. “We’ve selected a group of pilot venues across size, type and continents that have begun reporting against the goals. The aim is to add additional venues at a fast pace to obtain important baseline information for 2023.”

ASM has partnered with WeTrack, a SaaS company that provides planning, sustainability goals and operations solutions. The WeTrack system has been developed to help customers track progress on sustainability, ESG and CSR initiatives.

ASM Global venue ambassadors will each have a system set up for them with common indicators that ASM Global wants to track along with venue goals specific to the community in which they operate.

 


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