Festival Place wins global CSR recognition

Dedication to sustainability and environmental education in the local community has led to Festival Place winning a global award.

The Basingstoke shopping and leisure destination received a bronze award in the Retail and Wholesale Energy Reduction category of the International CSR Excellence Awards.

These global awards are presented to companies that use their position to help their colleagues, communities, customers, and the environment.

Key elements of Festival Place’s successful entry include:

• Environmental best practice: In 2023, Festival Place won its 10th Green Apple Award for Environmental Best Practice, having introduced numerous initiatives to reduce both energy and water usage.
• Commitment to wellbeing: A Giving Garden was created on an unloved patch of ground outside Festival Place’s Church Street entrance – a space where local people can connect with plants to support their mental health and wellbeing. Plants were selected to be beneficial to insects and bees, and Festival Place invited local schoolchildren to join in the planting.
• Engagement in environmental education: Festival Place introduced its own in-house Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) to allow for the complete segregation of cardboard, paper, glass, plastics, aluminium and other metals. The centre bought a large wearable outfit and named him Ed, which members of staff were trained to wear and interact with children from local schools. The on-site team also designed and built a mini MRF and invited schoolchildren to visit and discuss waste and participate in the recycling process. Festival Place has also joined with Basingstoke College of Technology to offer electrical apprenticeships where students design and work on energy saving initiatives.

Head of Operations Gary Cooper said: “This award would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the Festival Place team. This accolade rewards their ongoing passion to environmental best practice and community initiatives.”

The CSR Excellence Awards are run by The Green Organisation – an international, independent, non-profit, non-political environment group that began in 1994 to recognise, reward and promote social responsibility best practice around the world.