We’re Now SWA Accredited: What This Means and What’s Next

We’re thrilled to announce that Dulwich College Events is now a fully accredited member of the Sustainable Wedding Alliance.

 
Accreditation isn’t handed out lightly. The SWA looks for genuine understanding, motivation and practical movement towards clear sustainability goals before awarding it, and we’re proud that our work over the past year gave them the confidence to say yes.
 

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What accreditation recognises
 
Behind the badge is a lot of groundwork. We’ve spent the past several months building out the systems and evidence needed to show that sustainability is embedded in how we operate, not just something we talk about. That has included:
 

Developing a carbon catering matrix that calculates the carbon cost of every dish we serve, using real recipe data and researched ingredient carbon intensity to inform improvements

Building a Scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon footprint baseline so we understand our starting point properly

Reviewing and tightening our sustainability policy so it sets out concrete commitments rather than vague intentions

Mapping and engaging with our suppliers, from catering and décor through to florists and AV, on their own sustainability practices

Creating a training and development plan so the whole team, not just one person, understands what we’re working towards and why

Documenting how sustainability runs through key parts of our events process, including our wedding lifecycle

Plenty more exciting, practical changes such as smart bins to weigh event food waste, full waste and water lifecycle management and more…

 

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It’s a checkpoint, not a finish line
 
We’re genuinely pleased to have earned this recognition, but the work doesn’t stop here. We have clear deadlines ahead of us and we intend to keep to them. Our three core commitments are:
 

Net Zero by 2035

 

90% of non-hazardous waste diverted from landfill by 2028

 

Sustainability options included in 100% of our proposals by Q3 2027

 
Over the next few months and years, we’ll keep making changes to how we work towards these goals, while maintaining the high standard our clients expect and deserve from us.
 

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What’s next
 
Accreditation was one major milestone in a longer process. Next, we’re focused on turning the systems we’ve built into day to day practice, tracking our progress against our goals, and continuing to work closely with our suppliers and with the College’s own sustainability team to reduce our impact across every event we deliver.
 

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We’ll keep sharing updates here as we go. If you have any questions about our sustainability journey, or you’re a supplier interested in how we’re working together on this, get in touch with our team.