22nd February 2022, UK: Lime Venue Portfolio has launched three new packages, as part of its Meetings for Change initiative, that put sustainability, mindfulness, and wellness at the forefront of the meeting experience. The initiative has been put in place following findings from the brand’s Beyond Food reports, specifically the chapter on Food & Mental Health, and the need to support mental health and create empathetic and reassuring spaces for delegates.
‘Mindful Meetings’, ‘Ways to be Well’ and a residential conference version of Meetings for Change, are available in selected venues within the portfolio and include incentive extensions, guides and advice on adapting meetings for modern living. Recent findings from a report within ‘Scientific Reports’, a medical periodical, called ‘Global prevalence of mental health issues among the general population’[1], show the prevalence of mental health issues within the population. Each of the Meetings for Change packages are designed to add more care into the meeting set up, whilst providing additional support for delegates before, during and after the meeting.
At the centre is food; Mindful Meetings uses Eco LEAP (Livestock, Environment and People) labelling on all products, highlighting which meals have a higher or lower environmental impact. The menus also include a higher percentage of plant-based dishes, British sourced fruit and vegetables, with no fruit and vegetable air freight produce and no single-use plastics.
Mindful Meetings also includes a complimentary ‘quiet, calm’ space for delegates to allow them to decompress before, during and after the meeting, as well as unlimited drinking water for hydration. Equally, Ways to be Well prioritises high nutrition and plant-based ingredients first, while also offering Lunch & Learn sessions with nutritionist Luxey Dayanandan and yoga with expert, Felicity Wood, adding further mindfulness dimensions to the meeting.
The residential Meetings for Change package focuses on sustainable food options including ethically sourced tea and coffee, served with Red Tractor Assured milk; buffet lunch, dinner and breakfast options that prioritise British seasonal ingredients, minimal food waste and plant-forward options; hydration stations that use fruit and vegetable peelings to flavour the water and reduce food waste, and the removal of single-use plastics as a further sustainable option. There is also an environmentally-friendly approach to the use of stationary; ‘take what you like, but only take what you need’.
Together, these packages mean that delegates can balance productivity with sustainability and mental wellness, to get the most out of the meeting. At the same time, they will be treated to food with great nutrition as well as great taste, sustainable, well-balanced, with more brain food to aid concentration, and lots of space for those that want to exercise and take time out.
“This is about health; health for our delegates, our organisers and the planet,” comments Jo Austin, Sales Director, Lime Venue Portfolio. “The aim is to offer our customers a simple package that is highly credible and allows them to fulfil their own commitments to their guests, and their sustainability goals, by working with a trusted partner like ourselves.”