About
The Sustainable Wedding Alliance is here to help you build a business that you’re proud of, one that has sustainability at its core and that balances people and planet. On this page you can find out more about who we are, why we do what we do and what impact we’re having.
What is the Sustainable Wedding Alliance?
Our Mission
The Sustainable Wedding Alliance’s mission is to drive change to create a more sustainable wedding industry. Raising awareness and tackling climate change and attitudes, by proactively encouraging businesses to develop future thinking strategies and make responsible decisions.
We believe that we are trustees of this planet and it’s our duty to not only make sure it survives but thrives. We respect not only the planet in our care but all those that live on it.
We support all businesses in the wedding industry and treat our social and environmental impact as a primary measure of success for our business, and prioritise it even in cases where it may not drive profitability.
Our Values
As a purpose driven business, our values are such an important part of who we are and what we do.
We act with integrity at all times | We respect our planet and all that live on it | We promote collaboration over competition | We are open and honest in our communication | We embrace change, new ideas and approaches | We are continuously learning and improving | We empower our communities, giving them the confidence and support they need to thrive
Michelle | Founder & CEO
I’m Michelle, hi! I’m the Founder and force behind the Sustainable Wedding Alliance. I’ve been working in the events and wedding industry for over 20 years, running, producing and curating weddings and events for a diverse group of clients and couples. Having been a business owner since 2009, I understand the challenges that companies face from all sides of sustainability, balancing people, profit and planet.
Before I founded the Sustainable Wedding Alliance, living sustainably had been a personal passion of mine for many years. Starting around the time I had my first child, I became more and more aware of the throwaway society we were living in and wanted to make a change both to the way we’re living our lives, but also to the way I was planning events for my clients. Fast forward a few years and I’m proud to say that it became a core focus in both my personal and working life.
As with so much of sustainability, the world is ever changing and to ensure that I can keep the Alliance at the forefront of these changes I’m also a proud Associate of the Institute for Environmental Management & Assessment.
Why did you start the Sustainable Wedding Alliance?
I started the Sustainable Wedding Alliance in response to the number of businesses I was working with in the wedding industry that wanted to become more sustainable but just didn’t know where to start.
The downtime that the pandemic forced on the wedding and events industry gave me the time and headspace to be able to develop the Alliance. It was clear to me that there was a need for a place that people could come together, learn about how they could make their businesses more sustainable, share their experiences and help each other.
Emma | Community Manager
I have worked in the Events Industry for over 20 years now, which makes me sound really old but honestly I’m not. Since then I have organised various different events all over the world, got married and have had two children and also own a fluffy pooch called Max. The skill set you develop planning events is so varied. Not only do you need to be super efficient and very organised, you need great communication skills, all qualities you can transfer across to another job. When my priorities shifted to my family so did my work focus and therefore I decided to go it alone and find work that fitted around my life not the other way around.
And this is how I ended up working for the Sustainable Wedding Alliance. Me and Michelle met all those many moons ago in the events world and shared our love of organising and when Michelle needed support organising everything behind the scenes, I was able to help her so that she can get on and do her amazing job as the Founder.
We made a GREAT team back then and we still do now and I have THE best job as the Community Manager, as I get to work with incredible businesses everyday, all of whom are passionate about doing their bit for the planet.
Why should your business be sustainable?
Being sustainable isn’t just about reducing waste or energy consumption, it flows through everything we do, in our businesses and in the weddings, we produce.
The most common thing we hear when talking to business owners is that they want to be more sustainable, but just don’t know where to start. There is so much in the media about being green, but in reality, it can be a little overwhelming.
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” Robert Swan
Equality and Diversity
We are committed to equality and to providing a service and following practices which are free from unfair and unlawful discrimination.
We value people as individuals with diverse opinions, cultures, lifestyles and circumstances.
We are committed to providing services to which all clients are entitled regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, offending past, caring responsibilities or social class.
We commit to displaying positive imagery of all types of people and all types of weddings.
Our services are delivered equally and meet the diverse needs of our service users and clients.
Code of Conduct
We have a strict code of conduct to ensure that we act with integrity and honesty at all times and expect all partners, sponsors and members to do the same.
I/We respond to all questions and enquiries within 48 hours.
I/We respect client confidentiality.
I/We are fully transparent and always honest.
I/We respect copyright from fellow professionals.
My/Our business is free from discrimination and encourages diversity, equality and inclusivity.
My/Our business insurance is up to date.
I/We always do the best job I/we possibly can.
Restoring our planet, together
For every new member that joins the Sustainable Wedding Alliance, we contribute towards tree planting and carbon offsetting projects across the world. We also offset any business based carbon annually.