The Millennium Stadium has received a special honour at the 2011 International Sports Event Management Awards to further boost its sustainability credentials.

The award for Environment Sustainability was won by Cardiff’s multi-event venue, which is owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union.

Dubbed the ultimate meeting of sports events professionals, the annual ISEM Awards recognises the outstanding work carried out by professionals in the event management sector.

The Awards followed a two-day ISEM Conference which attracted a host of top industry speakers including London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games CEO Paul Deighton and Chairman Lord Sebastian Coe.

Millennium Stadium Facilities Manger Darren Crossman, who heads up the stadium’s sustainable development, accepted the award at a special ceremony in London’s Wyndham Grand Hotel.

“The Environment Sustainability Award is a great honour for the Millennium Stadium, which has made huge strides to improve its sustainability credentials throughout 2011,” said Mr Crossman.

“It has taken a lot of hard work to make it possible for us to win this award and, as the stadium is now over twelve years old, our sustainability pledge has not come without some major challenges across the organisation.”

He added: “I am extremely proud and happy to accept this award on behalf of all our staff and stakeholders as we continue to take major steps to improve the social, environmental and economic impact of the high-profile events at the Millennium Stadium.”

The ISEM Award follows the exciting news that the Millennium Stadium is the UK’s first stadium to be awarded British Standard certification for Sustainability Management Systems for Events (BS8901).

WRU Group Chief Executive Roger Lewis said: “The Millennium Stadium continues to prove itself as an industry leader in sports event management and provides a major contribution to the promotion of Welsh rugby across the world.

“This top industry award recognises the hard work behind the scenes at the Welsh Rugby Union and reminds us that in order to build for a brighter future, our success must be sustainable.

“Over the past 12 months the introduction of a sound environment and sustainability policy and a major investment in our technology infrastructure to improve customer experience has established the home of Welsh sport as a leading brand and I am extremely proud of the honour at the International Sports Event Management awards.”