The UN-backed Race to Zero campaign has updated its inclusion criteria to ensure members reduce and ultimately end all support for unabated fossil fuels. With organizations setting ambitious carbon reduction targets for their business travel and the purchasing of goods and services, there could be a significant impact on events.
Are Zero Waste and Emissions Festivals a Testing Ground for Sustainability in Events?
The circular economy has been called the new paradigm in sustainability. According to Alexandre Lemille, managing director of Anthesis Group, a sustainability services company, the term circular refers to products that do not produce future waste or pollution either directly or indirectly. Circular is not recycling, which minimizes the life cycle of an object. For […]
IMEX Frankfurt Asks Attendees to Take Pledge on Sustainability
As the business events community gathers in Germany for the 20th anniversary of IMEX Frankfurt, not only is there a focus on reconnecting after being away for two years but on sustainability as well. IMEX asked all in attendance to take its People and Planet Pledge, consisting of four simple actions including choosing sustainable food […]
Event Industry Sustainability Gap – Good Intentions Versus Action
The events industry joined together last year in a commitment to fight climate change as part of a Net Zero Carbon Events pledge signed at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow. Six months later, a report by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Cvent indicates that while there’s no lack of good […]
New Tech to Help Events Reach Net Zero
Much of the event industry has committed to becoming Net Zero, eliminating global greenhouse gases associated with events. New event-focused carbon management tools are intent on making the journey to net-zero easier than expected. Recently, Isla launched a “footprinting” tool, aptly named TRACE, designed to simplify event carbon measurement and reporting. At its core, a […]
Event Industry Faces These Challenges Getting to Net Zero
Microsoft has effectively increased the cost of attending your event, and there is little you can do about it. As the world warms, the pressure to cut carbon emissions is being turned up in boardrooms worldwide.
An Alternative to Carbon Offsetting for Events
While increased demand for eco-conscious products can sometimes push down costs by allowing economies of scale to develop, it can also inflate prices when that demand outpaces the growth in supply. For example, event planners might be able to purchase biodegradable tableware more affordably now as compared to ten years ago, but rocketing demand for […]
What Events Are Missing With the Climate Crisis
The event industry has been discussing climate change for a long time. “The biggest issue ahead is climate change,” said PCMA CEO Sherrif Karamat at PCMA’s Convening Leaders 2022. The truth is that the climate crisis is not ahead of us: We’re in it, and no reasonable scientist says we can stop it. So instead, […]
Will a Net Zero Pledge Really Change the Business of Events?
Over the years, governments, industries, and organizations have pledged to adopt terms like sustainability, carbon-neutral, eco-friendly, and net-zero. Language and ideation around these topics are regularly thrust into the limelight across various platforms around the globe, particularly around this time of year when the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) takes place. […]
IMEX CEO Confronts Sustainability and Other Events Challenges
Carina Bauer, CEO of IMEX Group, and Ray Bloom, chairman and founder of IMEX Group Lori Cioffi sat down with Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, to discuss IMEX’s long-term involvement with issues related to sustainability — and what changes she predicts will affect the industry in coming years as the demand for climate-sensitive […]