Sustainability our website rather than making them email or call us for it .
New to this year was the Resilience Room with Google Xi on the show floor . While we ’ ve implemented quiet spaces before , the Resilience Room was a new addition that addresses the specific needs of some attendees who need a supervised space to decompress .
Will you do anything differently next year ? We have revamped the whole People and Planet area , but we want to do a similar approach to the space we had previously . We ’ ve had the People and Planet area in the past but didn ’ t this year , and we had feedback from attendees who missed having a space to browse , learn , discover content sessions , and find out more about our sustainability initiatives . We also moved our signage around more of the show without reducing it . However , feedback showed that attendees missed having a central hub to find information .
A lot of recommendations will come from the Sustainability Event Report from MeetGreen , a sustainable event management agency , which we ’ ve worked closely with almost from the beginning of the IMEX shows . MeetGreen surveys and crunches the numbers post-show , which we receive a few months later as an in-depth report .
Why did you establish your partnership with MeetGreen ? We engaged with MeetGreen in 2011 to help our internal sustainable strategy in an organised way . The external assessment is also important to us , with MeetGreen being a body that can hold us accountable , put our sustainability efforts into the context of the industry , and see how we measure up on a general scale . IMEX America and IMEX Frankfurt have achieved MeetGreen ’ s Visionary Award for sustainability , which recognises our ability to lead the green conversation and practise what we preach .
How does IMEX support exhibitors ’ sustainability efforts ? We have two sustainability-led guides on our website for exhibitors and booth constructors which provide information on sustainable exhibiting , F & B , stand construction and management , travel to the show , and carbon offsetting . It also offers guidance on championing inclusivity , such as using pronoun badges . As we engage with our exhibitors throughout the year , we also provide further information and insights through these regular communications .
The guides also prompt exhibitors to join the People and Planet pledge , with us in return adding their name to the IMEX EIC People & Planet Theatre for attendees to see . Exhibitors who join the pledge also receive a green booth number and green badges for their team .
What lessons should show organisers take away from IMEX ’ s green journey ? Ultimately , we hope that all organisers take something away from our progress over the years . Especially for organisers and events that are just getting started on their sustainable journey ; we hope that we showcase easy steps that they can begin with . The IMEX ethos is ‘ we share what we learn ’, which is why we make our sustainability efforts and reports public – it drives conversation and inspires .
If all organisers create strong sustainability initiatives , as we have , the impact would be much larger on the industry than just the efforts of our show alone . EW
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 6 2023 37