Rising to the challenge of Net Zero events

Why it is important to support net zero events? What steps are already being taken by RX to meet the challenges ahead and encourage all events to lower their carbon footprint? And what does a net zero event future look like? We asked some of our sustainability champions to share their thoughts and actions.

Penny Fraser, Sales Director, South Africa

RX’s net zero pledge is very important to me as we need to leave this world a better place for future generations – being a mom has made me even more aware of the damage we are doing to our environment and how this will affect future generations. I also want to work for a business is that is doing good and be proud of what we are doing to make the world a better place.

We recently partnered with Growing Paper, a South African company which creates bespoke recycled paper products for commercial and artistic applications. They made all the badges and lanyards for WTM Africa and ILTM Africa from recycled wastepaper embedded with seeds. We then collected them all after the show and donated them to our local communities to support them in growing their own vegetables, herbs and flowers, and becoming more self-sufficient.

Among the biggest sustainability challenges I face in my role is encouraging clients to use sustainable suppliers and materials to build their custom stands, and venues to more urgently pursue energy and waste management and measurement. This has definitely improved over the past two years but there are still huge challenges and opportunties to make sustainable options more affordable and available.  By making the best use of resources and technology I want to help inspire other businesses to be more sustainable thereby protecting the planet and ensuring that all people enjoy health, justice and prosperity.

Gareth Rapley, Portfolio Director, UK

As one of the world’s largest and leading event organisers, I think it’s important that RX takes a lead on sustainability, not only for our people, our industry, and our customers, but for the wider community. Sustainability is core to providing greater opportunities globally and enabling a world in which our children’s children will be able to live.

I’m particularly proud of RX’s collaboration with Elsevier at London Book Fair (LBF) to promote climate action and understand the emissions involved in attending and exhibiting events. We worked with Elsevier to design and build their stand, and measure their carbon footprint at LBF. This aligned with broader work we did within the event to shine a spotlight on sustainability and help the publishing industry to move forward in this space, through learning and dialogue.

I look forward to a time when we can monitor, measure, and accurately report that we are truly sustainable. I would also like to see our industry more commonly align itself through the broader lens of the UN’s SDGs, to understand how we are delivering against multiple goals, rather than just looking at sustainability through the prism of carbon emissions and net-zero.

Emily Beard, Event Operations Manager, UK

Sustainability is everybody’s responsibility and we all need to play our part in making the industry we are so passionate about more sustainable for the future.

I am currently the chair of the UK’s AEO (Association of Exhibition Organisers) Sustainability Working Group where we share best practises across the industry to work towards a more sustainable future within events. I am also one of the leaders for our regional internal RX Sustainability Hub focusing on how to make our events more sustainable. We recently surveyed our events across the hub to understand current sustainability initiatives and best practices. We are now focusing on some of the quick wins we can make standard across all our events as we work towards our net zero goals.

Getting buy-in from all event stakeholders is a challenge, especially when sometimes the most sustainable option is the more expensive one; but I’m hopeful that we can crack the code on cost effective sustainable measures that still deliver the wow factor that our exhibitors and visitors love to see.

Odile Richard, Marketing Manager, France

RX’s Net Zero pledge not only gives us strong commitments to adhere to; it also sets a high standard for our events and inspires us to change.

At MIPIM, our international property market, we see sustainability as achieving economic, social, and environmental development, fairly and equitably. Last year we wanted to create a platform for the younger generation who do not usually attend, and have them bring fresh perspectives for a more sustainable future. So, we launched the MIPIM Challengers initiative, allowing 16 professionals under 30 to be selected each year, participate in MIPIM, and take centre stage during a conference. It enriched the debates and added value to the wider industry. The first cohort was thrilled and very vocal on social media. We are now exploring ways to expand the initiative.

For me, the biggest challenge in sustainability is making it a cross-cutting issue to enable structural and bold changes. At MIPIM, we have a Sustainability Committee which brings together different departments under the leadership of top management. We have also launched a demanding Sustainable Exhibitors Pledge, which has started a conversation with our clients, and allows us to gather their feedback and learn from them.

I would love for sustainability to become an integral part of event planning and execution. Sustainability should be embedded in planning and event reports and considered in all business decisions. It should become a reflex, with social and environmental impacts given the same importance as benefits for our clients and the success of the event.

Stephen Steenson, Group Director of Operations and Event Production, Australia

RX’s net zero pledge is fundamentally the right thing to do. It is critical that we protect our planet’s future for the benefit of our children , our grandchildren, and future generations.

RX Australia has many passionate team members across all functions who are focused on making continued improvements to everything we do.  Year on year improvements in simple things like the reduction of bottled water used at venues is just one of many initiatives in place. For our upcoming Waste Expo Australia event, we have a’ Journey to Net Zero Waste’ target focused on no landfill outcomes for the show event days. Initiatives include QR codes to collect digital content instead of printed brochures; use of plant/silk based lanyards; stand packages that meet a sustainable reuse measurement; and a zero waste café - all aligned to a detailed exhibitor and visitor communication program driving the strong message of the RX Net Zero events journey.

I see an exciting future in which sustainable events are part of our culture, and standard operation practices that generate trusted data and outcomes. This will embrace the circular economy models of events where we not only reduce our carbon footprint bringing buyers and sellers together, but also inform and support more sustainable business practices across the industries we serve.  

Colleen Boyden, VP Operations, USA

I’m proud to be part of an organization that is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and forging a path to a more sustainable future. Committing to the Net Zero Events pledge will aid in reshaping and refocusing the events industry for the better.  I also have very young children, and I hope that with the efforts put forth by organizations like RX, we will provide them with a better “greener” world.

This past spring, our ISC West show partnered with MeetGreen (a sustainability consultant in the event space) and launched our first US show into a multi-year mission towards zero waste.  The goal for a zero waste event is to reduce waste as much as possible and that 90% of the remaining waste is diverted from landfill.  In its first year with this initiative, ISC West was able to get to a 77% diversion rate! In addition to having waste sorting stations throughout the show floor (separating waste, compost and recyclable materials), there was a team sorting waste back of house and they ended up pulling out 75 metric tons of waste that could either be recycled or composted. This initiative will continue on the ISC East event this fall in New York City, and I’m excited for other events to put in place similar waste diversion programs to get to that goal of zero waste.

I believe it’s hugely important to continue to educate our customers on the importance of sustainable events and to host our events at venues and with vendor partners that are committed to the initiative as well.  Some are making great strides already, but I’d love to get to a place where all of our venues are LEED certified and our vendors have a wide variety of recycled/reusable/compostable options for everything from booth builds to cutlery. I’d like to see further scaling back on printed materials by shifting to digital and for shows to prioritize zero waste across the board. There are a lot of very small shifts that can be done now to pave the way for a more sustainable future, and I’m excited to see the progress that we will continue to make as an organization in the coming years.

Discover our journey to Net Zero: