Sustainable innovation is now gaining momentum in the events sector. Take Rotterdam – the city has several unique and sustainable venues, including the solar-powered Floating Pavilion and the Floating Farm, a working dairy farm. Hotels are rethinking design in order to connect guests more closely with nature – Singapore’s PARKROYAL on Pickering is nicknamed the ‘jungle hotel’ because it’s designed as a high-rise garden, with plants cascading from the exterior and interior walls. Even event giveaways – traditionally single-use plastic products – have morphed into healthy and biodegradable branded fruit.
IMEX is harnessing and celebrating this wide spectrum of innovation with the IMEX-EIC Innovation in Sustainability Award. Organisations making a significant commitment to reduce the environmental impact of their meetings and events are invited to apply for the Award, presented at IMEX in Frankfurt, to see that effort recognised and rewarded.
Last year’s winner, Global Climate Action Summit, was recognised for their commitment to reducing the environmental impact of their event and building a legacy of venue sustainability, throughout the host city of San Francisco, USA. The summit put forward a range of bold new commitments across five climate action areas, serving as a launch pad for deeper worldwide commitments and helping to realise key tenets of the Paris Agreement.