“With CHEQ, we are making the ecological impact of trade fair participation measurable and transparent,” says Christian Glasmacher, Vice President Corporate Development and Sustainability at Koelnmesse. “The tool provides reliable data that demonstrates the efficiency gains trade fairs yield for both businesses and the climate.”
According to a study by the AUMA – Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, attending a trade fair replaces an average of five business trips to customers, suppliers, and other partners. For international visitors, the average rises to eight trips. The reason: trade fairs allow meetings, discussions, and networking to be efficiently concentrated in one place. With CHEQ, Koelnmesse is now highlighting this substitution effect and making it individually transparent for each visitor by quantifying the specific carbon savings achieved.
“Travel is the largest climate factor for virtually all major public events,” explains Christian Glasmacher. “However, B2B trade fairs are unique in also offering this crucial networking and substitution effect, because as a trade fair attendee, I can meet the key players of my industry all in one place. If we want to discuss the climate impact of trade fairs honestly and constructively, we need to consider this positive effect. CHEQ allows us to do just that!”
Detailed evaluation – anonymous and free of charge
CHEQ is a web-based tool developed by Koelnmesse that invites trade fair visitors to record their journey to the fair by entering their starting point and chosen mode of transport. In a second step, they select from the exhibitor directory the companies they met at the fair, and which companies they would otherwise have visited individually. CHEQ then calculates the carbon footprint of their journey and compares it with the avoided emissions from the individual trips that did not take place.
The result is a concrete and personalised balance sheet showing how many carbon emissions were saved through efficient networking at the trade fair. The use of the app is anonymous and free of charge – no personal data is collected.
Largest pilot at Anuga 2025
After two successful pilot projects at spoga+gafa and Kind + Jugend 2025, CHEQ will celebrate its premiere at Anuga 2025, taking place from 4 to 8 October 2025, the world’s leading trade fair for the food and beverage industry. For the first time, the application will thus be available to around 140,000 visitors. With 94 per cent international exhibitors and 80 per cent international visitors, the audience is particularly global.
Mobility as part of a holistic sustainability strategy
Sustainability is one of the key pillars of Koelnmesse’s corporate strategy. By 2028, Germany’s third-largest trade fair organiser will have switched its energy supply (Scopes 1 and 2) to fully fossil-free technologies – through the use of green electricity, Cologne’s largest inner-city photovoltaic system, and its own geothermal energy supply. At the same time, Koelnmesse is working with service providers, exhibitors, and visitors to also consistently reduce indirect emissions (Scope 3). In addition to waste reduction and circular economy measures, this includes efforts to promote climate-friendly mobility for exhibitors and visitors.
These efforts incorporate expanding the e-charging infrastructure in parking garages and on parking decks directly on top of the exhibition halls. Koelnmesse’s smart logistics management system eSlot and the award-winning routing app NUNAV drastically reduce unnecessary waiting times, congestion, noise, and emissions during set-up and dismantling, as well as during the arrival and departure of exhibitors, suppliers, and visitors. To encourage sustainable travel for trade fair visitors, Koelnmesse also actively promotes the use of public transport – with the trade fair grounds directly accessible via Germany’s ICE high-speed rail network via the adjacent Cologne Messe/Deutz station. Tickets to Koelnmesse’s own events regularly include free use of the regional public transport network for the entire duration of the trade fair. In addition, Koelnmesse offers special travel packages for trade fairs in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn.
Explore more about Koelnmesse’s innovative measures here.
