EVENT GREENING FORUM

Talk is cheap — It’s time to implement Net Zero Carbon Events, reveals EGF Workshop

Two years ago, the Net Zero Carbon Events (NZCE) Journey initiative began at a COP event in Glasgow.

Initially, the industry identified five areas where it could reduce its carbon footprint: venue energy, food and food waste, logistics, smart production and waste management, as well as travel and accommodation.

Since then, the initiative has gained over 750 signatories. The focus is on implementing changes that organisations are comfortable with and can easily adopt to encourage the industry to take the first step in becoming more sustainable. This was explained by IFES Vice President and Holtmann+ chief executive officer, Jörg Zeissig during an Event Greening Forum (EGF) workshop titled ‘Building Better NZCEvents, Together’ on 8 August 2024.

Now, it’s time to put this knowledge into action. Mr Zeissig emphasised the need to move beyond discussions and start implementing changes globally. But to do this, a baseline or standard is required.

A master database containing best practices and emerging trends within the industry will help improve the scalability and adoption speed of sustainable event planning. Mr Zeissig highlighted the importance of collecting reliable data from various industry partners to develop this database.

He also pointed out that there are still a lot of information gaps, especially in the exhibition space, which is just a part of the larger MICE umbrella. “There’s a lot of information around sustainability in the construction industry, for example, but that only covers 60 per cent of what we do in the exhibition space. Efforts to fill these gaps are crucial.”

Mr Zeissig noted that while the database contains carbon equivalent information, there is a need for clear definitions of items (e.g., which furniture can be reused and how often) and information on their readiness for use. He mentioned that there are 60 different solutions that, despite being identified, have not been ready for implementation due to various reasons.

“We should be providing each other with incentives and tenders to enable our industry,” he said. “Initiatives like these depend on our collaboration to work. We have to train each other, share information with each other, and establish industry best practices together.”

And while he acknowledged that the applications of this information won’t always work for everyone, it creates a baseline that everyone can start from and build on. “We don’t want to create any hesitation around wanting to make things better and moving towards a more sustainable environment. Once we have a central database, we can take those behaviours and easily translate them into other ecosystems,” he concluded.

About us

The Event Greening Forum is a non-profit organisation that promotes sustainability within the business events sector. To find out more, please visit www.eventgreening.co.za

For more information, please contact: Lynn Mcleod

Tel: 082 891 5883

Email: lynn@eventgreening.co.za