IMEX Releases Sustainability Report From 2023 Show

August 28, 2024

With 78 percent of global event planners confirming their organizations are planning to set net zero goals by the end of 2024 (AMEX 2024 Global Meetings and Events Forecast), the meetings industry seems clear in its intention to make a more positive environmental impact. Budgets and resources continue to remain tight however, so learning real-life lessons from other organizers—the full picture of what works and what can be improved— can save both time and money in the journey to net zero.

Ahead of this year’s IMEX America, taking place Oct. 8–10, the team has once again published a Sustainability Report revealing the successes, experiments and knowledge gained from last year’s show.

The report, produced with sustainability consultants MeetGreen, lifts the lid on the environmental activities and planning in the run-up to and during IMEX America 2023, sharing notable achievements in waste diversion and energy use, as well as highlighting all-important areas for continuous improvement.

Sustainability Report Highlights

Many of the sustainability efforts detailed in the report are distilled into Top Tips; following are three of the key ones:

The show was classified as a zero-waste event—the fifth edition in a row—with 93 percent of event waste diverted from landfill into compost, material recycling, and donation channels. This includes nearly five tons of recovered event materials, office supplies, and furniture donated to those in need in Clark County.
- Top Tip for Planners: Work with your host location to find local charities who need and can benefit from surplus materials, be it food, furniture or plants.

Around 90 percent of all signage and banners were saved to use again over the next three plus years. 
- Top Tip: Consider what materials you can reuse and how – remove dates from your signage to make it evergreen and reusable year after year.

The show was powered by an estimated 132,000 kilowatt hours of renewable solar energy, reducing approximately 95.5 metric tons of event emissions.
- Top Tip:  Opt for LED lights, solar energy and energy-efficient equipment. Ask your suppliers; many venues can offer renewable energy at the flick of a switch.

In a small but significant change for IMEX America 2024, the team has successfully sourced a new craft paper material to replace the plastic badge holders for all 15,000+ participants, marking another step for IMEX’s goal to reduce single-use plastic. Lanyards continue to be made of organic cotton, a sustainable material which uses less water in production than regular cotton. At the end of the show, the badges and lanyards are shipped to TerraCycle, where they are separated for recycling.

Notes Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group, in a media announcement: “At IMEX, we’re firm believers in sharing what we learn.  After all, it’s only by being transparent, working together and sharing best practice that the global business events industry can make meaningful progress towards reducing its collective environmental impact.

“This report represents an opportunity to share our successes and our challenges with the wider industry so that they can take what we’ve discovered and weave these into their own events. It’s also part of a wider aim to ensure our organization and our events deliver a more positive impact – embedded within our pathway to achieving net zero events by 2030 and within our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategy.”