Meetings and events industry leaders will explain how they plan to drastically reduce the sector's carbon emissions at COP27 this month.
The Net Zero Carbon Events Roadmap will be presented on 11 November – Decarbonisation Day, at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The
event will also be live streamed. Those who intend to watch the launch online can register for free.
The roadmap forms part of the Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge, a sustainability initiative set up by the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) in 2021. The Roadmap will help guide the business meetings and events sector to achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest.
As it stands, 225 operators have already signed the Pledge which requires them to publish, by the end of 2023, their organisation’s pathway to achieve Net Zero by 2050. The pathway must also show how they will aid the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.
The launch event for the Roadmap will include presentations, panel discussions and Q&A
sessions covering: the
role of the events industry for societies and economies; Net Zero Carbon Events
– the meetings and events industry answer to Climate Change; the official
release of the Net Zero Carbon Event Roadmap and implementation of the Roadmap
in the months to come.
Among the industry leaders speaking
will be JMIC president James Rees, UFI CEO and JMIC board member Kai Hattendorf, and HKCEC managing director Monica Lee Muller.
Support for the initiative has grown from 21 organisations in 2021 to 409 today.
As part of the pledge, each organisation has agreed to publish its pathway to achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest, with an interim target to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030.
The soon-to-be-launched Net Zero Carbon Events Roadmap will include a comprehensive 80-page plan on how to implement action to achieve net zero alongside a 20-page executive summary.
JMIC president, James Rees, said: “Globally, there is an urgent need to accelerate the transition towards global net-zero emissions. The events industry can and should play its part in helping to deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement. That’s why the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative was set up.
“The initiative has made a strong start and we are building momentum. We’d welcome everyone not only to follow us on social media and to take part in the meeting on 11 November but also to sign the Pledge and join us.”
Rees added that registration is free of charge, but financial contributions are crucial to developing the campaign. To financially support the initiative, visit netzerocarbonevents.org/funding-opportunities/
The organisations contributing financially to the campaign are: Platinum Level - Freeman; Informa; Javits Center; Questex: RX and ufi; Gold Level – Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center; ICCA; Messe Munchen; Scottish Event Campus and SISO; Silver Level - ADNEC; Clarion Events; Emerald; IMEX Group and Tarsus; Green Level – APIC; Glasgow Convention Bureau; IAPC; MontECOlino; NBAA; Olympia London; OMEGA Group and Stockholmsmassan.
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
