With IMEX America scheduled for 8-10 October, the global organiser has published a sustainability report sharing its successes and struggles from last year’s show in Las Vegas.
Many sustainability efforts were broken down into ‘top tips’ from what the event did well. Here are three:
- The show was classified as a zero-waste event, for the fifth time in a row. 93% of event waste was diverted from landfill to compost, material recycling and donation channels. This includes 4,535kg of recovered event materials, office supplies and furniture donated to people in need in Clark County.
TOP TIP: Work with your host location to find local charities that need surplus materials – be it food, furniture or plants.
- Around 90% of all signage and banners were saved to use again in coming years.
TOP TIP: Consider ahead of time what materials can be reused. Remove dates from signage to make it evergreen and reusable.
- The show was powered by an estimated 132,000kWh of renewable solar energy, reducing approximately 95.5 metric tons of event emissions.
TOP TIP: Choose LED lighting, solar energy and energy-efficient equipment. Ask your suppliers to find out what resources they have available.
Another solution the show adopted was sourcing a new craft paper material to replace the plastic badge holders for all 15,000+ participants. Lanyards continue to be made from organic cotton, a sustainable material that uses less water in production than regular cotton. Badges and lanyards were shipped off to TerraCycle at the end of the show, where they are separated for recycling.
Additionally, following the Better Stands pilot at IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX will be using the same methodology at IMEX America as part of an industry-wide initiative to cut out ‘build and burn’ booths forever.
IMEX America will be held at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The event will be prefaced by Smart Monday, a pre-show education day, on 7 October. To register, click here.
