The Events Industry Council, in partnership with IMEX, awarded the 2019 IMEX-EIC Innovation in Sustainability Award to Global Climate Action Summit before an audience of hundreds of industry leaders at an awards gala during IMEX Frankfurt last night. The IMEX-EIC Innovation in Sustainability Award was designed to recognise event professionals who are driving sustainability forward through innovation, collaboration and idea sharing.

Global Climate Action Summit was recognised for bringing 5,000 leaders from around the world to showcase the great work being done by regions, cities, companies, investors and civil society to reduce emissions. The summit put forth a range of bold new commitments across five climate action areas, serving as a launch pad for deeper worldwide commitments and helping to realise key tenants of the Paris Agreement.

Global Climate Action Summit showed commitment to reducing environmental impact of the event and building a legacy of sustainability in event venues, throughout the City of San Francisco, California, USA and for future global conferences. Other notable achievements include:

Sourcing 100% GHG free hydroelectricity for the official venues;
Offsetting air travel emissions, a 90% waste diversion rate;
Sourcing climate-friendly menus; and Becoming the first organisation in the world to receive ISO 20121 certification by an accredited third-party certification organisation.

“Innovative approaches to sustainability are at the heart of the mission of the Events Industry Council,” said Amy Calvert, Chief Executive Officer, Events Industry Council. “In presenting this year’s IMEX-EIC Innovation in Sustainability Award, I am inspired by the actions and the leadership of our award recipient.” Receiving the award on behalf of Global Climate Action Summit were Jeffrey Wexler, Chief Operating Officer, and Jaime Nack, Head of Sustainability.

Congratulations to the Global Climate Action Summit for their contribution to sustainability in our industry and for earning the 2019 IMEX-EIC Innovation in Sustainability Award. There is an urgent need for climate action and for our industry to take a leading role. All event organisations are encouraged to endorse the Principles for Sustainable Events and to leverage the power of events to drive change globally.

Sam Hyland
Author: Sam Hyland

Sam is the assistant content manager for Event Industry News (EIN). Sam is involved in publishing news stories, videos and podcasts. Sam also collates the latest stories for the EIN e-newsletter. If you have a press release or story you think we might be interested to know about please email editor@eventindustrynews.com