TSE Trends Report: Climate Change and Events

CHICAGO — Sixty-five percent of respondents to a survey by the International SOS Foundation said their organizations have been impacted by extreme weather in the past five years. As the impact and importance of climate change increase, trade show director (TSE) spoke to two sustainability thought leaders – Helen Sheppard, Global Sustainability Director at RX, and Alexandra Failla, Corporate Sustainability Manager at Diversified Communications – to discuss how global warming is challenging the events industry, and how professionals can succeed.

How will climate change affect events?

Activity interruption

“Extreme weather events are not necessarily happening more frequently, but they are more intense,” Shepard said. “The intense heat in India has disrupted activities and we’ve had flooding in Dubai… which is unusual for that part of the world. . Across the U.S., tropical storms are causing damage in Florida.”

Failla shared a similar sentiment. “An increase in severe weather events may cause disruption to event schedules, leading to event cancellations or restricted access to event venues in more vulnerable areas,” Faila explained.

productivity decline

Shepard said the increased heat could make it more difficult to host or cancel events, leading to higher costs.

“We may need to allow more time for a build-up or collapse of events because people may not be able to work in these large warehouse-style buildings for as long due to excessive temperatures,” Shepherd explained.

More expectations for sustainable planning

“Attendees expect and expect that organizers will adopt environmentally sustainable practices, and as environmental concerns intensify, this need will only increase,” Faila said. “As concerns grow about dependence on fossil fuels, demand for energy-efficient travel options and alternatives will grow.”

This also applies to exhibitors: Sheppard revealed that a survey by RX showed that climate change is very important to 80% of its exhibitors.

increase opportunities

Climate change creates opportunities for organizers to improve exhibitor and attendee satisfaction, increase revenue by improving efficiency and investing in sustainable strategies, and demonstrate the positive impact of events.

“What’s really exciting about sustainability is the opportunity for our industry,” Shepard said. “We have a huge opportunity to better serve our customers by solving sustainability issues, and we also have a huge opportunity to collaborate within the industry and innovate more sustainable solutions.”

Advice for organizers

1. Measure your impact

“Because we cannot manage what we cannot measure, we are increasing our efforts and resources to measure and track carbon emissions and waste at specific events this year to establish a baseline in 2024,” said Failla. “We hope to leverage this data to set benchmarks, monitor progress and set data-driven goals for the future.”

2. Start with a comprehensive strategy

“RX activities that have been successful in implementing sustainability strategies have all key stakeholders working in specific sustainability working groups – they come together to develop actions and meet regularly to discuss progress on those actions, ” Shepard said. “They incorporate sustainability from the start rather than locking it in as an afterthought. When it comes to hosting a sustainable event, the most important thing is to give yourself time to plan.”

3. Pay attention to visible and invisible changes

“Think about how you can make your event more sustainable. These things that appear to be more sustainable may actually have a small impact on changing the carbon footprint of your event, but they are important and may impact other aspects such as waste or benefits stakeholder engagement,” Shepard explains. “There are also things that are less visible and far less glamorous, like implementing better waste sorting… trying to increase recycling rates and trying to encourage exhibitors to be more sustainable in their stand construction.”

Reducing waste is a big focus for Diversified Communications, Failla said.

“Organizers are increasing the use of digital signage to reduce paper waste, choosing to use sustainable materials for signage and event structures, and minimizing the use of single-use plastics. We are also starting to work more closely with our supplier partners, Looking for more sustainable ways to operate. Some of our events are piloting more sustainable stand designs, built with reusable and recyclable materials, and the elimination of single-use plastics is more evident in our offerings to attendees. Carbon offset options for events.”

Want more advice on sustainable event planning?

Find Helen’s full Q&A here.

Find Alexandra’s full Q&A here.