CHICAGO — Helen Sheppard, Global Sustainability Director at RX, gave Trade Show Executive the rundown on how climate change could affect exhibitions and how events professionals can meet the moment successfully.
ANDREW: How do you anticipate climate change impacting the events industry?
HELEN: We have probably already seen climate change impacting our events. We have extreme weather events occurring, not necessarily more frequently, but more ferociously, in different parts of the world.
Extreme heat in India has caused disruption to events and there has been flooding in Dubai … which is unusual for that part of the world. In the U.S., tropical storms in Florida are causing disruption.
We must expect that these extreme weather conditions can cause chaos at our events.
I also think that the industries that we serve are experiencing the negative impacts of climate change — that that’s where the event industry can support, because we have the opportunity to help our customers navigate those challenges … [and] be a knowledge partner to some of the industries that we serve.
ANDREW: How can organizers get ahead of or combat climate change’s potential issues?
HELEN: To a certain extent, you can choose where and at what time of year you hold your event. Some events happen in a particular location for a very specific reason, however. Make sure that your planning is very thought-through in case of unexpected events and know how to communicate clearly to your visitors and your exhibitors.
For organizers who want to focus on sustainability, I would suggest starting with the things that you can control … for example, does the event’s location have a good transport network to enable people to travel more sustainably?
You might want to look at the venue itself. Does it have renewable energy options? Are there locally sourced food options? I’m thinking about the Javits Center, because they’ve got their amazing rooftop garden.
After that, start looking at how you might be able to use your purchasing power to influence your suppliers and let your suppliers know that you want to deliver a more sustainable event. You could have conversations with suppliers about alternative materials … start with what you can control and then how you might influence your wider value chain.
ANDREW: Why should climate change be a priority for event organizers?
HELEN: Regardless of whether you believe that climate change is happening, you have to look at whether it’s important to your employees and customers. A recent survey at RX determined that climate change was personally important to 80% of our exhibitors.
We are going to see more of that: individuals recognizing that this is one of the most urgent issues of our time.
ANDREW: In your view, will climate change impact event planning? If so, how?
HELEN: There are potential impacts on the supply chain. The investor rating agency MSCI had a statistic about the amount of money that would be lost due to future scenarios of increasing heat: according to MSCI, by 2050, if CO2 emissions have risen sharply, the average logistics-warehouse worker in New York City could lose almost 50% more productivity to heat than they did in 2020.
This really struck a chord with me, because not only does our supply chain rely on warehouses, but our venues are a lot like warehouses. We might need to build in more time to allow for the buildup or the breakdown of events, because people might not be able to work for as long in these big warehouse-type buildings due to excessive heat.
ANDREW: What advice would you give organizers who want to optimize their events for sustainability?
HELEN: If you’re just starting out, look at the Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge website, because they have a great guide about how to start.
RX events that have been successful in terms of implementing sustainability strategies have had all the key stakeholders delivering the event in a specific sustainability working group — they come together and set their actions, and they meet regularly to talk about those actions progressing. They’ve built sustainability in from the very beginning and it’s not been bolted on at the end as an afterthought.
When it comes to delivering a sustainable event, it’s very much about giving yourself time to plan for it.
Think about how to make your event more visibly sustainable. Those visibly more-sustainable things might actually be low impact when it comes to changing the carbon emissions at the event, but they’re important and they might impact other aspects like waste or the engagement of your stakeholders.
Events have run without carpet, for example. That’s quite a bold decision and it might depend on the sector. It might work quite well for manufacturing events or B2C events. MCM London, for example, doesn’t have a carpet.
Make sure that you are communicating your actions to your customers and your visitors so that they are aware of all the initiatives that you’ve taken.
There are also things that are non-visible and far less glamorous, like implementing better waste sorting … trying to improve recycling rates and trying to encourage your exhibitors to be more sustainable in their booth building.
ANDREW: Are there any RX events that you would like to highlight for their sustainability features?
HELEN: We have quite a few events serving the construction and real estate industries … Particularly in Europe, they are facing a lot of regulation around decarbonization and there’s this appetite to be more sustainable.
The RX events in those sectors are really trying to push what they’re doing when it comes to sustainability. Batimat and MIPM have really tried to embed this sustainability strategy early on and think about those visible changes that they can make and also those non-visible changes.
The U.S. doesn’t have the same pressures from a regulatory point of view and the momentum isn’t quite the same as in Europe. However, because a lot of the events that we have in the U.S. are international events, we are seeing some of those industries, particularly those with large numbers of international exhibitors, helping to drive change.
Earlier this year, our ISC West show at the Venetian in Las Vegas decided to pilot a zero-waste initiative. The team worked hard to focus on waste reduction and improving recycling rates. A lot of that happens behind the scenes, backstage and in preparation for the event, and includes things like the packaging that the food is served in.
How can you have more compostable packaging? How can you bring materials into your event that you know won’t go to landfills, that could be recycled, reused or potentially composted? I’m really impressed with the teams and the engagement from our events in the U.S.
ANDREW: How do sustainability enhancements help events?
HELEN: There’s a reputational benefit, especially because the industry is really feeling the need to be more sustainable … and, for some, there will be cost benefits. If you can make your buildings more efficient and be more energy efficient, that should save money. Investments in renewable energy could ultimately pay off as well.
Events, for example, that have run without carpet have obviously not had to buy carpet and they’ve been able to invest that money in other aspects of the event.
ANDREW: Is there anything else that you would like to add?
HELEN: The really exciting thing about sustainability is the opportunity for our industry. We’ve got this huge opportunity to serve customers better by addressing sustainability and we’ve got huge opportunities to collaborate within the industry as well to innovate for more sustainable solutions.
Click here to learn about RX’s Net Zero by 2040 pledge, discover a selection of net zero stories, read their sustainability online magazine and more.
