FRANKFURT, Germany — At IMEX Frankfurt, the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and the Strategic Alliance of the National Convention Bureaux of Europe (SANCBE) announced Convene 4 Climate. The new event, slated for Oct. 2-3 in Barcelona, will target influential sustainability leaders for its curated programming.
In efforts to move toward long-term profitability, climate impact mitigation and generate optimism as a movement, Convene 4 Climate will focus on the three themes of Reimagine, Inspire and Movement.
“As Convene 4 Climate is an inaugural event, this is the first time we are intentionally bringing together the business events industry, along with adjacent sectors to meet and collaborate for action in a workshop, solution-driven environment. Exploring this model in a highly curated audience will allow for quality of the interactions between communities – and most importantly, solutions,” said Sherrif Karamat, CAE, President and CEO of PCMA and CEMA.
Through the development of actionable strategies, meaningful discussions, workshop environments and collaborative problem-solving, the new event will aim to drive responsibility, deliver transformative solutions and harness the power of technology to address the ongoing challenges of climate change.
“The workshop-based environment will include lasered-focus content to allow for the exploration of tools, technology and skills to enable our community, and adjacent sectors to make better decisions in relation to the challenges we currently face,” Karamat said. “Participants will include a global audience to ensure that the discussions welcome varied perspectives, so we can explore future scenarios, growing knowledge and creative solutions around the intersection of climate-tech and the world of business events.”
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When it comes to addressing climate change, there are plenty of areas to focus on for trade show organizers.
“We believe there are several areas where our community can contribute,” Karamat said. For example: Sustainability by design — incorporating sustainability as event KPIs to ensure it influences decisions across project areas. This should guide a design transformation, focus on reduction and other strategies to minimize environmental impact. And, shared responsibility — find the partners you need to deliver on your objectives.”
If you are interested in participating in the event, you can submit an Expression of Interest to stay up to date on the event’s information.
“We want to ensure we have a balanced mix of professionals who have sustainability/ESG role along with industry leadership. We also recognized that we must go beyond the global business events industry and collaborate with adjacent sectors who have are making a positive impact/addressing the current challenges. We welcome everyone to visit the event website and complete the online form to express interest. This is how we will deliver the latest event developments, including but not limited to content, registration and collaboration opportunities,” Karamat said.
