SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt — On Nov. 11, Net Zero Carbon Events will launch its official Roadmap at the United Nation’s Climate Change Conference, COP27 at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The Roadmap lays out the framework for events companies to achieve net zero carbon by 2050.
“Last year, at COP26, we launched the Net Zero Carbon Events Initiative with the pledge stating what we want to achieve as an industry,” UFI CEO and Managing Director Kai Hattendorf said. “Now, one year later, more than 400 industry players have collaborated to answer the question on how we will be able to achieve that. The Roadmap charts the course for us for the years ahead. It is based on the collective input and experience from hundreds of event industry players from around the world, and it is written in a way that the global climate policymakers can easily understand, as we will need to work with other sectors on the implementation.”
The initiative’s goal is to bring together the industry stakeholders to develop common measuring systems and reporting mechanisms, communicate the industry’s commitment to sustainability and creating an industry-wide plan for reach net zero by 2050 and emissions reductions by 2030. You can sign the Net Zero Carbon Events pledge here.
“I really want to encourage every organizer, big or small, every venue, every service provider, everyone, to join in,” Hattendorf said. “This initiative is recognized by the United Nations as the event industry’s collaborate voice and action. It is the famous ‘seat at the table,’ something we have always asked for as an industry.”
Along with the launch and publication of the Roadmap, there are presentations, panels and Q&A sessions on the agenda. The role of the events industry for societies and economies and the implementation of the Roadmap will be among the topics discussed during the session.
“Like every industry, we will be seen by our customers and stakeholders either as a part of the problem around climate change, or part of the solution. Frankly, if our regulators were to see events as part of the problem, our very ‘license to operate’ as an industry would be under threat. We know that, by bringing people together at our market places and meeting places, we save them a multitude of additional trips they would have to make to connect with their customers and colleagues. You may say that we act as carbon aggregators. And we know how we can make sure our events become more sustainable and reduce their Green House Gases footprint,” Hattendorf said.
Those interested can register for and attend the official release of the Roadmap on site or online. Register for the launch here.
Reach Kai Hattendorf at kh@ufi.org
