IMEX has released the 2021 edition of the sustainability report on IMEX America.

Prepared by IMEX’s sustainability partner, MeetGreen, the independently-verified report makes public the show’s energy use, food and beverage, materials consumption and reuse, community impact, and more. It also benchmarks each edition of the show against industry best practices such as the Events Industry Council’s Sustainable Event Standards.

• Achievements detailed in the 2021 report include:
• The show achieved its highest landfill diversion rate to date of 95 percent. This along with recycling, composting and donation efforts meant the show achieved the industry threshold for a “zero-waste event.”
• 100 percent of carbon emissions from host venue MGM Convention Center were offset
• Carbon emissions menu coding and expanded plant-based options helped reduce carbon impact and water usage
• Efficiencies gained in carpet management meant only one percent of carpet was sent to landfill; the rest was either returned to inventory or recycled
• The IMEX team experimented with new materials in some areas of the show such as Neenah conVerd paperboard and 100 percent polypropylene carpets

In recognition of these achievements, IMEX America has been awarded MeetGreen’s Visionary Award for sustainability. The award recognizes organizations that “lead within their own industry, prioritize measurement and work to move the sustainability dial. Research and develop new initiatives to improve environmental performance and use their buying power to drive change with venues and vendors.”

“At IMEX, we’ve always set our sustainability sights high – for everything we do, we look at ways we could do it more sustainability and more regeneratively,” says Carina Bauer, CEO, IMEX Group. “This can only be achieved by robust measurement, and we’ve partnered with MeetGreen since the launch of IMEX America to evaluate our efforts and challenge ourselves to do better each year. We’re also proudly committed to the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative and will publish our pathway to net zero by the end of 2023.

“Our show is designed to recognize and champion all areas of sustainability – we know that event professionals are keen to learn more about how they can implement planet-friendly practices into their own events. They’re also mindful of their own carbon ‘spend’ both personally and professionally. IMEX America this October has been designed to address those needs head-on as well as providing a high-level, high-value business experience.”

Download the IMEX America 2021 Sustainability Report HERE.

More information on how the IMEX Group approaches sustainability can be found HERE.

IMEX America 2022 takes place at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, and opens with Smart Monday, powered by MPI on Monday, October 10, followed by the three-day trade show, October 11-13.