The trade fairs, exhibitions and events industry has been working on becoming more sustainable for a long time. In the last 1,5 years, a co-creation effort was lead by the global umbrella organisations UFI and JMIC - Joint Meetings Industry Council which coordinated all parties providing input. The process resulted in a clear pledge for this industry. "Net Zero Carbon Events" is accredited with UNFCCC and was presented at COP 26 in Glasgow in 2021. 

The four commitments of the NZCE Pledge are:

1. Before the end of 2023, publish the organisation’s pathway to achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest, with an interim target in line with the Paris Agreement’s requirement to reduce global GHG emissions by 50% by 2030.
2. Collaborate with partners, suppliers and customers to drive change across the value chain.
3. Measure and track our Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions according to industry best practice
4. Report on our progress at least every two years.

As of today, the pledge has over 430 signatories and supporters, more than half of them from Europe. EEIA has provided input to the creation of the pledge and made sure it is in line with the provisions of the EU's Transition Pathway for the tourism ecosystem.
In a second phase, a roadmap to achieve these goals has been created, again in a co-creation process. It was presented at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheik in 2022.
For the third phase, 8 workstreams have been identified to deliver on the priorities identified by the Roadmap (Measurement, Reporting, Carbon offsetting, Venue energy, Production and Waste, Food and food waste, Logistics, Travel and Accommodation). 
 

All documents for the NZCE process can be found here: https://netzerocarbonevents.org/resources/ 

EEIA will continue contributing to the process from the European point of view and encourage all European Members to get engaged. Additionally, as Scope 3 emissions are to be included in our exhibition and event emissions calculations, we closely relate to the European players in the travel, accomodation and F&B industries.