UFI, the Global Association for the Exhibition Industry, hosts annual Sustainable Development Awards. The 2020 Award was designed to recognise companies that have implemented a successful waste management approach for exhibitions. ICC Sydney was selected as the winning entry “because of their comprehensive approach to the topic, the clarity of their road map, and their strong results”.
“Waste Management is one, if not the most important environmental issue of exhibitions.”
Philippe Echivard, Director of Environment and Security at Palexpo (Switzerland) and Chair of the UFI Sustainable Development Working Group, says, “Waste Management is one, if not the most important environmental issue of exhibitions and the extremely high level of the selected entries demonstrates that the industry can develop strong programmes in that area, as part of their overall sustainability strategy. Overall, the jury selected sixteen best practices, from thirteen different countries. ICC Sydney stands out for their full scope practical and successful approach.”
“As a venue we are committed to sustainability and fostering positive event legacies for our clients. We also recognise our responsibility to demonstrate leadership and make a positive contribution towards the waste crisis in Australia and the global exhibitions industry.”
Geoff Donaghy, CEO of ICC Sydney, says, “We are honoured to receive the UFI Sustainable Development Award for ICC Sydney’s waste reduction programme. As a venue we are committed to sustainability and fostering positive event legacies for our clients. We also recognise our responsibility to demonstrate leadership and make a positive contribution towards the waste crisis in Australia and the global exhibitions industry. Delivered via multiple initiatives, our programme targets key waste management issues which has been critical to its success. We look forward to expanding the programme, guided by lessons learnt, to continue to create ongoing positive waste management outcomes.”
Some of the venue’s achievements include:
- 86% of waste diverted from landfill
- 37% reduction in waste produced, compared to the previous year
- 7 870kg of excess food, equivalent to 23 610 meals, was donated to charities
- Produced 80.48 MWh of green energy from organic waste
Five other finalists were also commended for their strong entries. These are: Greenbuild (USA), the only “single exhibition organiser” among the finalists, Olympia (UK) and RAI Amsterdam (The Netherlands) for their long-standing commitment to zero waste, and ADNEC (UAE) and Stockholmsmässan (Sweden) for their recent accomplishments in this area.
ICC Sydney’s entry and those of the other finalists are all available for download at www.ufi.org/sdaward, making them useful resources for those who wish to implement more sustainable waste management practices within their exhibition business.
