Event Production Show 2023 (EPS23) took place at the ExCel Centre, London last month 1-2 March: From the outset of show planning the EPS team put sustainability practices forefront as Vision: 2025 reported on last November.

By eliminating unnecessary waste, including removing printed assets onsite and all aisle carpeting, prioritising recycling, and a focus on engaging audiences in low carbon travel – and with the support of sustainable partners Event Cycle, You.Smart.Thing and ecolibrium, EPS made great progress on the sustainable goals they had set for 2023.

• Venue: the Event Production Show 2023 took place at ExCeL London, the first UK venue of its kind to be certified carbon neutral, achieving the internationally recognised PAS 2060 status.

• Lanyards: ID&C Wristbands provided bamboo recyclable lanyards for the event attendees.

• Event signage: EPS23 used digital signage to share information with attendees. Printed signage was recycled.

• Digital app: attendees were provided with all the show information via the EPS23 app. There were no printed assets on site.

• Carpet: all aisle carpeting was removed and replaced with floor stickers.

• Transport: EPS23 partnered with ecolibrium and You.Smart.Thing to help visitors plan a sustainable journey while reducing carbon footprint. The results were that:

• Overall, only 6% planned driving-only journeys, an outstanding achievement for B2B conferences.
• Total travel emissions extrapolated across all conference delegates (over 5,000 people) equated to 54.58 CO2e tonnes (the equivalent of 16 long-haul return flights)

• Recycling: recycling points were available around the venue.
  
• Water bottles and cups: delegates were encouraged to use refill stations located around ExCeL to reduce plastic waste.

Additionally, EP23 had sustainability as one of its central programming themes with seven sessions over two days focused on how the industry can come together to create a greener future for events together as well as highlighting the solutions that are already being successfully employed.

Save the date for the next Event Production Show, which returns to the ExCeL, London 28 – 29 February, 2024 and sign up to the EPS newsletter for news and programme announcements.