.jpg)
The IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organisers) launched a new Sustainability Strategy in Athens, Greece, at the 2026 Annual Meeting & General Assembly (AM&GA). This is a historic moment for the global meetings industry because it will transform how the world plans meetings for the better. This focuses on the first of many global environmentally-friendly and sustainable event management solutions. Along with the unveiling, IAPCO has also launched the first IAPCO Sustainability Award, provided a preview of the IAPCO Sustainability Toolkit, and will embark on a new focus for the business events industry, with the first focus on defining and measuring standards-based sustainable business practices.
The 2025 IAPCO Environmental Sustainability Study will
be the first of many IAPCO bold strategies and
the first bold step. Hence, it will be the first step to bold form
accountability on the environment in the meetings industry.
The IAPCO has established a formal structure to
align governance, advocacy, and education with international standards on sustainable development. This will be a global first in
the meetings industry, and for the first time in the meetings industry, with other key players in the
industry, IAPCO will be the first to
integrate and align global standards (ISO) and the first
to align (emission reduction) with global standards. These will
be the world’s first set standards on sustainable accountability in
the meetings industries.
Accompanying the
announcement of the initiative, the IAPCO Sustainability Award was
also launched, honouring notable achievements in sustainability, and recognising the most outstanding
excellence and innovation in event management.
This award has been made possible by Business Events Australia,
a strong collaborator for sustainable business events.
International Award for Sustainable Event Management
For the
first IAPCO Sustainability Award, IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 was given
the award for Remarkable Event Management Sustainable
Practice. This award is given for the positive impacts created by
events. This is achieved by the event management team incorporating
operations of the event with the UN sustainable development
goals (SDGs). It was the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 event
organisers’ advocacy towards sustainability and
positive measurable impacts in the areas of educating,
creating awareness, and environmental stewardship that
won them the award.
The intention of
the award is to enhance and improve sustainable business practices in
the meetings industry globally. This is primarily to
provide practical ideas and options for how to achieve responsible events.
The Sustainability Toolkit, which will be made available
in March 2026, will assist Professional
Congress Organisers (PCOs) in stretching
to reach the sustainability goals set by
the industry.
IAPCO’s new strategy incorporates the need for practical guidance, and educational and benchmarking support, as shown in the 2025 Environmental Sustainability Study. IAPCO acknowledges the specific issues confronted by each region’s event organisers by offering members the ability to assimilate best practices and compliance with international standards to their work.
IAPCO’s Commitment to Global Sustainability
The Sustainability Strategy goes beyond being a carbon footprint reduction roadmap for the meetings industry; it also highlights a growing need
for sustainable practices from the global meeting owners. IAPCO’s Sustainability Strategy keeps
the event management industry in line with sustainable development goals for a positive
and sustainable future for responsible events.
With the launch
of the strategy, IAPCO reiterates its
commitment to transparency and accountability. The strategy involves industry participants and aligns with
multiple international best practices of accountability.
This approach demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and
sets the stage for a legacy of sustainability within
the global meetings industry.
New Award Recognizes Pioneers in Sustainability
With many
applicable candidates, IUCN World Conservation
Congress 2025 is the first winner of the IAPCO Sustainability Award. They set the standard
for sustainable event management, especially in the
organisers’ pledges to use proven sustainability measures,
and the transparency about their environmental impact.
This recognition
is also a result of the partnership of Business Events Australia and Tourism Australia, and they took pride in being
associated with the first award, since they see the IUCN World Conservation Congress as an example of
the future of sustainable events. They
recognition of the Congress is
loud and clear, sustainability is a
requirement of the new normal in global event organizing.
The Award
Ceremony is IAPCO’s way of showcasing the
impact of sustainable event management. Most
of the global leading organisers attended the event, and it is a celebration of
the pioneers.
At the Core: Collaboration, Innovation, and Sustainability
To achieve goals
outlined in the Sustainability Strategy, IAPCO focuses on enhancing the ability to capture
and integrate international sustainability standards and
frameworks, to accelerate the global meetings progress and
the value of sustainability in the event management field.
As a Business Events Australia’s partner, she holds one of
the most significant roles in offering tangible materials and guides in the
overall simplification of the road to sustainable event planning.
With Athens, Greece, as our honoured first host, we launch
the first of the numerous strategies, along with toolkits and awards, to show our
commitment toward preserving the environment in
the business events sector.
Sustainability Events: A New Era
With the
growing IAPCO Sustainability Strategy, we interact more closely
with the adequate environment that is available in the event management field to keep updated with
the environmental demands that are reorganizing every
field. The opportunities offered by the first strategy are enormous to change
the event’s management system. It will initiate a worldwide
dialogue on the role of the meetings sector in
the global crisis of sustainability.
Scheduled to
launch in March 2026, the Sustainability Toolkit will provide PCOs with the most current resources needed to
help PCOs facilitate the change toward more environmentally sustainable practices. The IAPCO Sustainability Strategy has positioned PCOs to implement considerable change, with sustainable events expected to become the global
norm in the coming years.
Tags: Athens, Greece, IAPCO Sustainability Award IAPCO
