World’s leading exhibition organiser celebrates 30 years of business in the UAE

During UAE’s Year of Sustainability, Informa Markets reveals its raft of social and environmental initiatives

Spotlight on how sustainability is embedded in the content and connections throughout the company’s diverse portfolio of leading regional B2B events

Informa Markets, the world’s leading exhibition organiser, celebrates 30 years in the UAE this month during the UAE Year of Sustainability and ahead of COP28 – and to mark the occasion, the company reinforces its commitment to running sustainable events by revealing environment and social initiatives, as well as how its brands are embedding sustainability-related content and connections across its wide-ranging regional events portfolio.

Peter Hall, President of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Informa Markets

Peter Hall, President of Europe, Middle East and Africa, Informa Markets, said, “We are proud to be celebrating 30 years of business here in the UAE, home to our regional EMEA headquarters, during the UAE Year of Sustainability. This is a topic that is front of mind for our colleagues and our customers, so operating our business and our events in as sustainable way as possible is something we’re continually working on improving – and we are delighted to share some of the ways we are doing this as a company, and also as a partner to our customer communities by helping them to achieve their own sustainable development goals.”

In the UAE, Informa Markets uses 100% renewable electricity to power its events, as well as its offices, significantly reducing energy use and carbon footprint. It’s part of a broader set of commitments across the entire Informa company, called FasterForward, and the business as a whole is certified as a CarbonNeutral Company thanks to its work on cutting global scope 1 & 2 emissions by more than 70% since 2017.

Hall adds, “We are excited to have the crucial COP28 talks taking place here in Dubai this month, sparking a renewed focus on ESG in the region. As well as operating our business in an increasingly sustainable way, we’re making relevant sustainability content and connections part of what we deliver to our customers.”

At one of the company’s flagship regional events, Arab Health, which serves the medical community and takes place every year at Dubai World Trade Centre, exhibitors were encouraged to create their stand spaces more sustainably with an exhibitor reward scheme and a special award for the most sustainable stand. Visitors also had the opportunity to sign up to the government-run National Programme for Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation (Hayat), with over 1,000 people committing to the program.

Medlab Middle East – the specialised event designed to fuel medical laboratory growth across the region – introduced a new track to spark discussion and drive innovation around sustainability in the clinical lab setting. Sustainability in the Clinical Lab covered lab sustainability, environmental impact, sustainable practices in clinical laboratories and a panel discussion with industry experts on building a culture of sustainability within the lab.

Following its success, Sustainability in the Lab will return to Medlab Middle East in 2024.

The inaugural Lab Sustainability Awards encouraged action on a range of sustainable laboratory areas that link to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Medical diagnostics laboratories were invited to share their sustainable practices in the lab based on energy conservation, waste reduction, water conservation, green chemistry, green procurement and sustainable practices in the logistics/supply chain. The awards championed those who are already demonstrating leading sustainability practices to inspire others.

Elsewhere, Middle East Energy continues to support the energy industry in its successful transition to a more diverse mix of energy sources. This year’s event theme was Powering the Energy Transition. Conference topics included Financing Rural

Electrification, Financing Renewable Energy Projects, Women in Renewable Energy and Knowledge Capacity Building.

Mindful of the need for greater inclusivity in global energy supply, the event hosted speakers from the Rural Electrification Agency and UNESCO to speak about pathways to rural electrification. The event also included a special conference convened by Intersolar, which focused on renewable electricity.

And this year’s Dubai Airshow continues to play a key role in supporting the sustainable development of the aerospace industry, with a two-day sustainability conference stream that included talks, panels and discussions on topics including incentivising sustainable aviation fuel, creating a low-carbon aviation energy hub, preparing for carbon-neutral passengers of the future, financing airport decarbonisation and how to harmonise economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.