Galvanising the global community to deliver hands-on social impact at a local level

By Roger Lehner, Senior Operations Executive at the IMEX Group and member of the Events Industry Council's Sustainability & Social Impact Committee

As event professionals, we’re all aware of the potential of events to positively impact the people and communities that interact with them. Through year-round partnerships as well as on-site activity, event organisers can mobilise large numbers of people and create meaningful impacts on the community in a number of different ways.

Since the launch of our first show over 20 years ago, we’ve worked with our destinations, venues and other partners to build long-lasting links with communities throughout our host cities – Frankfurt and Las Vegas. For several years, we’ve also had a dedicated area onsite at each show to champion sustainability. We’ve recently re-imagined and expanded this space to include social impact as well as regeneration and diversity.

The result is the IMEX | EIC People & Planet Village, which we launched at IMEX in Frankfurt in 2019. A hub for interactive education and conversations, the Village features a shared educational campfire area with sessions dedicated to regeneration, nature and diversity as well as the chance to take part in activities that support the host community.

The emphasis is on offering practical support, and at each show, we invite attendees to roll up their sleeves and get involved, often creating something tangible where they can see the results unfold in front of them.

At IMEX America last year, for example, hands-on activities included:

• Assembling hygiene kits for Clean the World using leftover hotel amenities. Over 5,000kg of kits have been assembled at IMEX America and donated to vulnerable local communities over the years.
• Constructing a special play space for Luna, a local Las Vegas child with paediatric cancer, in conjunction with the KLH Group. Once complete, the clubhouse was delivered to Luna’s kindergarten ensuring that hundreds of children will benefit.
• Drawing a tree using design tool Piccles. For every tree drawn, IMEX planted a tree. A grand total of 1,000 trees were planted as a result and we estimate that each of these trees is anticipated to sequester between 10 kg to 40 kg of CO2e per year when fully grown.  

The current global challenges have repercussions at a very local level and we all have a responsibility – now more than ever – to take meaningful action, no matter how small, and make a difference.

IMEX America takes place October 11 – 13 at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nevada.