Conference and events organiser AIM Group International has signed the “Net Zero Carbon Events” pledge, a joint commitment across the events and meetings industry to achieve the targets laid out in the Paris Climate Accord. The pledge commits organisations to achieve “net zero” by 2050, at the latest, and halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

“We are convinced that achieving a sustainable long-term and prosperous future for the events industry depends upon finding new ways to meet, learn and engage that support the continuing health of our planet” explains Annalisa Ponchia, Innovation Director of AIM Group International. “We believe that such change can only be achieved collectively, by combining our efforts, and are committed to joining our industry peers on this challenging but crucial journey.”

The “Net Zero Carbon Events” pledge is the result of global collaboration throughout the events industry. Over recent months, facilitated by the Joint Meeting Industry Council (JMIC), more than one hundred stakeholders from across the sector drafted and finalised this commitment with the support of UNFCCC Secretariat (United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change).

The pledge was presented at the Global Climate Summit COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 10. At the time of launch, there were more than 100 signatories, making this the most global and inclusive collaborative action tackling the challenges of climate change within the events sector.

By signing the pledge, AIM Group is committing to publish their pathway to achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest, with an interim target in line with the Paris Agreement’s requirement to reduce global GHG emissions by 50% by 2030. This work has to be concluded by the end of 2023.

Annalisa Ponchia explains: “AIM Group will involve all partners and suppliers and collaborate with clients to drive change across the entire value chain. To track the progress towards the targets, AIM Group will measure and track its emissions of Greenhouse Gases according to industry best practice and report on its progress at least every two years.”

The Net Zero Carbon Events initiative brings together a wide range of event industry stakeholders to:

The next step of the “Net Zero Carbon Events” initiative is to develop the roadmap which will support the objectives outlined in the pledge.