- Initiator STEP and sponsor EUPD Research present the Sustainable Exhibitor Award among trade fair exhibitors for the first time in 2024.
- Only 25 companies out of around 3000 trade fair exhibitors will receive the award.
- IBC SOLAR receives gold status for its trade fair stand based on the Cradle to Cradle design principle and its strong commitment to sustainability.
Bad Staffelstein / Germany, June 19, 2024 – IBC SOLAR, a leading full-service provider of SOLAR energy solutions, receives the Sustainable Exhibitor Award for its sustainable exhibition stand at Intersolar 2024. The trade fair is considered one of the most important platforms for the new energy worlds and is the central point of contact for the entire industry. This year, for the first time, exhibitors who have demonstrably implemented a sustainable approach to their trade fair activities will receive an award. Out of around 3000 exhibitors, only 25 will receive an award.
For the third year in a row, IBC SOLAR is focusing on the topic of sustainability with its exhibition stand based on the Cradle to Cradle design principle. As a company that has always actively promoted the energy transition, IBC SOLAR is delighted to have been honoured with the Sustainable Exhibitor Award from the STEP Initiative (Sustainable Trade Events Partnership).
"We are very proud of winning this award," says Dr Dirk Haft, CEO at IBC SOLAR. "Since 2022, we have already achieved 98 percent recyclability by using natural, ideally single-variety products such as local wood, aluminium or acrylic glass. The same applies this year. We can easily separate the materials used for the exhibition stand and return them to either the technical or biological cycle. From around 10.2 tonnes of material used, around 10 tonnes are returned to the material cycles," he explains and adds: "A sustainable trade fair concept is the logical continuation of our corporate philosophy. We are aware of our ecological responsibility and topics such as resource conservation and recycling are particularly important to us."
The STEP initiative and its sponsor EUPD Research are actively committed to climate-neutral and waste-free trade fairs and congresses. The companies honoured with the Sustainable Exhibitor Award are true pioneers in the field of sustainable trade fair design and are in line with the vision of organising climate-neutral trade fairs and congresses in Germany by 2030. To achieve this goal, exhibitors must implement comprehensive measures to reduce, reuse and recycle waste, as well as to reduce and offset their carbon footprint.
IBC SOLAR shows that a sustainable trade fair presence is possible and thus makes a significant contribution to the ecological orientation of the trade fair landscape - this is what the Sustainable Exhibitor award honours. The Cradle to Cradle design principle was developed from the beginning of the realisation in cooperation with the exhibition stand construction company Atelier Seitz GmbH and the design agency Buzzin Monkey GmbH.
STEP representative Jens Muerke, Head of ESG Development & Ecosystem at EUPD Research congratulates: "We are delighted to acknowledge IBC SOLAR AG for its exceptional sustainable trade fair practices as part of the STEP initiative. The company has achieved impressive results, particularly through the implementation of the Cradle to Cradle principle and a remarkable 98 per cent circularity of the exhibition stand. This makes IBC SOLAR AG a true pioneer in the field of sustainable trade fair design.
With this success, IBC SOLAR is sending a strong signal about the importance of sustainability in the trade fair industry and hopes to inspire other companies to also adopt more environmentally friendly approaches. The company's own concept of a sustainable trade fair presence is being continuously improved and further developed.