The environmental policy of Messe Karlsruhe

We have recognized that sustainable action is an important global social issue. And we are keenly aware that sustainability is strategically important for the trade-fair, congress and event business. Guided by the seventeen sustainability goals of the United Nations, we are addressing this topic with an interdisciplinary team. Our goals are to promote sustainable action at Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre, to call attention to opportunities for sustainability and to transparently present all sustainable measures.

We have defined three fields of work to systematically promote sustainable action in our company:

• Action related to overarching management (e.g. employee mobility, procurement and purchasing, continuing education and modern working methods)
• Action related to sustainable events (e.g. resource efficiency, recycling, participation, education)
• Action related to sustainable building technology and infrastructure (e.g. electricity, heating & cooling, waste, catering, mobility)

For exhibitors and visitors:

• We offer security concepts for both locations
• We offer high-quality service
• We organize trade fairs and events on health-related topics, e.g. REHAB, seminars for physicians, special days for alternative practitioners, the Karlsruhe Conference, etc.

For employees:

• We have an active programme of company health management
• We organize an annual Health Day
• Our employees are eligible for discounted memberships in fitness studios
• Wherever possible, we work with sun protection and insulation to optimize heating and cooling in our office spaces
• We can make use of consulting services offered by the internal consulting service of the city of Karlsruhe (IBD)
• We can offer consulting services by staff members who have trained as nursing advisors: these individuals can specify sources of help in the event that an employee’s relative needs nursing care
• We have a works council
• We have an occupational-safety workgroup
• We have a company physician
• We work with flexible scheduling, including numerous individual part-time models
• Where possible, we offer opportunities for mobile working

Family friendliness

• We are recognized as a family-friendly employer (Family Net award in 2017)

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We regard trade fairs, congresses and cultural events per se as educational offers for broad sections of the population and we publicize our offers via public relations, digital communication and event marketing.

All our employees have access to further training and education leading to enhanced qualifications.

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• Women and men who work for us are offered identical career opportunities and are paid identical salaries for identical jobs
• Management positions are filled on a parity basis

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Transportation connections

Travel to the trade fair

• We offer inexpensive event tickets for journeys by train
• We run a shuttle to and from the trade fair and we increase the frequency of S-Bahn (suburban trains) to the events

At the fair and congress centre:

• Charging infrastructure is available for e-vehicles
• A sufficient number of bicycle racks are available for cyclists
• We offer a cooperation with Nextbike, a bike rental company

We are revising the layout of bicycle paths on the exhibition grounds and we are optimizing bicycle infrastructure in cooperation with our regional partners (the city of Karlsruhe, the city of Rheinstetten, the district of Karlsruhe, and the RVMO).

Accessibility

• All our event spaces are handicapped-accessible and barrier-free
• We use low-floor vehicles at trade fairs that are frequented by many visitors with impaired mobility (e.g. at REHAB)

Mobility

• We have consistently reduced the number of vehicles in our fleet
• Our fleet includes aE-vehicles
• We use car-sharing services (Stadtmobil) as an “expanded” vehicle fleet
• We operate a digital car-sharing agency for employees for journeys between the two locations
• We have service bicycles

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• We work with public-sector wage agreements for our employees: this means secure employment contracts, predictable salary-development opportunities and regular pay raises
• We do not offer mini-job employment relationships
• We offer a company pension scheme (ZVK)
• We are committed to “Equal Pay” when employing temporary workers

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Energy, drinking water and buildings

We work with 100% green electricity (certified).

We regularly conduct energy audits (KEK).

At the fair:

• Well water is used for cooling
• The temperature of supplied air, as well as indoor and outdoor temperatures and air quality, are continually monitored in accord with the number of visitors and the occupancy of each hall
• The ventilation system works with heat exchangers (rotary heat exchangers)
• Gas is used for heating (low-temperature boiler)
• With partially glazed façades and broad skylights, the architecture of the buildings at the trade fair allows daylight to enter and helps to create a natural atmosphere in the halls
• Electric lighting can be individually controlled for various areas in the exhibition halls and is currently being converted to energy-saving LEDs
• Rainwater seeps into infiltration ditches and seepage basins (retention basins) at the site
• Green areas are irrigated with groundwater rather than drinking water

At the convention centre:

• The centre is heated by district heating
• Well water is used for cooling (except in the Stadthalle)
• Heat-recovery processes are used in the buildings

Material usage / waste management

• We only use recycled paper in the administration
• We have used Deutsche Post’s GOGREEN service since 2017 and thus offset 21.66 tonnes of CO2 for 2019
• We have achieved a high recycling rate for materials, although there is no on-site waste separation (mixed municipal waste, subsequent sorting of residual waste and recyclable materials)
• We dispose of illuminants separately and sustainably via a special supplier (Lightcycle)

• Our caterer uses regional and seasonal products
• We use porcelain and glass instead of disposable tableware (depending on the contract with the caterer)
• If the use of disposable items makes sense in the event format, we use recyclable palm-leaf crockery and PLA cutlery
• We adapt the calculations for food and beverages to suit the number of staff and/or we avoid overproduction and waste by arranging to have food quantities pre-portioned
• We increasingly rely on digital signage for food instead of printed menu cards
• Our caterer uses plastic drinking straws only if the customer explicitly requests them
• For coffee cream, the caterer uses fresh milk from washable glass carafes instead of pre-portioned packs (except for stand catering)

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We operate comprehensive networks with policymakers, business and science – from municipal committees, through regional associations such as TechnologieRegion, to local universities and colleges such as KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) or the University of Applied Sciences.

We belong to various industry and trade associations such as BITKOM, AUMA, EVVC, GCB, ICCA and IDFA.

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