Sustainable mobility for conferences
Make travelling here environmentally friendly
When it comes to bringing people together at conferences and congresses, mobility is a key issue. It generates a large proportion of the emissions associated with events. Leipziger Messe is committed to sustainable mobility options for trade fairs and conferences in the Congress Center Leipzig (CCL) and KONGRESSHALLE am Zoo Leipzig.During the preparation phase, you as the organiser will be made aware of the low-cost event ticket offered by Deutsche Bahn. And for all journeys within Leipzig, the local transport authority LVB offers you the congress ticket. This turns the delegate badge into a ticket for buses, trams and S-Bahn trains. The CCL on the exhibition grounds and the KONGRESSHALLE close to the city centre are well connected and easy to reach.
In the spirit of increasing e-mobility, there are charging points for electric vehicles and a charging station for e-bike batteries at the CCL. And of course both venues are surrounded by plenty of parking spaces for bicycles. Conference guests in Leipzig can also hop on a bike with rental services such as nextbike.
The taste of sustainability
Organic quality, fair trade and regional synergies
When catering for many thousands of conference guests, sustainable solutions are also called for. And fairgourmet, part of the Leipziger Messe group, is constantly developing new strategies for this. Visitors experience for themselves how good sustainability tastes. Here are a few examples: fairgourmet serves only certified organic and fair-trade coffee. When it comes to bread and rolls, meat, fruit and vegetables, fairgourmet is committed to using local and regional suppliers, thus creating long-term synergies for the region. As a general rule, reusable tableware and cutlery are used. The company does not use aluminium foil or aluminium coffee capsules.
Less waste and more recycling
Recognised as a sustainable company
If there are any pre-prepared products left over from congresses, such as filled rolls, wraps and pretzels, fairgourmet donates them to organisations like the Tafel Leipzig food distribution service, to a Leipzig charity for homeless and needy children, or to the railway station mission. To recycle even more plastic in the future and keep it in the material cycle, fairgourmet only offers reusable drinks bottles at public events. This commitment attracts attention: fairgourmet took first place in the Sustainable Company category of the Meeting Experts Green Award in 2017. For this reason, the KONGRESSHALLE also hosted the “greenmeetings and events” sustainability conference in 2019. It is now organised by the German Convention Bureau (GCB) and the European Association of Event Centres under the name SECON.Saving resources in trade fair construction
Modular stands, rental furniture and the circular economy
Conferences and congresses usually go hand in hand with exhibitions. The aim is the same as at a trade fair: to create an attractive presentation in a short space of time without wasting a lot of material. The Leipziger Messe subsidiary FAIRNET helps, for example, with reusable modular exhibition stands, furniture and technology for hire and reusable stand materials. When organising trade fair stands, FAIRNET pays attention to the circular economy and works together with partners including Trash Galore. The start-up provides materials from events to charitable initiatives and projects that are currently in need of materials. In return, the organisers benefit from sustainability reporting.
Certified sustainability
From Green Globe seal to Sustainable Development Goals
Issues such as mobility, catering and stand construction are all part of Leipziger Messe’s sustainability concept under the motto Growth in Balance. Fundamental principles include corporate responsibility and respect for the interests of the environment, fellow human beings and partners in the economic cycle. Key concerns: conserving resources, saving energy, regional synergies and social aspects.And this has been recognised: in 2009, Leipziger Messe was the first German trade fair company to be certified according to Green Globe standards and was last recertified in 2024. The certification considers around 300 criteria on social, ecological and business aspects of the sustainability principle. In 2021, Leipziger Messe also signed the Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge. In doing so, it has committed itself to taking concrete steps to reduce its carbon emissions. In line with the goals set by the City of Leipzig, the group’s operations will be carbon-neutral by 2040 at the latest.
First steps along the way: Leipziger Messe has been using 100 per cent green electricity in all its venues since 2023. In the same year, a photovoltaic system was also installed. It replaces 15 per cent of the external electricity supply with renewable energy. In order to save energy in general, the trade fair company has undertaken wider technical upgrades, such as switching to LED lighting. What’s more, the group of companies is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.
Fun fact: tracing the origins of the German word for sustainability – Nachhaltigkeit – leads us to Leipzig – specifically, to the Easter Fair of 1713. A book was published there with the rather complicated title of Sylvicultura oeconomica, oder haußwirthliche Nachricht und Naturmäßige Anweisung zur wilden Baum-Zucht. In it, Hans Carl von Carlowitz coined the term “sustainable yield” for sustainable forest management, laying the foundation for today’s globally used concept of Nachhaltigkeit, or sustainability.
Joining forces for sustainability
Networks with partners in Leipzig
Sustainability can only be achieved together. That is why the Leipziger Messe group also focuses on networking and cooperation. Both the CCL and KONGRESSHALLE are members of the congress initiative “Feel the spirit … do-it-at-leipzig.de” and are committed to promoting the conference destination together with their partners. When it comes to bidding for congresses, close cooperation with the City of Leipzig really pays off. Many initiatives – above all the integrated urban development concept – make Leipzig an attractive venue for conferences on sustainable issues.This teamwork was one of the reasons why the Velo-city world cycling summit welcomed its guests to Leipzig in 2023. The OECD’s International Transport Forum has also been discussing the major issues of modern mobility in Leipzig since 2008. The Future Meeting Space innovation network focuses on the organisational, technological and spatial requirements for the events of the future. Leipziger Messe and the Congress Center Leipzig are research partners in the network. Participation in the Forum Gemeinwohl supports the scientific examination of the topic of the common good.
