INDUSTRY TRENDS
Greenbuild International Conference & Expo
Keep your eyes out for more sustainable tradeshows BY THEA ENGST
Sustainability has been a hot topic for businesses for years now, and many companies are taking the responsibility of treating our planet better very seriously. One such company is Greenbuild, which, according to their mission statement, strives to create a communi46 Jul/Aug/Sept 2023 Exhibit City News
ty “for global green building professionals to improve sustainability, resilience, equity, health and wellness in the spaces we live, work, play and learn.” And this year, Greenbuild is teaming up with the IWBC Conference to create a tradeshow that practices what it preaches: sustainability.
Here’s what these two companies are doing, how, and why it’s a trend to watch. The IWBC Conference made waves in 2018, when it arrived on the tradeshow scene with event spaces constructed entirely of wood. Their website says, “When sustainably managed and harvested, wood produces far lower CO2 emissions than concrete or steel. If the industry wants to make an impact, mass timber and light framing are a clear solution in North America. One cubic meter of wood will store one ton of carbon dioxide.” And so, they moved forward, creating event spaces that are built and constructed with far lower CO2 emissions than most. It’s only natural that this trend would catch the eye of more businesses that
value protecting our planet, so the eventual collaboration of IWBC and Greenbuild made a lot of sense. Because sustainability can be done in more ways than one. That’s were business like Greenbuild come into play. We got to chat with Greenbuild International Conference + Expo Marketing Manager Nick Vener about the company’s mission and practices. “Sustainability is embedded into every aspect of the Greenbuild conference,” he said. “Our conference team works with an Advisory Board, Program Working Group, and Session Reviewers, which consists of a dedicated lineup of sustainability professionals vetting sessions and topics.” This means that from the swag given (say goodbye to