As the world’s leading organiser of trade fairs, congresses and events with own exhibition grounds, we want to be a driving force for climate protection and a sustainable event business.
Ecological, social and economic responsibility is part of our business strategy. In all three dimensions, we are gradually developing objectives that will lead us closer to a sustainable future for events.
“Messe Frankfurt’s binding ecological target is to be climate-neutral at its Frankfurt base by 2040 at the latest. We see this as attaining greenhouse gas neutrality and establishing a sustainable water management system.“
“We work closely together with the sectors to increase awareness of the need for greater sustainability within our events. As part of our Texpertise Network, for example, we have been working extensively for the last 15 years to promote sustainable innovation and change in the textile and fashion industry. Here, we are backed up by partners like the United Nations Office for Partnerships.”
Our sustainability target architecture
With our Sustainability Board – which includes senior management from different disciplines – and our Sustainability Management, Messe Frankfurt has established a broad base for dealing with sustainability issues throughout the Group. Here, targets are formulated and followed, measures identified and verified, and new processes established.
To work systematically towards our targets, we have designed a comprehensive sustainability target architecture. This helps us to define the direction in which we implement our strategy resolutely in our various roles (as a company, as a venue operator, as an event organiser and as a service provider) – both at our Frankfurt base and as part of our activities around the world.
Climate neutral by 2040 at the latest. For us, this means greenhouse gas neutrality and sustainable water management.
Our aim
Messe Frankfurt is focusing on the complex question of sustainability throughout the Group. Our Sustainability Governance Code is the framework for all of our sustainable development within the Group and at our events around the world.
Messe Frankfurt’s Code of Conduct defines our own internal standards for ethical and legal conduct and those that we expect from our business partners.
Our aim is to create substance, transparency and measurability by means of specific measures, advances and planning. We report on this in our Sustainability Activity Report. We prepared this report for the first time this year on a voluntary basis – the report will be mandatory as of 2026 when the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) takes effect.
We provide our business partners with a guide for making their event or event participation more sustainable. The guide gives an overview of the main aspects that can be integrated into planning processes when organising sustainable events. We take our corporate duty of care very seriously and comply with the specifications of the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG).
We established a framework for a sustainable future early on and have been building on it ever since. We were one of the first trade fair companies to decide of their own accord to introduce EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme). With the EMAS validation, which also meets the requirements of environmental management norm ISO 14001, our company commits itself to continually improving its environmental performance. Another milestone will now be to record and reduce the CO2 drivers at our Frankfurt base with a view to reporting greenhouse gas emissions. To do so, we have enlisted the help of the experts from First Climate. We will work on our climate strategy and continue to drive forward our goal development.
Our sustainable business practices are founded on a wide range of voluntary commitments. We take part in ESG ratings and actively support German and international sustainability initiatives. We are participants in the United Nations Global Compact, the Charter of Diversity and the Fairpflichtet sustainability code.
EMAS-certified
Messe Frankfurt has introduced the internationally recognised environmental management system EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) at its Frankfurt base. The EMAS validation, which also meets the requirements of environmental management norm ISO 14001, is another milestone in the company’s efforts to reach its ambitious environmental targets at the latest by 2040 and is an important step towards establishing a sustainable trade fair sector.
Messe Frankfurt signed the UN Global Compact in 2010, committing itself to the ten principles in the areas of human rights, labour standards, environmental protection and anti-corruption. We feel bound to adhere to these principles, not least when implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2024, Messe Frankfurt completed again an Ecovadis ESG rating (Environmental, Social and Governance) for the first time and was awarded a bronze medal. This involved examining a number of areas, namely environmental protection, labour and human rights, sustainable procurement and ethics. The company plans to continue its ESG rating.
In recognition of its efforts to become a sustainable event business, Messe Frankfurt has received the AEO Excellence Award 2023 in the Best Sustainability Initiative category. As summed up by the panel of judges, the UK-based Association of Event Organisers (AEO) awarded this in recognition of Messe Frankfurt’s fine work, excellent statistics and long-term sustainability projects.
We maintain partnerships with our events around the world. For example, when working together with the United Nations Office for Partnerships and the United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network in 2019, we set ourselves the target of promoting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at our global textile events.
We are supporting German trade fair association AUMA and its sustainability initiative in its efforts to achieve climate neutrality in the German trade fair sector by 2040.
More about sector positioning regarding sustainability – AUMA
Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge
Messe Frankfurt signed the Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge in 2022. This is supported by various organisations and associations in the trade fair and event sector, including UFI and AUMA. All organisations that sign the pledge commit to making their events climate-neutral by 2050 at the latest.
Since 2013, Messe Frankfurt has been a member of right and fair, the sustainability code for the German-language event sector that represents the industry’s commitment to the sustainable organisation of events.
