Leipziger Messe’s sustainability concept

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.

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.

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.