Athens Hosts IAPCO’s Groundbreaking Sustainability Strategy and Global Award Launch: Everything You Need to Know

Published on March 2, 2026

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The IAPCO (International Association of Professional Congress Organisers) launched a new Sustainability Strategy in Athens, Greece, at the 2026 Annual Meeting & General Assembly (AM&GA). This is a historic moment for the global meetings industry because it will transform how the world plans meetings for the better. This focuses on the first of many global environmentally-friendly and sustainable event management solutions. Along with the unveiling, IAPCO has also launched the first IAPCO Sustainability Award, provided a preview of the IAPCO Sustainability Toolkit, and will embark on a new focus for the business events industry, with the first focus on defining and measuring standards-based sustainable business practices.

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The 2025 IAPCO Environmental Sustainability Study will be the first of many IAPCO bold strategies and the first bold step. Hence, it will be the first step to bold form accountability on the environment in the meetings industry. The IAPCO has established a formal structure to align governance, advocacy, and education with international standards on sustainable development. This will be a global first in the meetings industry, and for the first time in the meetings industry, with other key players in the industry, IAPCO will be the first to integrate and align global standards (ISO) and the first to align (emission reduction) with global standards. These will be the world’s first set standards on sustainable accountability in the meetings industries.

Accompanying the announcement of the initiative, the IAPCO Sustainability Award was also launched, honouring notable achievements in sustainability, and recognising the most outstanding excellence and innovation in event management. This award has been made possible by Business Events Australia, a strong collaborator for sustainable business events.

International Award for Sustainable Event Management

For the first IAPCO Sustainability Award, IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 was given the award for Remarkable Event Management Sustainable Practice. This award is given for the positive impacts created by events. This is achieved by the event management team incorporating operations of the event with the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs). It was the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 event organisers’ advocacy towards sustainability and positive measurable impacts in the areas of educating, creating awareness, and environmental stewardship that won them the award.

The intention of the award is to enhance and improve sustainable business practices in the meetings industry globally. This is primarily to provide practical ideas and options for how to achieve responsible events. The Sustainability Toolkit, which will be made available in March 2026, will assist Professional Congress Organisers (PCOs) in stretching to reach the sustainability goals set by the industry.

IAPCO’s new strategy incorporates the need for practical guidance, and educational and benchmarking support, as shown in the 2025 Environmental Sustainability Study. IAPCO acknowledges the specific issues confronted by each region’s event organisers by offering members the ability to assimilate best practices and compliance with international standards to their work.

IAPCO’s Commitment to Global Sustainability

The Sustainability Strategy goes beyond being a carbon footprint reduction roadmap for the meetings industry; it also highlights a growing need for sustainable practices from the global meeting owners. IAPCO’s Sustainability Strategy keeps the event management industry in line with sustainable development goals for a positive and sustainable future for responsible events.

With the launch of the strategy, IAPCO reiterates its commitment to transparency and accountability. The strategy involves industry participants and aligns with multiple international best practices of accountability. This approach demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and sets the stage for a legacy of sustainability within the global meetings industry.

New Award Recognizes Pioneers in Sustainability

With many applicable candidates, IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 is the first winner of the IAPCO Sustainability Award. They set the standard for sustainable event management, especially in the organisers’ pledges to use proven sustainability measures, and the transparency about their environmental impact.

This recognition is also a result of the partnership of Business Events Australia and Tourism Australia, and they took pride in being associated with the first award, since they see the IUCN World Conservation Congress as an example of the future of sustainable events. They recognition of the Congress is loud and clear, sustainability is a requirement of the new normal in global event organizing.

The Award Ceremony is IAPCO’s way of showcasing the impact of sustainable event management. Most of the global leading organisers attended the event, and it is a celebration of the pioneers.

At the Core: Collaboration, Innovation, and Sustainability

To achieve goals outlined in the Sustainability Strategy, IAPCO focuses on enhancing the ability to capture and integrate international sustainability standards and frameworks, to accelerate the global meetings progress and the value of sustainability in the event management field.

As a Business Events Australia’s partner, she holds one of the most significant roles in offering tangible materials and guides in the overall simplification of the road to sustainable event planning. With Athens, Greece, as our honoured first host, we launch the first of the numerous strategies, along with toolkits and awards, to show our commitment toward preserving the environment in the business events sector.

Sustainability Events: A New Era

With the growing IAPCO Sustainability Strategy, we interact more closely with the adequate environment that is available in the event management field to keep updated with the environmental demands that are reorganizing every field. The opportunities offered by the first strategy are enormous to change the event’s management system. It will initiate a worldwide dialogue on the role of the meetings sector in the global crisis of sustainability.

Scheduled to launch in March 2026, the Sustainability Toolkit will provide PCOs with the most current resources needed to help PCOs facilitate the change toward more environmentally sustainable practices. The IAPCO Sustainability Strategy has positioned PCOs to implement considerable change, with sustainable events expected to become the global norm in the coming years.