MWC 2014 Will Be World’s Largest Carbon Neutral Trade Show

This year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona will be the world’s largest trade show to have a zero carbon footprint, larely through buying carbon credits, the event’s organisers the GSMA have announced.

The GSMA will seek to certify MWC 2014 as carbon neutral through the internationally recognised PAS 2060 standard, with official certification set to be awarded in June following an independent audit.

The organisation says the certification will be the culmination of several climate change initiatives that have taken place at MWC in the last few years, including recycling materials at the venue and working with exhibitors and partners to minimise the carbon footprint. MWC’s release, strangely, makes the claim that “digital signage” is green, but we think electronic displays will use more resources and energy than paper ones.

MWC 2014 carbon neutral

“This year, we have increased our environmental commitment by working to not only reduce the emissions of the event, but to go one step further and certify Mobile World Congress 2014 as carbon neutral,” boasts GSMA CEO John Hoffman.

MWC 2014 will generate approximately 150,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, 14 percent of which will result from the venue and operation of the event and 86 percent from attendees travelling to Barcelona.

GSMA will attempt to minimise this as much as possible, but plans to purchase carbon credits to offset emissions that cannot be avoided or lowered. These will be used to fund several certified emission reduction (CER) projects ratified by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), including a hydropower project in China and a wind energy project in India.

“Once this process is complete, Mobile World Congress will be largest tradeshow in the world certified as carbon neutral under the PAS 2060 international standard,” adds Hoffman. “More importantly, our pursuit of this certification underscores our focus on ensuring that our actions create value for our industry and preserve and protect the environment.”

Mobile World Congress this year takes place between 24 and 27 February at the Fira Gran Via, and TechWeekEurope will be among the attendees. But until then, in the spirit of recycling, why not relive last year’s event with our gallery?

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