Current Winner
The IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025, delivered by K.I.T. Group GmbH is the winner of the inaugural IAPCO Sustainability Award 2026.
From fourteen high-quality nominations to a live audience vote in Athens, the first IAPCO Sustainability Award found a worthy inaugural winner in K.I.T. Group GmbH.
When the IAPCO community gathered in Athens for the 2026 AM&GA, one of the most anticipated moments was the announcement of a brand-new accolade: the IAPCO Sustainability Award, supported by IAPCO partner Business Events Australia. In its inaugural edition, the award attracted fourteen nominations from nine member companies, which were shortlisted to three finalists by a Judging Panel of Global Industry Leaders, before being put to a live audience vote on stage. The winner was K.I.T. Group GmbH, whose Managing Director Jocelyne Muelli accepted the award on behalf of the team.
The winning entry centred on K.I.T. Group’s delivery of the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025, held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in October 2025. Bringing together over 12,000 participants to advance global environmental action, the Congress was a fitting canvas for a sustainability programme of genuine ambition. K.I.T. Group GmbH implemented a 360-degree sustainability management system aligned with ISO 20121:2024, embedding responsible practices across every workstream – from procurement and transport to exhibition design and stakeholder reporting – and ultimately achieving full ISO 20121 certification for the event.
‘This progressive model shifted carbon responsibility from voluntary to collective action, embedding climate accountability directly into the event ecosystem.’
Several innovations stood out as genuine firsts at this scale. Most notably, K.I.T. Group GmbH introduced a compulsory carbon offset contribution for every participant, exhibitor and supplier, calculated on the basis of country of origin, mode of transport and number of days onsite. Rather than leaving climate responsibility as an opt-in gesture, this model made collective accountability a structural feature of the event. The entire exhibition was delivered using modular, reusable and recyclable materials, demonstrating that large-scale exhibitions can be both visually compelling and environmentally sound. A robust hybrid model, including hybrid voting for the Members’ Assembly, further reduced travel emissions whilst broadening global access and democratic participation.
Community engagement and lasting legacy were equally central to the submission. Through a co-created programme with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, the Congress delivered youth workshops, volunteer environmental initiatives and technical tours showcasing local conservation efforts. All plants and trees deployed at the event were either donated or returned to local nurseries. The governance structure was deliberately distributed: sustainability responsibilities were embedded across every functional team rather than siloed in a single department, with clear expectations, shared accountability and transparent reporting throughout.
The two shortlisted finalists – ESCRS Congress 2025 by MCI Switzerland and 5th ISHF 2025 by Conference Partners International – were also congratulated for their outstanding achievements and commitment to advancing sustainable event delivery.
With forty years of experience in large-scale, mission driven events, K.I.T. Group GmbH has long championed the principle that operational excellence and environmental responsibility are not in tension. The IUCN Congress 2025 made that case convincingly, setting a new regional and sectoral benchmark that other PCOs will look to for years to come. For IAPCO, the first Sustainability Award has set an appropriately high bar.
