Environmental

Energy consumption and emissions at Messe Basel Messe Basel has exhibition space totalling 141,000 m², of which 122,000 m² is in the two main halls 1 and 2. The Congress Center Basel also belongs to Messe Basel, with 25 rooms and capacities for up to 5,000 persons, as does the Musical Theater Basel, which seats 1,500. The north section of Hall 1 was brought into operation in 1999 and the south section in 2013.

Messe Basel covers its electricity requirements with electricity from the Basel energy utilities company (IWB). IWB electricity is 100% renewable energy generated with IWB’s own power plant capacities, primarily from Swiss hydropower. The new complex brought into operation in 2013 is certified with the Minergie Label BS-054.

The Basel exhibition site has been able to increase its share of renewable energy to 90.5%. A 17.1% reduction in emissions was achieved by comparison to the previous year.

Energy consumption at the exhibition site in Basel in 2019 fell by 7.8% compared with 2018 (2019: 22,020 MWh; 2018: 23,875 MWh).

Emissions in 2019 fell by 17.1% compared with 2018 (2019: 606,680 kg CO2-e; 2018: 731,852 kg CO2-e).

Direct emissions increased in 2019 (13.6%), due to the exclusive and higher oil consumption of the emergency power systems (2019: 2,704 kg CO2-e; 2018: 2,556 kg CO2-e).

Messe Zürich has exhibition space totalling 30,000m². Some 27,000 m² are located in Halls 1 to 7 in the main building, while the separate hall, Hall 9, has some 3,000m² . The main building additionally has seven smaller conference rooms for 30 to 80 people. Messe Zürich also includes Theater 11 Zürich which seats 1500. The main exhibition building was brought into operation in 1998.

Messe Zurich covers its electricity requirements with electricity from the Industrielle Werke Basel (IWB). IWB electricity is 100% renewable energy generated with IWB’s own power plant capacities, primarily from Swiss hydropower.

At the Zurich exhibition location, the share of renewable energy has been maintained at 80%

The share of renewable energy has fallen by 2% compared with the previous year. This is due, in particular, to a clear increase in the amount of district heating consumed in 2019. The district heating is made up of a renewable energy and a non-renewable energy component.

Overall energy consumption fell by 13.6% in 2019 (2019: 4,748 MWh; 2018: 5,496 MWh). In the reporting year, overall emissions fell only slightly (-1%). Indirect emissions, in particular, increased on account of the district heating consumption (+41%). Direct emissions, by contrast, fell by 25.2%. A reduction can be seen primarily for the consumption of heating oil (-25%).

Expomobilia in Effretikon is a business unit of MCH Live Marketing Solutions AG. Expomobilia is a general contractor for modular and temporary buildings, including trade fair stands, pavilions, event structures and interior fittings – from the design, via detailed planning, design and production, right through to assembly. In 2019, Expomobilia implemented 295 projects, 90 of which were abroad.

Expomobilia covers its entire electricity requirements with Swiss green electricity obtained from FAIR POWER, an independent green electricity specialist. The FAIR POWER certificate guarantees that this electricity has been generated environmentally and is fed into the grid for Expomobilia. The CO2 share from hydroelectric power generation is fully offset by the Fair Recycling Foundation.

It proved possible to reduce energy consumption and emissions by some 9%. The share of renewable energy was increased slightly to 38.1%.

Expomobilia operates seven plants at two locations (Effretikon and Fehraltdorf). In 2019, overall energy consumption was reduced by 9.8% and emissions by 8.3%.

Compared with 2018, the share of renewable energy was increased slightly (by 1%) to 38.1%. Both direct and indirect emissions have been cut, by -7% and -10.3% respectively (reduction in electricity and district heating consumption).

The canton of Basel-Stadt obliges major energy consumers such as Messe Basel to analyse their energy consumption and to implement measures to reduce it. The cantonal requirement provides for an annual increase of 2% in the efficiency of electricity and heat energy. This target must be met from 2020 onwards.

Messe Basel is supported in the implementation of this legal obligation by the Basel energy utilities company (IWB). The IWB draws up an analysis of the current status and potential of energy procurement and a list of efficiency improvement measures. They also draw up a cantonal target agreement with the Office for the Environment and Energy (AUE). This target agreement is one of the models offered by the Canton of Basel-Stadt for implementing the legal requirements. It has the advantage that the infrastructure of the exhibition centre as a whole is assessed and optimised. The IWB is responsible for annual reporting to the cantonal energy office. An initial report on this subject will be drawn up for 2020.

The Canton of Zurich obliges major energy consumers, including Messe Zürich, to analyse their energy consumption and to take measures to reduce it. Every year, Messe Zürich submits the necessary reports by way of evidence to the Zurich electricity utility (EWZ): gross exhibition space, number of exhibition hours per m²/year and the quantity of energy consumed from the district heating. An annual target is agreed on for the efficiency bonus.

A photovoltaic system was installed on the roof of Hall 1 North in Basel in 1999 already, making it possible to use solar energy. Vegetation was also planted on the roof in conjunction with this. The panels have an area of 1,900 m² and an output of 215,000 kWh per year. A system four times this size was set up on the green roof of Hall 1 South, which was completed in 2013. This photovoltaic system, which was installed in cooperation with an investor, feeds approximately 1,080,000 kWh electricity annually into the grid of the Basel energy utilities company (IWB), which took over the system in 2014.

The MCH Group also supports the "Wettstein 21" platform, which was responsible for the installation of a further photovoltaic system on the roof of the Congress Center Basel. This was completed at the end of 2014 and delivers around 180,000 kWh electricity each year. The roof space was made available free of charge.

Since 2009, a photovoltaic system with a panel area of 1,200 m² and an output of 150,000 kWh per year has been in operation on the roof of Messe Zürich.

Expomobilia operates two photovoltaic systems at its sites in Effretikon and Fehraltorf with a total surface area of 3,000 m². These generate approximately 435,000 MWh per year.

During the construction of Hall 1 South at Messe Basel, which was completed in 2013, great importance was attached to achieving the greatest possible energy efficiency, both in respect of the insulation for the building shell and with regard to the provision of the necessary heating and cooling energy in a resource-saving manner. All heating, ventilation and refrigeration systems are operated only when required, and the majority of the waste heat generated is used.

The Basel-Stadt Minergie certification agency awarded the BS-054 Minergie Label that was developed especially for this exhibition hall building. In addition, the target values of SIA Standard 380/4 are met by this, the newest exhibition hall, with regard to lighting and ventilation/air-conditioning.

Expomobilia pursues a three-stage approach when it comes to sustainability:

Expomobilia places great value on stand structures with a long service life that can be re-used many times over. It offers a wide range of resource-saving, reusable or biodegradable materials, including wooden partition walls from environmentally-certified local suppliers, printing and sheeting elements in easily recyclable or biodegradable stamoids and materials, reusable ecological tiles and parquet flooring in locally-sourced wood with a long service life. The lights are equipped primarily with state-of-the-art, long-life LED bulbs that have a low energy consumption.

A CO2 climate protection calculator for exhibition stands and interior fittings helps customers make sure that their exhibition stand is 100% climate-neutral or assists them in offsetting their emissions. This was developed specially for the purpose by Expomobilia in cooperation with myclimate, the Swiss nonprofit foundation for voluntary climate protection. This environmental commitment is rewarded by a certificate.

Syma – an official stand construction partner of the MCH Group – works to the highest ecological standards in its exhibition stand structures. This is based on the following factors, among others:

Each year, Syma processes around 547 tonnes of aluminium, of which 90% is recyclable and 98% is reused several times over. In addition, Syma uses around 120 tonnes of wood (15% recyclable, 45% reused), 60 tonnes of glass (60% recyclable, 65% reused) and 18 tonnes of steel (75% recyclable, 85% reused).

A large number of MCH Group exhibitions use “Rewind”, the first recyclable exhibition carpeting from Belgian company Beaulieu Flooring Solutions (a business unit of the Beaulieu International Group B.I.G.). The carpeting is marketed by Weberfloors in Buchs (Switzerland).

“Rewind” is a product with a cradle-to-cradle certificate issued by the Environmental Protection Encouragement Agency EPEA. The carpet comprises 100% polyolefins and is thus 100% latex-free. It can be fully recycled after use. After being processed into recyclate, it can then be used as a raw material for new products.

Contrary to the case for conventional carpets, “Rewind” is produced without any water and with 83% less gas. This environmentally-friendly production process cuts the CO2 emissions by up to 35% in all. The carpet’s low overall weight means that the rolls are also easier to work with and can be laid more ergonomically. “Rewind” also offers advantages in terms of logistics, since it requires less transport and storage capacity.

Delivery traffic to Messe Basel is steered via a checkpoint-based system, for which the corresponding online tool has been developed. All journeys made to transport goods to and from the exhibition site must be registered in advance for a specific time slot. Drivers are required to proceed to a checkpoint, from where their lorries will be directed to the delivery zone of the hall in question at the specified time, via a specified route. The vehicle then has to be unloaded/loaded within a set period of time. This keeps traffic searching for parking spaces and traffic congestion to a minimum. Care is also taken to ensure that deliveries can be made underground whenever necessary.

To ensure that the entire logistics of journeys to and from Messe Basel can be controlled in the optimum manner, all movements within the exhibition site are performed by Sempex, Messe Basel's logistics partner. Sempex has developed a quality management system to ISO 9001. The management continually reviews the implementation of the specified measures for attaining the environmental and energy targets. These are laid down in the company’s environmental and energy policies and undergo constant further development to ensure their continuous improvement.

Delivery traffic to Messe Zürich is steered via a checkpoint-based system. All journeys to transport goods to the exhibition site must report to a checkpoint where they are sorted by vehicle size and delivery level before being dispatched. From the checkpoint, the lorries are directed to the delivery zone of the hall in question at the specified time, via a specified route. The vehicle then has to be unloaded/loaded within a set period of time. This keeps traffic searching for parking spaces and traffic congestion to a minimum. Care is also taken to ensure that optimum use is made of the capacity of the different delivery levels.

To ensure that the entire logistics of journeys to and from Messe Zürich can be controlled in the optimum manner, all movements within the exhibition site are performed by Securitas, the Messe Zürich logistics partner. Securitas keeps statistics on vehicle size and the number of vehicles on each delivery level per event and day. Together with Securitas, the logistics officer at Messe Zürich continually checks that the specified measures for attaining the environmental and energy targets are implemented. These are laid down in the company’s environmental and energy policies and are subject to constant further development in order to ensure their continuous improvement.