Mubadala conference space

Identity has a team of professionals with stellar sustainability credentials who are capable and confident in working to define recommendations for our corporate clients that help them achieve their own sustainability goals. 

Our learnings are garnered from organising some of the largest global events and the value in our tacit knowledge being shared with our corporate clients’ centres around developing a shared vision to deliver the most immersive and sustainable corporate event experiences.

One such client is Mubadala, one of the most respected sovereign wealth funds in the UAE. 

Sustainable corporate event examples – Mubadala

Identity partnered with Mubadala to deliver their 450 square Metre stand at COP28 embracing the opportunity to showcase their sustainability initiatives and commitments realised through its investment portfolio of companies.

How we collaborate with our corporate clients can be measured in the interpretation of customers’ briefs and the vision we can achieve through the work we undertake. Importantly, what stood out for us in the brief was the requirement to architect a vision for sustainable success via a creative solution that was both memorable, impactful, and educational for a range of visitors from high-level VVIPs to school children. 

The evolution of the creative vision centred on The Future Forest concept that brought together physical and digital worlds that were completely reusable, and all installations and furniture could be repurposed either at the Mubadala offices, future events, or donated to charities, schools, and universities. 

The Future Forest engaged attendees through a living rainforest that evolved into the stunning digital environment of the Forest of Dreams. Here, attendees were encouraged to make their pledges to the environment through interactive touch points, and by the end of the event, over 1,800 pledges were made.  

It was imperative to deliver a sustainable event stand that championed the use of natural materials, while drawing attention to Mubadala’s extensive business portfolio, to highlight their pivotal role in the global energy transition. 

To achieve this, we utilised multi-purpose digital areas with interactive LED screens, an activation stage, interactive digital content displays that included 560 assets programmed into the digital activations and over 200 individual assets on the interactive table alone.

The creative events team designed the pavilion with sustainability and circularity in mind creating a sustainability management plan which aligned with the COP28 guiding principles, as well as meeting both Mubadala and Identity’s sustainability ambitions.

To successfully achieve a sustainable circular design approach, the whole project embraced a more considered approach with recycled wood & other build materials being prioritised over virgin materials and ensuring the bespoke items from the stand were made using sustainable/recycled materials, with over half going onto be donated/reused either by Mubadala or the suppliers themselves. 

Most purchased items had a positive onwards legacy – nearly 1,000 plants were rehomed to child rehabilitation centres and boys/girls’ tolerance schools in the region. 

In the Energy and transition Hub that was dominated by brands representing themselves with stands that were beautiful, bold but perhaps not built on a sustainability first approach, it was refreshing to deliver the Mubadala proposition with sustainability as the leading factor in the brief.

Making your corporate events more sustainable

As a modern business, we have to be good to the world. We see sustainability and social value as a key part of our role as event industry leaders and educators to brands and businesses.  

In order for the planet to continue to sustain us, we need to make sustainable choices when it comes to materials, production, energy and all other elements of event design and delivery. 

To ensure each event experience is more environmentally friendly, we consider every element that goes into the planning, design and delivery, including;

  • Energy consumption – how can we reduce carbon and improve energy efficiency through lighting, cooling, and event venue utilities?
  • Waste management – how can we eliminate the use of single use plastic and food waste through better planning and donations?
  • Transport – how can we encourage the use of public transportation and facilitate greener, more efficient travel across event spaces?
  • Materials – how can we ensure we are using the most sustainable production materials possible, and how can we reuse, repurpose and recycle all materials after the event? 

For every project we consider; what’s our memorable moment, our lasting loyalty, and what do we leave behind?

We embrace a leave-no-trace policy in which all event materials are repurposed and reused in the local community. For example, at COP26 all 6 football pitches worth of carpets, banners and signage were upcycled into bags or used in social housing projects across Glasgow. 

As well as this physical trace, we aim to leave a positive mark on communities. By leaving social value as a legacy, you can not only drive awareness for the next event but also embed a lasting memory in people’s collective consciousness.

“A sustainable corporate event should be a fair exchange, a delicate balance between cause and effect that embraces the community in which it takes place, leaves no disturbance and brings people together.” – Malcolm Ché

Get in touch to find out how we can work together to deliver an unforgettable human experience.