Channel Partners 2026: Sustainability in Focus

Sustainability at #CPExpo Diversity & Inclusion

Sustainability at Channel Partners / Informa Connect

We know sustainability is increasingly important to our attendees and exhibitors, as well as to our market as a whole. Running Channel Partners Conference & Expo gives us lots of opportunities to improve our impacts environmentally, socially and economically in our host cities. We want to make our event more responsible and play a role in helping our markets improve its own sustainability through connecting people with the networks and knowledge they want to help solve the big challenges in our sector.

Sustainability at Informa Connect has five key elements: people, communities, environment, customers, and governance. Being an ethical, sustainable business is central to how we behave, how we make decisions, and how we do business every day. At Informa Connect, our evolution of producing sustainable events is fueled by insight, innovation, and collaboration. We are proud of our commitment to having a positive environmental and social impact on both the communities and industries we work within.

Learn more about our sustainability programs below.

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Sustainability Initiatives at #CPExpo

We have removed aisle carpet from the expo hall floor to reduce the waste and aim to use recycled and multi-use carpets in our Expo Hall
We offer pronoun tags for attendees picking up their badges
We offer a gender neutral restroom and nursing area
Collaborate with venues and general service contractors to compile data on the waste produced by events and electricity used. We partner with sustainability teams within Informa Connect to analyze the data and determine improvements from year to year
Signage will be printed on recyclable materials whenever possible or upgraded to digital signage
We have eliminated plastic badge holders
We will be using sustainable materials to produce lanyards for the event
Use Energy Star rated projectors, monitors, and speakers, using LED lighting and encouraging the use of LED lighting for booths
Our event will be powered 100% by renewable electricity through the purchase of RECs, greatly reducing our carbon footprint
Partner with charitable organizations, and institute wellness initiatives
#CPExpo celebrates diversity, equity & inclusion in the channel while providing resources to organizations and individuals looking to advance workplace diversity
A commitment to partnerships in the channel with support of organizations like Alliance of Channel Women, Xposure Inclusion & Diversity Council, Cloud Girls and CompTIA
Choosing partners who value sustainability

Championing Diversity at #CPExpo

Channel Partners Conference & Expo has always been committed to bringing the channel community together by driving innovation and accelerating evolution. Meaning, our content is dedicated to breaking down technical challenges that limit business growth. Yet often there are wider challenges beyond technical adversity that everyone in this sector is seeking to solve together. These challenges are recognizable as long term, systemic and a key component of the industry’s future development.

We have a responsibility to ensure that the platform we are creating is inclusive and accessible. We want everyone to feel welcome at Channel Partners Conference & Expo, to learn and understand the importance of innovation, to engage with technology as an enabler of positive change, to build a better functioning and more inclusive world, rather than exacerbate exclusion. Addressing these challenges will ultimately make Channel partners events more successful, sustainable and secure in the long run.

We have two key areas of focus:

Our first focus is for our events to inspire inclusive and sustainable development in the markets we serve – This is how we inspire our attendees, exhibitors and event teams to deliver an inclusive and sustainable event.
Our second focus is to run our events in a socially responsible manner - This requires us to think about the impact that running our event has on the attendees and the industries we represent. It is also how we consider the welfare of all at our event, how we ensure we do business in an ethical and safe manner, as well as how we enhance equality, diversity and accessibility.

We will do this by pledging to these key aims:

Engage internal stakeholders to bring diversity and inclusion to the forefront of their roles. This includes having a speaker proposal system that is both relevant and open to everyone and balancing our speaker outreach to ensure a diverse faculty. We also have a dedicated commitment to panels that are a representative of society and industry in which we live and work.
Work with external stakeholders to incorporate diversity and inclusion in partnership execution. This includes working with sponsors to ensure speakers are diverse and the exhibition remains as accessible and environmentally-friendly as possible.
Commitment to an accessible venue and exhibition space
Build dedicated external partnerships to promote diversity and inclusion throughout the conference planning and execution process
Ensuring focused content promoting the well being and diversity of the industry spanning from entry level to leadership
Abide by an anti-harassment policy on site, shared with all staff, exhibitors and available on our website for all attendees to view

While we understand that it is our responsibility to curate a diverse and inclusive environment, it requires support from all who are engaged with Channel Partners Virtual and Channel Partners Conference & Expo to make it happen.

Commitment to diversity and inclusion also needs to be a continuous process, and not just during the event. We will do this through the key factors of implementation below:

Understand what diversity and inclusion means
Identify areas of focus at the event
Implement continual improvement
Promote best practice
Reviewing how we can improve

Channel Partners Conference & Expo is committed to making the future of tech an inclusive one. If you have any questions please reach out at channelpartners@informa.com, and I hope you will join us in taking this pledge.

Americans with Disabilities Act: If you require special assistance, auxiliary aids, interpreters or other reasonable accommodations while at the conference and/or expo, please contact Nelia Nunes at least four weeks prior to the event date.