Plan Green Meetings in Cologne

The prospects are good for more sustainability in meeting culture!

Platinum award-winning event spaces, a green courtyard, burger patties made from chickpeas, water-saving showers, a hotel committed to fair trade, free public transport tickets to the trade fair, 80,000 bees, a caterer that collaborates with forest and climate conservationists to be completely climate-neutral, and trade fair organizers who convince their visitors to make a voluntary contribution to a joint climate protection project ...

We showcase four model sustainability projects from Cologne’s meeting industry, demonstrate how Cologne's public transport system is responding to the challenges of climate change, take a look at some green spaces and reveal where planners will find plenty of valuable tips for sustainable and socially responsible events.

Cologne-based Dunja Karabaic, founder of ökoRAUSCH, co-initiator of "Das gute Leben im Veedel" and chair of the board of the association "dasselbe in grün" (the same in green) talks to us in an interview about small and big steps towards living a more sustainable life.

Interview with Dunja Karabaic

Find sustainable venues in Cologne!

Be inspired by our selection and find the right location for your green meeting in Cologne.

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Fair obligations: The Maritim in Cologne.

Responsibility meets style

The elegant Maritim Hotel Köln is located exactly between Cologne's city center and the Rhine promenade at Heumarkt. A well-known eye-catcher is its 100-meter-long glass-roofed hotel lobby. Guests can choose from over 450 rooms including numerous suites. Its 22 banquet and conference rooms offer space for over 3,300 people.

Good views of Cologne Cathedral and the Rhine as well as more sustainable use of water, energy and food are promised by the Cologne Maritim Hotel's commitment to the German Convention Bureau guidelines (www.fairpflichtet.de).

The name fairpflichtet is backed by the sustainability code of the German-speaking event industry. The code offers a perfect entry point for companies wishing to commit to ecological, social, and economic sustainability.

The Maritim Hotel Cologne has long had been especially aware of environmentally friendly and responsible tourism. Thus, the Maritim is actively committed to complying with the event industry's sustainability code on corporate responsibility in the areas of economy, ecology, and social issues.

The range of measures is diverse, from the use of energy-saving LED lamps, water-saving inserts in all its shower facilities, the predominant use of regional and seasonal products, a partnership with Deutsche Bahn for more environmentally friendly travel, to the establishment of a dedicated environmental working group with trained sustainability advisors as project leaders. A complete list of measures for more sustainability at the Maritim, divided into the areas of: "Energy, Water, Waste", "Gastronomy" and "Guests & Employees", can be found here.

The Kaiserschote in Cologne shows how sustainable catering works.

With a good conscience and helping of glamour

80,000 of its own bees, a "vegan square meter" within the catering buffet and a partnership with sustainability startup woodify – sustainable, responsible catering has many facets. Cologne-based caterer Kaiserschote Feinkost Catering has been committed to staging CO₂-neutral events for many years.

The catering company, which focuses on business and event catering, refines desserts and sauces with its own honey, creates burgers and meatballs using peas and chickpeas, and is proud to serve vegan dishes that are as "delicious and healthy" as they are sustainable – thanks to their favorable CO₂ footprint.

Kaiserschote not only avoids chichi, but also food waste. It uses regional, seasonal, and organic products whenever possible. For its remaining CO2 emissions, Kaiserschote works together with the sustainability startup Woodify. The forest and climate protectors* design climate protection projects together with researchers, forest owners*, companies and private individuals. "

By partnering with the sustainability startup, companies can offset their carbon footprints. " Thanks to woodify, we are in fact now climate-neutral," says the Cologne-based caterer, explaining its ecological commitment.

Kaiserschote's customers are enthusiastic, because increasingly they are interested in offerings that combine tastebud tempting catering with climatic and environmental protection.

Bike, Train, Bus & Carsharing: sustainable travel in Cologne

The trains and buses of Cologne's public transport company (KVB) get you through Cologne environmentally, comfortably, and quickly.

With the "Zukunftsfahren" project, a mobility mix of bus and train, bike and car sharing, the KVB is responding to individual demands as well as to the challenges of climate change, air pollution and congested roads. KVB has been traveling sustainably since 2003, as a member of the international charter for sustainable development of the UITP (International Association of Public Transport).

A guidebook published by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) makes planning green meetings easier.

Plan your arrival to Cologne

Sustainable supporting programmes

Find a variety of supporting programme ideas for your green meeting in Cologne!

Gamescom goes green

The world's largest games event also wins when it comes to sustainability.

Gamescom, the world's largest games event, is now also making headway when it comes to environmental and climate protection. The starting point of the new sustainability initiative is the implementation of actions such as free tickets for public transport, the use of green electricity, and a partnership with the climate expert ClimatePartner aimed at offsetting 100 percent of all emissions from the core event. In this context, the organizers of gamescom, the German Games Industry Association and Koelnmesse support the international environmental projects ("Wind Energy in Brazil", "Clean Cooking Stoves in Nigeria"). Visitors can also get involved and make gamescom greener, for example by making a voluntary climate protection contribution to further expand the gamescom forest. By reforesting to create a climate-stable mixed forest near Bayreuth, the association and its community want to contribute to species, climate and nature protection.

The association receives expert support from its project partner Treemer, a specialist in reforestation and sustainable forestry.

At the same time, gamescom intends to take responsibility for climate protection in other areas such as reducing and avoiding harmful emissions, so that less and less will have to be compensated in the long term. For events of this scale, comprehensive concepts that have been planned are still the exception. Thus, the appeal of the largest games event in the world should also be utilized to win over even more people, companies, trade fair and event organizers* for concrete climate protection concepts.

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