Shaping the world of tomorrow

When we organized the first BIOFACH Exhibition in Nuremberg in 2001, sustainability was still just a niche topic. Since then, we have developed many other events serving as platforms for the sustainable transformation of business and society, both in Germany and across the world, in collaboration with our partners and customers. Our understanding of sustainability encompasses both ecological and societal dimensions, as shown by our latest expansion: the “Altenpflege” (elderly care) trade show.

Achieving great things together. Collaboration is key to the success of any trade fair, especially when it comes to sustainability. Every trade fair is a collaborative endeavour, after all. From the “transitfair” scheduling systems to the use of eco-carpets at our rental stands – each initiative is driven by the commitment of dedicated people: our customers, our ServicePartners and, of course, our own employees.

And that is why my favourite UN Sustainable Development Goal is SDG 17 – “Partnerships for the Goals”. It is a concise statement of what is most important: collaboration.

As Vice President of the German trade fair association AUMA and an active member of the trade fair associations EMECA and UFI, I strive to ensure that trade fairs continue to shape the world of tomorrow.

We also exercise social responsibility in our home region, where we are an important employer and economic engine. As a member of the Sustainability Round Table in the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region and a supporter of the Nuremberg SustaiNable Conference, we play an active role in promoting the sustainable development of our metropolitan area.

Our first Sustainability Magazine offers a glimpse into the measures we have already taken. Yet many challenges still lie ahead. Join us in tackling them with determination and strong partnerships.

We launched our “Energy Campaign” in 2015, developed our first sustainability strategy in 2021 and revised it thoroughly in 2025. In this interview, Tanja Rätsch and Matthias Fifka share their insights on our strategy's significance, its focus and the challenges of putting it into practice.

What are the central elements of NürnbergMesse's sustainability strategy?

Tanja Rätsch: We have identified seven crucial fields of action for us on the basis of a comprehensive materiality assessment. These fields of action include ecological aspects such as climate change mitigation and the responsible use of natural resources, as well as social aspects, particularly including the fair treatment of our employees and career development support. Other areas of action relate to governance topics such as values driven behaviour and effective compliance, which are of great strategic importance to us as a globally operating company. 

Does the strategy also encompass our international subsidiaries?

Matthias Fifka: Definitely! Including the entire NürnbergMesse Group was important to us. That is why the strategy was developed in a participative process. Our goal was to create a Group-wide compass for our sustainability activities, while also giving our subsidiaries the flexibility they need to accommodate local requirements and conditions. We also include our suppliers and partners from business, government and academia because we want to promote sustainable development across our value chain and at all our locations.

It should also be remembered that NürnbergMesse's events bring people from all over the world to Nuremberg. Does that not also entail particular challenges?

Matthias Fifka: Trade fairs involve extensive travel and logistics operations, often on a global scale. These activities cause most of the CO₂ footprint associated with trade fairs, which is often criticised. However, it should not be forgotten that trade fairs are frequently meeting places for an entire industry, making it possible for many people from the same industry to meet up in a single location instead of having to take multiple trips to meet each other individually.

Meeting place for an entire industry: That's a good point. How important is that?

Tanja Rätsch: It's tremendously important, and we see it as a source of great potential. We consider our events to be platforms for sustainability, fostering dialogue and the exchange of ideas – either in a given industry or even on a broader scale. We are convinced that this is the basis for innovation and collaboration; and we need both these things to meet the challenges of the 21st century and bring about the transformation to a more sustainable development.

You mention collaboration. How important is cooperation in developing a sustainability strategy?

Matthias Fifka:  It is impossible without cross-departmental cooperation. Sustainability is a topic that is as broad as the range of events organized by NürnbergMesse. Because of this breadth, expertise from a wide variety of departments is required: from purchasing to human resources, and from facility management to the legal department. Considering that foreign subsidiaries are often confronted with other requirements and regulatory specifications, it is clear that their involvement is also essential if the strategy is to truly apply to the entire group.

And how did you structure this collaboration at NürnbergMesse in concrete terms?

Tanja Rätsch: Right at the beginning, we formed a cross-departmental network of around 10 colleagues here at the Nuremberg site, which was at the heart of the process and still exists today. With this network, we took a comprehensive inventory of what we are already doing in terms of sustainability and where there are still gaps. On this basis, we identified the issues that were important to us, defined strategic goals, and derived measures for implementation. We mirrored these three steps with our domestic and foreign subsidiaries and asked them for their perspectives and assessments. The mere fact that they do not have their own event venues results in considerable differences with regard to key issues, such as energy use or logistics.  

You mentioned strategic goals. What does NürnbergMesse want to achieve in terms of sustainability?

Tanja Rätsch: At NürnbergMesse, we like to take a systematic approach. We have developed two strategic goals for each of our seven strategic areas of action. These include designing our business model in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, which shows that we are pursuing a high level of ambition. In concrete terms, this means, among other things, that we are aiming for CO2 neutrality in the energy supply of our properties by 2028. Another goal is to develop our site sustainably, focusing on climate adaptation and the circular economy. DGNB certification, as in the case of Halls 3A and 3C, or a comparable standard should provide a suitable framework for future new buildings or modernizations.

One goal that is also close to my heart, in a way, is the promotion of sustainability through innovation, knowledge transfer, and exchange. Our events give us enormous reach and we can have a major impact if we succeed in developing them further as platforms for sustainability.

Reach is also a good keyword in another respect, because another goal is to make our sustainable orientation an integral part of our employer brand, thereby reaching people and inspiring them to join us.

How do you monitor whether you are on track to achieve these goals?

Matthias Fifka: Wherever possible, we define key figures and targets, because numbers do indeed help to measure progress and see whether we are on the right track. However, they are not only used for internal control purposes, but also create transparency in our external reporting. However, we have to abandon the idea that everything is measurable. One of our strategic goals, for example, is to promote value- and norm-based action as the foundation of a sustainable corporate culture. You can't put a key performance indicator behind that, but that doesn't make the goal any less desirable. 

When it comes to reporting, there is a lot going on in terms of regulation at the moment. What does this mean for NürnbergMesse and what are the next steps?

Tanja Rätsch: As things stand at present, we will have to publish a sustainability report for the first time for the 2027 financial year that complies with the requirements of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). As this involves the disclosure of a lot of information, we are already preparing for this and will base our report for the 2025 fiscal year on the voluntary VSME standard, which we consider to be a good basis as it also contains some of the information required by the CSRD. Regardless of what is happening and changing in terms of regulations, or not, we will consistently stay on course to make our business model fit for the future and contribute to sustainable development.