Sunkonnect plans to cut emissions by 9.6 lakh  tonne a year across India’s event, exhibition ind

NEW DELHI, May 13:  Sunkonnect, the renewable energy management consulting firm, on Wednesday said it is planning to cut carbon emissions by 9.6 lakh tonne annually across India’s fastest-growing event and exhibition industry.

India’s event and exhibition industry is valued at approximately USD 14.3 billion (Rs 1.2 lakh crore) in 2024, expanding rapidly at a CAGR of 7.6 per cent, the Singapore-headquartered company said in a statement.

As large-scale gatherings grow, so do their environmental impacts. A single participant at a major event can generate as much as 2 tonnes of COâ‚‚ emissions (tCOâ‚‚e), with travel alone accounting for up to 90 per cent of total emissions, according to the statement.

Despite this, the sector remains largely unregulated, representing a significant opportunity for scalable decarbonisation, it pointed out.

To strengthen the government’s plans to make India a global hub for events and exhibitions, Sunkonnect has announced its goal to reduce the carbon footprint of India’s event industry by 5 per cent over the next five years through its new suite of tailored net-zero solutions.

The initiative targets the management and mitigation of up to 9,60,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, directly addressing an industry responsible for 12–18 million tCO₂e in large event emissions each year.

Sunkonnect’s 5 per cent reduction target is rooted in its aspirational scenario, which envisions providing carbon management for 1,200 major events annually by 2028, it stated.

Avishek Kumar, founder and Director of Sunkonnect, said, “Setting a 5 per cent reduction target is both ambitious and necessary; it demonstrates what’s possible with the right expertise and collaborative action”.

A key pillar of Sunkonnect’s mission is empowering MSMEs, the backbone of India’s event ecosystem, through capacity-building workshops, greenhouse gas assessments, and guidance on ESG and green finance.

This holistic approach shifts sustainability from a compliance requirement to a strategic business advantage.(PTI)