COP28
The Approach
COP28 was the biggest Congress of Parties (COP) to-date. It brought together 97,000 delegates from across the world to connect and collaborate in Dubai. The Bulb were enlisted by People – one of the key creative agencies involved in creating and delivering COP28 – to provide environmental expertise. We focused on the Blue Zone and Leadership Pavilion – the area where world leaders, senior climate politicians, scientists and advisers convened to drive global climate action.
The Bulb led a circular approach across the design, production and procurement. We worked with the UNFCCC Sustainability team to provide crucial data into a measurement framework, and supported delivery to ensure a carbon footprint analysis and final sustainability report.
The Impact
- Prioritised recycled and recyclable materials for the branding across the entire COP28 site.
- Partnered with up-and-coming local designers who created handcrafted furniture using innovative and local waste by-product materials. This provided a key benefit to the local community and economy.
- 26% of the furniture used was borrowed from UAE Government sites and was returned to those sites post-event for continued use after COP28.
- Designed an Onward Life plan for all assets so that materials were donated to local schools or were part of supplier take-back schemes.
- Nine tonnes of textiles and carpets were donated to local UAE schools rather than going to landfill or energy-from-waste, which has been common practice across the events sector.
- 100% of the Blue Zone was powered from the Mains Grid.
- 100% of paints used across the Blue Zone were low-VOC and water-based.
- 100% of suppliers were UAE based, which has the double benefit of supporting the local economy and significantly reduced transportation-related emissions.
