Sydney Rhea, Informa Markets (US) | ‘Society needs equity and access to opportunity’

headshot picture of Sydney Rhea, events and sustainability lead at Informa Markets North America

Sydney Rhea, Informa Markets (US) | ‘Society needs equity and access to opportunity’

As the Sustainability Project Delivery Manager for Informa Markets North America Business, it’s Sydney Rhea’s role to make sure Informa’s wider sustainability goals are well and truly embedded into its Markets division.

What this means partnering with no fewer than ten portfolios across ten different industries to deliver some major social and environmental impact for the events Informa Markets serves its audiences. That’s a scale quite imposing. But one that’s wildly exciting and, of course, rather demanding. 

We continue to spotlight some of the industry’s wonderfully inspiring women in sustainability in brands, licensing, and retail by sitting down for a chat with Informa Markets North America’s Sydney to learn a whole lot more about the lay of the land across the pond…

Sydney, it’s a pleasure to chat with you again, thank you for being a part of our International Women’s Day celebrations this month. To kick us off, events and sustainability leader at Informa Markets… that’s got to be a challenging yet exciting role. Can you give us an overview of what it involves?

It really is!  My day-to-day includes crafting monthly education sessions for colleagues that propel us towards our FasterForward goals, managing and supporting our internal Sustainability Champions, and preparing for our newly launched Sustainability Working Sessions – bringing colleagues together to solve sustainability challenges, so we can roll out solutions to over 1,000 employees.  

Beyond cheerleading our division’s successes and encouraging continued efforts, I attend many of our trade shows, partner with our industry vendors, document the amazing work our events and colleagues are accomplishing, in order to share best practices division-wide, and partner closely with Informa Group Sustainability counterparts, to roll out new initiatives.


Wow! Let me just digest all that… How did you find yourself on this pathway in sustainability and sustainable development in business?

I’ve been with Informa for more than eight years! Prior to starting this role, I worked in Operations (logistics/event planning) for four of the IMNAB portfolios. I’ve always loved event planning and was a wedding and gala planner in NYC before joining Informa.

Oh, that sounds fun! 

It was! But the more events I worked on, the more I noticed the opportunities for our impact on the communities we bring our events to. I rolled out some sustainability initiatives at my events and my team started to notice my passion. I eventually became a Sustainability Champion for our Infrastructure & Construction events and, when my current position opened up, I was encouraged by a former supervisor to apply.

Ah well we love that origin story! And that the talent you had in ‘sustainability’ was quickly recognised! So, what do you look towards to find inspiration when tackling the subject of sustainability in business? 

I try to identify the businesses that are doing it well then understand their strengths and their areas for opportunity. I connect with Sustainability folks in other business sectors to understand the struggles and successes and see where it overlaps with mine.

Then I partner with event industry leaders and identify what their business challenges are. You’d be surprised to see that many of our business challenges can be solved by sustainability initiatives and many sustainability challenges can be solved through Partnerships in our business. My involvement in International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) and Meetings Industry Council (MIC) of Colorado has been absolutely invaluable in finding solutions through partnership.

And what mantra or process do you adopt to maintain positivity when tackling such a huge subject?

I’m a naturally positive person, so I tend to look at Sustainability through the lens of positivity anyway. If we want a change to be made, why not be a part of making it happen? Through intention and well-meaning efforts, I believe that we can truly change the world.

On the days when I am challenged, I lean into my strength of connecting to people. I was recently told I’m a “super connector.” (Best compliment ever!)  It’s a skill to know who the experts are in specific areas and tap into them. We are a stronger force for good when we work together.

What have been some of your milestone or proudest achievements in driving sustainable change in business? 

One of my earliest sustainable initiatives I implemented was a Sustainable Exhibitor Program to highlight the most sustainable exhibitor at an event and reward them with free opportunities and marketing at the following year’s event. After three years, not only is it now being implemented across two portfolios and multiple events, but one of my sustainability champions just presented it as a best practice for sustainable innovation at our events. The opportunity to inspire improvements at scale is my favourite part of the work I do.

What’s exciting you most about sustainability in business right now? 

That sustainability is a regular topic of conversation in all the sectors I serve. Just as often as we are talking about all the decisions involved in our projects, we are talking about sustainability and the impact we can have on people and planet. Equally, Informa’s leaders prioritise Sustainability in all aspects of our business. Sustainability is a commercial driver.


What does International Women’s Day mean to you? What responsibility do you think the event – and event sustainability – space has in driving equality and equity?

International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on the individual and group work we have accomplished to support women in all aspects of life, but for me it is imperative in the workplace. I’m extremely lucky to have had female managers who have supported me through having three children, three maternity leaves, and three seasons of travelling for work with my infants alongside me, so I could continue to support my family. I have prioritised the same when I have had direct reports. Every colleague has different needs and supporting them on their individual journey is imperative from a female empowered lens creates a successful workplace.

For me, and for Informa, Sustainability is not just environmental. Social sustainability is just as important. We as humans, can be positive drivers of sustainable improvements and alongside building a world we can continue to live on for many generations, we need to build an equitable society where all have access to opportunity.

At Informa, we run events in many business sectors. With that opportunity, comes responsibility. It is our responsibility to ensure that all people within an industry we serve have access to the education and business connections we produce. That’s why I am so proud of our ‘Connecting the Disconnected’ initiative. Our goal is to connect one million disconnected people to our products and brands by 2025 and we are on track for doing that.

Some of the amazing initiatives our event teams have launched include: Informa Markets Fashion for Change Incubator Program which highlights diversity and emerging design talent within the fashion industry. The program offers qualifying brands complimentary live event inclusion, marketing promotion, and mentorship; Natural Products Expo West’s (included) ACCESS Partnership is created to more effectively elevate BIPOC-owned brands in the industry; International Roofing Expo’s efforts towards supporting the Hispanic roofing community, and Diversity Bridge, our partnership with Diversity Org, to connect underprivileged students to career paths in fast growing industries to help combat poverty and promote diversity within the communities we serve.


Well, that is some fantastic work and very inspiring. So, Sydney… what does the future of the events sector – and the future of sustainability in events – look like? 

The future of events is still in-person connection while leveraging digital opportunities to enhance the in-person experience. Humans are inherently communal creatures. We need to be around like-minded and opposite-minded individuals for growth to occur.

In the next few years, events that don’t have sustainable initiatives embedded, that don’t tell their Sustainability story to their clientele, will not resonate with businesses and the decisions they need to make. People are making decisions on which events they go to based on the sustainable impact of the event, and we have seen the data that supports this. As attendees are becoming more selective with their travel and investments it is imperative to meet these encompassing considerations.

I’m ever-learning and ever-evolving. Right now, I’m leaning into telling the Sustainability story through video capture and have started a video series internally called “On-Site Spotlight on Sustainability” highlighting the sustainability initiatives at the events I go to. Many of our colleagues only see their own events and sharing best practices from the events I see helps our colleagues to be inspired to improve sustainability efforts.


Well, we will be sure to give you a wave if you start filming at Licensing Expo! Sydney, this has been so interesting and insightful. Thank you for sharing with us. Before we allow you to return to all that work, is there a last thought you’d like to leave us with?

I want to champion all endeavors towards a more sustainable future. Even little efforts toward a more sustainable lifestyle or business can make a difference. Don’t ever feel like your efforts aren’t worthwhile. If we each make our little drops of effort, together we can create a river for change!

Why do I feel ‘River for Change’ will be the title of your autobiography? Sydney, thanks so much and happy International Women’s Day.

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