Mobile monetization powerhouse’s stand at international conference had a carbon footprint of just 7.81 tCO2e
London, UK – July 9th 2015 – Upstream,the leading end-to-end m-commerce provider for subscription-based digital services in developing markets, has won the GSMA’s first ever Green Stand Award for its efforts to limit its carbon footprint at February’s Mobile World Congress. The other winners of the 2015 Green Stand Awards are Ericsson in the Large Stand (over 500 sqm) category and Mobile World Capital Barcelona in the Medium Stand (150-500 sqm) category.
Upstream’s stand, which was situated in Hall 2 of Barcelona’s Fira conference centre, competed in the Small Stand category (up to 150 sqm) and had a carbon footprint of just 7.81 tCO2e – or 217 kgCO2e/m2. These figures take into account the emissions associated with all of the materials used to build and furnish the stand, transportation, and the travel undertaken by Upstream personnel to and from the stand before, during and after MWC.
Figure 1. Breakdown of the carbon footprint of Upstream’s MWC 2015 stand
| Stand/activity element | GHG Emissions (tCO2e) | |
| Stand | Stand structure | 0.04 |
| Furniture | 0.09 | |
| IT equipment | 0.20 | |
| Freight transport | Freight transport to/from place of origin | 0.01 |
| Transport to/from show during stand build and dismantling phases | 1.53 | |
| Accommodation cost of team building/dismantling stand | 0.04 | |
| Exhibitor personnel | Travel to/from place of origin | 5.80 |
| Daily transport during the show | 0.02 | |
| Accommodation during the show | 0.07 | |
|
Total |
7.81 | |
Crucially, Upstream’s stand, which captured the imagination of MWC 2015 delegates, was primarily furnished with locally made objects upcycled or created from discarded pieces; furniture not produced locally was rented or purchased from local businesses and is destined to be re-used in future projects. Similarly, all of the materials used in the construction of the stand were sourced locally, and have now been recycled or are destined for re-use elsewhere. In addition, TransfoDesign, the team that built the Upstream stand are based in Barcelona and used shared or public transportation to get to and from the Fira.
With more than 93,000 attendees in 2015, the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress is the largest green conference in the world. In 2015 the GSMA worked with factorCO2 to calculate its emissions and reduce or offset them to achieve a carbon-neutral event. The GSMA presented Upstream with the Green Stand Award—a piece of recycled, hand-made paper—at a special ceremony in Barcelona on July 9th.
Marco Veremis, CEO of Upstream, commented: “We’re absolutely delighted the GSMA has recognised the green credentials of our MWC stand which was purposefully designed to align with Upstream’s core ethics and growth market sustainability strategy.”
Upstream’s proprietary technology platform enables mobile operators to monetise and capitalise on the demand for digital goods and services in growth markets using advanced subscription models. The business’s device agnostic approach means it designs services that can be offered through any type of consumer handset, from feature phones to smartphones. It is able to provide a truly local and adaptive understanding to customers through a variety of mobile value added services (mVAS).
