AstraZeneca at ERS 2025

Client: AstraZeneca

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

As a global respiratory leader, AstraZeneca approached the European Respiratory Society Congress with an ambitious challenge: create an exhibition presence that demonstrated not only scientific leadership, but sustainability in action.

The ambition was clear: create a flagship congress presence that embodied AstraZeneca’s sustainability commitments while reducing environmental impact across materials, logistics and operations.

Traditional exhibitions are inherently temporary and resource-intensive, generating significant waste and emissions. AstraZeneca wanted to challenge this model by creating a booth that would “practise what it preached” – proving that sustainability and engagement can coexist at scale.

In response, Emota designed a booth where sustainability became both the method and the message.

Using our Enviroplan framework, a zero-waste ambition was embedded from the outset, influencing every decision across design, materials and operations. An innovative material strategy saw the structure, furniture and signage constructed from 100% recyclable FSC-certified paperboard, supported by reusable flooring systems, recyclable paper banners, locally sourced planting and the elimination of single-use print. The entire build was designed for disassembly, reuse and recycling through a flat-pack modular system.

Sustainability was also the message, with sustainability made visible to attendees through a dedicated sustainability storytelling zone – highly unusual within a pharmaceutical congress environment. Installations, including a living lung sculpture, layered diorama and interactive materials wheel, enabled delegates to explore AstraZeneca’s sustainability ambitions and the booth’s design decisions first-hand.

The results proved sustainability does not require compromise. Compared with a traditional build, the project achieved an 82% reduction in production waste and a 56% reduction in production and waste carbon emissions. All while delivering exceptionally strong engagement – attracting 7,962 visitors, achieving a 73% conversion rate and generating 5,100+ digital interactions.

Most importantly, we established a scalable model for future congress activity, proving that circular design, measurable sustainability and high-impact delegate experiences can successfully coexist.