UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, has named Exhibition Place in Toronto, as the winner of its 2025 Operations & Services Award.
The 2025 UFI Operations & Services Award topic was ‘Revolutionising the F&B Experience in Exhibitions: Sustainable, Engaging, and Adaptive Solutions’, with the objective of celebrating innovative F&B initiatives that set new standards for sustainability and enhance the visitor experience. It aimed to showcase how food and beverage services can contribute to the overall success of conferences and exhibitions while promoting sustainable practices across the value chain.
Laura Purdy, general manager, Exhibition Place, welcomed the award: “Exhibition Place is incredibly proud to receive the 2025 UFI Ops & Services Award for our sustainable food and beverage programme.”
She noted Exhibition Place, home to the LEED® Gold Certified Enercare Centre, was an early adopter in signing the Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge and the venue’s NZCE Roadmap includes a commitment to sustainable food sourcing and eliminating food waste.
“Exhibition Place, together with our F&B partner, OVG Hospitality, has created an innovative sustainable food and beverage programme that supports our commitment to Net Zero Carbon while crafting fresh, creative, high-quality menus with an emphasis on authentic regional flavours that are infused with locally sourced ingredients,” Purdy added.
Stefan Eckert, senior vice-president services at Koelnmesse GmbH and chair of the UFI Operations & Services Working Group, commented: “Exhibition Place impressed the jury with a truly systematic and integrated concept that puts sustainability, customer experience, and operational excellence at the heart of their F&B strategy. From rooftop gardens and creative reuse of food to strong stakeholder collaboration and impactful donations, they’ve set a new benchmark for how exhibitions can become more responsible and attractive meeting places.”
The jury also acknowledged three other finalists ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi – Capital Catering+ (UAE), Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (Thailand), and RAI Amsterdam (Netherlands).
More information on the UFI Awards is available at www.ufi.org/awards
The 2025 UFI Award winners will be officially celebrated and will present their projects at the 92nd UFI Global Congress, which will take place 19-22 November 2025 in Hong Kong SAR.
The post Exhibition Place wins 2025 UFI Operations & Services Award appeared first on Exhibition News | The trade for shows..