Registration Executive

RX, Freeman and Emerald Carpets make history at Vision Expo 2026. ANDREW WARRICK, SENIOR DIGITAL EDITOR * August 18, 2026 ORLANDO - At Vision Expo 2026, which took place March 11-14 at the Orange County Convention Center, RX introduced Green Step Aisle Carpet, also known as Genesis, the first fully reusable and recyclable exhibition carpet used at a major U.S. trade show. This milestone was accomplished through an intensive collaboration with Freeman and Emerald Carpets. Trade Show Executive (TSE) examined this sustainability victory from start to finish. Inspiration RX tracks their waste by show and is always looking for opportunities to divert and reduce. "When in use, carpet is a leading driver of measurable waste numbers across our US portfolio," Mike Grant, Senior Vice President of Operations at RX, explained. "The cleanest alternative has certainly been to reduce or eliminate carpet but that is not always a realistic option. While there are numerous reasons for the continued use of carpet (from comfort to aesthetic to sound suppression), RX is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and understands the impact carpet represents. We'd heard whispers over the last year or two about recyclable carpet options from our partners at Freeman and Emerald Carpets and were keenly interested in these opportunities." In 2025, Freeman and Emerald Carpets asked if RX was willing to test Genesis, a new, exciting and sustainable carpet product. "We have the appetite to experiment at our events," Helen Sheppard, RX's Global Sustainability Director, explained. "The Net Zero Carbon Events commitments are really important to us, and we want to champion that industry-wide commitment and encourage more suppliers, organizers and venues to be part of it. Freeman are also signatories, so when this opportunity arose, it felt like, 'Well, why wouldn't we try this?'" Emerald Carpets developed Genesis to address one of the biggest sustainability challenges in the events industry: creating a high-performance aisle carpet that supports a circular lifecycle from production through end-of-life. Genesis can be cleaned, reused and ultimately turned into plastic pellets to create new carpet products. "Traditionally, aisle carpets contain multiple materials, including fillers and latex backings, which create challenges for end-of-life recycling and limit opportunities for true circularity," Will Estes, Sustainability Manager at Emerald Carpets, said. "Genesis is different because it is made from a single polymer system utilizing Emerald Carpets' proprietary ExpoMax(TM) backing technology. While the product is fully recyclable at end-of-life, it is first designed to maximize reuse, with Genesis typically achieving four to five uses before entering the recycling stream." Successful Implementation RX first piloted this carpet at ISC West 2025, which took place March 31-April 4, 2025, at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas. "ISC East and West have been flying the flag for sustainability through some other initiatives that they're working on, like zero waste initiatives, and that felt like a good place to pilot it," Sheppard said. RX placed this carpet in front of the show's entrance and in some key aisles, providing an important opportunity to evaluate Genesis in the field. "ISC West served as an important pilot for the program, allowing us to test installation, removal, material recovery and operational logistics in a live event environment," Elizabeth Fretheim, Vice President of Sustainability at Freeman, said. "Each partner played a critical role. Emerald led product development, Freeman managed installation, removal [and] material recovery, and provided real-world performance feedback, while RX enabled testing at scale in an active event environment. The product was validated under actual show conditions, including forklift traffic, high attendee volumes and compressed move-in and move-out schedules." The organizations also saw meaningful operational benefits: The lighter-weight material helped reduce handling strain during installation and dismantle, which is an important consideration due to the physical demands and fast timelines of event production. "Perhaps most importantly, the project showed that environmental improvements do not have to come at the expense of performance, safety or the attendee experience," Fretheim added. Victory at Vision Expo The trial's success inspired RX to use the carpet in the aisles of Vision Expo 2026. This went well and proved to the industry that circular flooring solutions can work within the realities of large-scale events. "This is exciting because it represents a meaningful step forward for sustainability in the events industry," Estes said. "Event flooring has historically been viewed as a largely disposable product category, and Genesis challenges that assumption. By creating a fully recyclable aisle carpet that is lighter, easier to transport and designed for circularity, we are helping event organizers, venues and exhibitors reduce waste while improving operational efficiency. It demonstrates that innovative product design can create practical solutions that benefit both the industry and the environment." An Impactful Partnership and a Bright Future Fretheim explained that this success proves the importance of partnership and patience. "Advancing sustainability at scale requires alignment across manufacturers, organizers, service providers and venues," Fretheim said. "No single company can create change alone. Trade Show Executive also learned that successful circular solutions require planning beyond the product itself. Material selection matters, but so do collection systems, recovery pathways, logistics and stakeholder education. Piloting the program allowed Trade Show Executive to validate those processes and identify opportunities for continuous improvement as the initiative grows. "Trade Show Executive believe Green Step represents an important shift in how the industry thinks about flooring. A few years ago, the most sustainable recommendation was often to eliminate aisle carpet entirely. Today, Trade Show Executive has the opportunity to rethink the product itself through a circular model. "As inventory grows, future carpet production can increasingly utilize recycled pellets created from recovered material, reducing the need for virgin resources. This creates a system where materials stay in use longer and can ultimately be transformed into new products rather than becoming waste. We expect to see broader adoption of circular flooring solutions across additional events, and we hope this project serves as a model for rethinking other high-volume materials used throughout the events industry." Estes sees Genesis playing an important role in the future of sustainable event flooring. "As more organizations establish sustainability goals and seek measurable ways to reduce waste, products designed to remain in circulation for as long as possible through reuse and ultimately be recycled at end-of-life, will become increasingly important," Estes said. "Its goal is to continue expanding the adoption of Genesis while further advancing material recovery and closed-loop solutions. "We believe the future of event flooring lies in products that are designed with their entire lifecycle in mind, and Genesis is an important step in that direction... We are proud of what Genesis represents, but we are equally excited about what it demonstrates for the future of the events industry: that sustainability and performance can work hand in hand to create better outcomes for our customers and the environment." RX plans to scale this solution up to the point of using it exclusively in the U.S. "Our only limitation is production and volume right now," Grant said. "We engage our Freeman partners before each show when talking about carpet orders and the floorplan, and that includes a discussion as to where the opportunity is and how much recycled product can we put on the show floor." "What's important is that recycling is only part of the story," Sheppard said. "Emerald Carpets already do a wonderful job of making sure the carpet is reused, we saw first-hand how it is cleaned and repaired so it can be used again. So yes, the recycling element is a fantastic innovation, but that comes at the end of the carpet's life. Before we even get to that point, the carpet is being reused."

Evolution Dome powers RX Global's 'Community@Infosec' hub at Infosecurity Europe 2026. In brief. At Infosecurity Europe 2026, RX Global selected Evolution Dome's 15m Inflatable Cube as the host structure for the main community space. They also used the company's Nexus Pod to serve as an on-site, fully enclosed broadcast and meeting studio for the Infosecurity Magazine editorial team. Event organisers are increasingly looking for rapid-install, visually striking structures that can serve multiple purposes. Evolution Dome is meeting that need. In June this year, temporary inflatable structure specialist Evolution Dome provided the centrepiece for RX Global's brand-new Community@Infosec feature at Infosecurity Europe 2026. Evolution Dome is Europe's leading inflatable structure specialist, providing state-of-the-art, temporary solutions to prestigious events and clients. The company was founded in 2010, and is one of the leading manufacturers and designers of temporary inflatable event structures, with distributors in the UK, US, and New Zealand. Infosecurity Europe 2026, held from June 2nd to 4th at ExCeL London, brought together over 13,000 cybersecurity professionals and 350+ exhibitors to address the evolving digital threat landscape. This is where Infosecurity Europe introduced Community@Infosec in collaboration with the Cyber House Party team. Positioned as the heartbeat of the event, the dedicated hub was designed to bring off-site networking and industry conversations directly onto the main exhibition floor, giving visitors a distinct space to slow down, reconnect, and engage in real-time interviews, panel debates, and evening social events. To create an environment that stood out visually from traditional shell scheme and modular stands, RX Global selected Evolution Dome's 15m Inflatable Cube as the host structure for the main community space. In addition, the team deployed Evolution Dome's compact new Nexus Pod to serve as an on-site, fully enclosed broadcast and meeting studio for the Infosecurity Magazine editorial team. "We had a brand-new feature area on the show floor this year that we wanted to look completely different from our other features, providing its own enclosed space with an authentic community feel," said senior operations manager Emma Thompson at RX Global. "Our team first saw the Nexus Pod at Confex and chose to use it for the Infosecurity Magazine stand. Having a dedicated, branded workspace on the show floor made our journalists and editors far more accessible to visitors for meetings and interviews, rather than working out of an organiser office. The whole process with Evolution Dome was seamless, from booking to delivery, and the 15m Cube was certainly an eye-catching feature to have on the floor." "The key driver behind this project was helping RX Global bring the human side of the cyber community visibly onto the show floor without needing complex, rigid builds," added Ash Austin, director at Evolution Dome. "Event organisers are increasingly looking for rapid-install, visually striking structures that can serve multiple purposes, from quiet meeting hubs during the day to high-energy social zones in the evening. Combining our 15m Cube with the new Nexus Pod allowed RX Global to transform the space rapidly while providing excellent acoustic separation right in the centre of ExCeL London." Evolution Dome's installation team completed the build between 31st May and 1st June, delivering a complete, high-impact temporary venue solution with rapid turnarounds for on-site handovers and post-show de-rigging. * Bob Toovey Bob Toovey is lead writer for EPN Journal and host of the EPN Podcast. He is also the founder of Event Planner News. We need your help We believe the events industry deserves a central, independent space for news and resources that isn't hidden behind a paywall and is free of banner ads. At just £10 a month, you can help to ensure EPN Journal remains ad free and accessible to everyone in the event industry. We use Stripe for security and you can cancel any time.

African design takes on the Soft Life at Decorex Joburg 2026. Header: courtesy of Decorex Africa. Decorex Joburg just came and went, having taken over five levels of the Sandton Convention Centre from July 30 to August 2. Organised by RX, the exhibitions arm of the RELX group, with Lexus and Santam as lifestyle partners, the event was a full experience on its own, running from a street food market two floors below ground to a design district rebuilt at the top of the building. "The Soft Life" Alan Hayward and Garreth van Niekerk, the event's creative directors, chose "The Soft Life" as this year's theme. This phrase was chosen for its meaning and African roots, having surged in Nigerian digital culture as an argument against hustle and constant intensity. Across the two shows Decorex stages each year, Cape Town in June and Johannesburg in July, more than 600 exhibitors gave their own reading of it. In spatial terms, Hayward describes the theme as lighting that soothes you on entry and rooms that feel familial. Van Niekerk, on the other hand, frames it as a question of how you want to feel at home and whether that answer changes when the home is African. "What we were really trying to do when we landed on 'Soft Life' as a theme was find something that could resonate across different African contexts, something that didn't feel imported or imposed." Alan Hayward in conversation with the Mail & Guardian 100% Design Africa. 100% Design Africa took the whole of Level 2, the part of the show given over to contemporary design from across the continent. The spotlight was "100% Local", the annual survey of South African furniture, lighting and objects, which, this year, brought together Louw Roets, Stripped Collective, uMugqa Studio, Woodbender and Rialheim. The question put to visitors was: "What makes a piece feel local without flattening South African design into a single look?" Alongside it, "100% Iconic" was given over to LRNCE, named Decorex Africa's "Designer of the Year" for 2026. Laurence Leenaert founded the studio in Marrakech in 2013 and runs it alongside Ayoub Boualam, working with makers in and around the city in all kinds of crafts, such as ceramics, textiles, tiles, furniture and interiors. Their tapestries and hand-painted pieces filled the stand, made only better by a signature flavour they made with Paul's ice cream cart. "Ten x Ten" turned the focus to the single object, presenting 100 designs across ten categories that ran from tiles and basketry to glassware and pendants. Hayward, van Niekerk and a panel of category specialists made the selection. "FloodLight", new this year, dealt with how a room is felt. Martin Döller, a spatial lighting designer, built an environment of shadow, glow and reflection around work by Mash.T, TheUrbanative, MOS Lighting, Joe Paine, Mema and LDA Lighting. Emerging work was also presented on the same floor, with "100% Fresh" having brought students from Tshwane University of Technology together with Greenside Design Centre, which also showed Plotville, a project on new practice in Johannesburg and the neighbourhoods it grows out of. The five finalists of the Ventures Foundation programme, run with Sanlam Private Wealth, showed their completed prototypes for the first time. "The Collector's Room" by Russell Kaplan Auctioneers was found nearby, part exhibition and part shop, assembling furniture, art and objects from the past hundred years. Design Week Lagos took a stand of its own, put together by its founder, the interior designer and publisher Titi Ogufere. Winning work from this year's AIDA Awards came in from architecture, interiors, product, lighting, fashion and visual design. Exhibitions, stops and unique designs. On Level 5, five studios each built a micro-interior for the "Soft Life Design Pods": Noom Custom Furniture, Samani Africa, Meraki Design and Décor, Misitu Showroom and Chivalry Design. "The Bedroom Project", made with Tafelberg Furnishers and The Bed Centre, treated sleep as something design can improve. "The Kitchen Project" on Level 0 was created by Cosentino, with taps and sinks from Franke, appliances from Hisense and a bespoke installation by Eljen Kitchens. On the same level, "The Sacred Pause" by Lifestyle Ceramics, with Kohler and Cocoon Lifestyle, built a bathroom from architectural ceramics, textured surfaces and immersive light. Two floors down, interior designer Tshepo Sealetsa turned a garage into the "Recharge Garage", a room inspired by the electric Lexus RZ 550e F Sport. Level 5 was also home to the "Kramerville District", a pavilion that represented Johannesburg's design precinct inside the show, portraying it as a run of shopfronts. "The Property Show" made its Decorex Joburg debut on the lower levels, with sessions on home finance, bond readiness, investment and renovation. Conversations in Johannesburg. "Future Talks", presented by the flooring company Oggie, ran five sessions a day on Level 2, each accredited for continuing professional development, with 2.0 CPD credits available across the series. Peter Rich gave a keynote called "The Spirit of Place" on architecture, landscape and the symbolic life of buildings. His Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, built with local labour at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers, was named "World Building of the Year" at the World Architecture Festival in 2009. Quintin Gilman, principal at ARRCC, spoke on how interior architecture now shapes the way people move through a house. Grid Worldwide's Paul Hinch and Jineil Kandasamy sat down with the chef David Higgs to take apart the design thinking behind Marble, Saint, Zioux and Pantry. The closing session put Decorex featured artist Arminda da Silva alongside Catherine Mo of Condé Nast House & Garden, SAOTA principal Philippe Fouché and Canva Africa, on authorship and AI. International partners. The international programme is the part of Decorex that outlasts the four days. Maison&Objet has made South Africa the spotlight country of its 2026 Rising Talent Awards, sending seven designers to Paris from 10 to 14 September: Meetlo Studio, Simphiwe Mlambo, Studio Lloyd, Deft Studios, Karlien van Rooyen, NISH by Tanisha Neill and Pinda Furniture Design. Selected local brands also gain access to MOM, the fair's digital trade marketplace. In April, Hayward and van Niekerk assembled a South African presentation at SaloneSatellite in Milan at the invitation of its founder, Marva Griffin, showing Zizipho Poswa, Andile Dyalvane and Thabisa Mjo for Mash.T Design Studio, Frances V.H Mohair, The Keiskamma Art Project, Studio Lloyd, Deft Studios and Ardmore. Decorex has also partnered with The Creative Hub by Cipro-Group in Luanda and Moz Cria Design Week in Mozambique. "These partnerships are about building a two-way exchange. We're bringing international perspectives into the show while creating real, structured pathways for African design and African talent to reach the world." Sian Cullingworth, Business Development Director at Decorex Africa Decorex Joburg returns to the Sandton Convention Centre from 29 July to 1 August 2027.