Nominations are now being invited for the IMEX Green Awards 2009. The annual awards, which are presented during the international trade show's gala dinner in Frankfurt, have become a strong indicator of new trends and developments among suppliers and buyers within the global meetings industry.

The Awards comprise three different environmental category prizes and one that recognises an outstanding contribution to a local community project - the Commitment to the Community Award.

The most established award, the Green Meetings Award, increasingly attracts extremely strong entries from corporations and agencies worldwide that have embraced the principles of green meetings and, as a result, can demonstrate detailed environmental improvements and savings.

A more recent award, The IMEX Green Exhibitor Award, was launched to educate and encourage exhibitors to employ a "reuse and recycle" strategy towards their stand design and build. Many of these principles have now been taken up by stand contractors who have spotted a market opportunity to satisfy demand and also substantially reduce waste as well as introducing more environmentally-friendly materials.

The IMEX Green Supplier Award was launched last year as a way to publically acknowledge meetings industry suppliers, particularly meetings venues and hotels, whose investment and foresight play a crucial role in enabling the rest of the industry to achieve their environmental objectives.

Winners of all the awards are chosen by an independent judging panel made up of industry representatives and environmental experts.

Information and nomination forms for the IMEX Awards 2009 can be found at www.imex-frankfurt.com/imexawards.html