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So You Want to Incorporate Green Practices in Your Exhibiting?

Green exhibiting is not an entirely new concept, but the push towards embracing greener practices by exhibitors has become all the more urgent now that the world teeters towards an unavoidable climate event of catastrophic proportions. If not now – then when is it going to be the right time to be mindful about the environment. You might think, ‘I am mindful about the environment outside the office. I recycle at home and bike regularly. Why do I need to be green when exhibiting?’

Facts are facts. Just 100 companies in the entire world are responsible for 71% of the pollution in the entire world, and since you’re managing a business that surely, at some point, engages with any of these 100 companies, it’s up to you to minimize the environmental impact that you have on the ecosystem. It’s exhibitors who can actually make a change in the long run, and immediately as well. Don’t imagine that recycling the rubbish at home does anything for the reduction of CO2 and green gas emissions.

Look into this list of practices that you can adopt for your next big trade show visit:

1. Always select the sustainable choice – Exhibiting is connected with a lot of production cost and even rookie exhibitors know how much rubbish is generated at the end of a trade show. You will have promotional materials, displays and giveaway items made, and the biggest impact you can make is to search for sustainable materials. Print expo brochures on paper that’s been recycled. Choose recycled metal or plastic, if you really can’t avoid plastic; plant fibers like hemp and jute, and bamboo or sorghum (easily regrown).
2. Take a much harder stance on plastic – Disposable, one-use plastic products are the worst offenders when it comes to pollution, not just after their incorrect disposal, but even during the manufacturing and processing stages. We’re urging exhibitors to remove any plastic products they might have and substitute them with greener alternatives.
3. Be careful about travel plans – Travel is perhaps hardest to improve on, considering that planes are among the biggest polluters and you can’t be expected to take a ship from Paris to New York, for instance. Though where you can improve your carbon footprint is with the selection of transportation on smaller distances. Perhaps you can get on a train instead of catching an internal flight that’s just an hour or two. Most big cities in the world have a good public transportation system, so you don’t need to rent a car once you’re there. If you absolutely must rent a car, then you can at least choose an electric model, which is greener by far.
4. Think heavily about toxins in your booth – Although a detox for the body is not scientific, a detox for your booth is more than possible. There are a lot of volatile organic compounds in varnishes, paints, adhesives and other finishes in the production of exhibition stands – these VOCC are highly dangerous, so choose to outright eliminate their use in the booth you’re building. Carpeting is also worth mentioning. Forego synthetic carpeting with new materials that don’t have the same environmental impact - marmoleum seagrass, sisal, cork and recycled rubber.
5. Reduce the amount of printing you do – Now we’ve come to familiar territory. Yes, paper is still a depleting and costly resource to produce, which is why you should do less of it as a whole. Digital displays are already in fashion, so you don’t have to work hard to substitute printed visuals. If you’re adamant about printing, then perhaps you could go with printers who use green practices. Either this means they’re using recycled paper or rather water-based vegetable inks.
6. Think about what you can use again – We’re always taught that we can always buy a new thing, when an old one breaks. This extends to a lot of physical materials that are present at a trade show. One of the best things you can do is reuse a lot of the displays and pieces from the furniture. Renting is the eco-friendliest, but we will not dismiss an exhibition booth that’s built to last and flexible enough to upgrade accordingly in the long run.
7. Reduce the weight of what you bring – Shipping and logistical services surrounding your booth and promotional materials are not only costly, but definitely harm the environment. The lesser the weight of your exhibit, the less pollution shipping and handling them costs. Also, you’re able to improve your budget.
8. Think about where you spend your money – Given how connected we all are and how easy it is to order the very best from halfway around the world, we don’t stop to think about the environmental costs associated with the energy requirements to ship something from that far. And why do we do that when there’s a high likeliness that there’s a good local option as well. Not only do you help the environment, but surely save money and boost the local economy.