How Green Is Your Exhibit?

Experience

Expert Service

Exceptional Value

Exhibitors Choice tradeshow exhibits and services Orlando Florida ph. 321-662-1935

rentals and sales

design and fabrication

installation and logistics

How Green Is Your Exhibit?

Your company may require it and your customers expect it – but exactly how “green” are you going to be at your next trade show? Demand for Green exhibiting options is growing. The bottom line is: going green is here to stay and “being” green is every company’s challenge. After all, your trade show exhibit is a manifestation of your company’s image. But where do you start?

Unfortunately there are no real standards yet to determine how exhibits can best sustain our environment. Rather, it is up to each of us to be responsible for how your exhibit is designed, built, used and eventually disposed of. Following are 4 big steps – and 6 small ones – you can take to put a green foot forward at your next trade show. Remember the three Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle.

Step #1 Reduce the Size & Weight

One way to reduce your carbon footprint is to design an exhibit that features lightweight materials, like aluminum extrusions and fabric, that can pack easily into fewer and lighter recyclable cases.

Consider how many times a year your company exhibits – and where. Are you shipping your crates by truck or plane? How many miles each way? Fewer and lighter-weight crates are less expensive to ship and make installation and dismantling easier, which can reduce your labor costs as well.

Step #2 Reuse it - Rent it!

Make use of something that already exists -- instead of using valuable resources to create something new. Rental exhibits are the ultimate in reuse, and they’re cost effective. As an added benefit of renting an exhibit, the designs can be reconfigured easily between shows as your company’s needs grow or change. Renting makes things simple, smart – and environmentally-friendly.

For companies that exhibit many times a year, the convenient, close-to-site storage of a rental exhibit represents another, very substantial way to reduce your carbon footprint.

Step #3 Recycle – and Recycle

If you’re building a new exhibit, consider the materials that will be used to construct it. With a focus on all things “green,” exhibit designers and producers have been working overtime to provide customers with a host of eco-friendly options.

Try bamboo, cork and sisal carpet -- all great alternatives to traditional carpeting. Consider using aluminum. It’s extremely recyclable, lightweight, versatile and durable. Graphics can be printed on fabric or a form of recyclable plastic. Packing cases made of durable and recyclable plastic are designed for extensive reuse.

Think about this: where do old trade show exhibits go when they die? Sadly, the answer historically has been a landfill. Tossing the old exhibit in the dumpster is no longer acceptable. Recycle your exhibit when you are finished with it.

Step #4 Read the fine print

The best-designed trade show exhibit will lose its impact if the graphics are not truly spectacular. But the printing process used to produce the graphics – along with the material they’re printed on – can be extremely harmful to the environment.

Solvent-based printing, an industry standard for years, is falling to the wayside in favor of more environmentally-compatible aqueous-based printing technology. Concerns about graphic quality have been addressed and the final product is now guaranteed to be as vibrant and long-lasting as its solvent-based predecessors.

As important as the printing process is the material on which graphics are printed. There are options made from 100% recycled materials – that are greener than others. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. And request…that the materials used in your exhibit meet your company’s environmental standards.

Step #5 The Small Steps

How can you bring a “greener” approach to your exhibiting practices? Here are 6 small steps you can take to walk the talk at your next show:

Recycle on the road – blue bins abound. Use them!
Reduce your exhibit staff – bring only an essential, core team. Fewer staffers, means fewer flights, and that will enhance your carbon footprint.
Go “green” tech - Leave the brochures at home and load your promotional materials on flash drives that feature your company logo or follow-up with an e-brochure.
Carpool, use mass transit or walk: plan events that minimize car travel and maximize shoe-leather.
“Green” your giveaways – make sure they’re reusable and recyclable. Or reduce “to the extreme” and eliminate giveaways altogether.
Identify & participate in “green” shows – trade shows are going green too. Give the green ones preferential treatment and perhaps consider skipping shows that aren’t up to your standards.

By taking the steps presented above, you’ll be doing a lot to help preserve the environment, reduce your exhibiting budget and make your competition “green” with envy!