With huge amounts of energy and resources required to deliver on such short lived projects, exhibitions might appear in direct contradiction to the concept of environmentalism.
Thanks to advances in technology and a burgeoning eco awareness across the business board, there are ways you can reduce your environmental imprint in the exhibition space.
Stand
Exhibition stands can be short lived affairs, up for just a few days before being dismantled, at which point a lot of the branding can and often does end up in the bin.
Where possible reuse your materials, keep your messaging simple and avoid using dates or seasonal imagery, not only will this cut down on waste but it should save your business money too. Many display products allow you to keep the frame and update the graphic message.
If you’re not able to reuse your backdrops then trying to make the waste as recyclable as possible is the key – using recyclable backdrops such as fabric rather than plastics for instance.
Think about your up and coming events, and the size of space that you will be occupying, how best can you use your display equipment without having to change it for each show. It is possible to hire certain elements from the venue or a display company.
During the build it’s also worth considering the entirety of your stands carbon footprint. Not just in regard to the waste that you personally produce at the event, but also the carbon that’s consumed by both the production and transportation of the products. For instance, where possible use products made from eco materials, which rely on low energy production processes, and that are locally sourced.
Go digital
Discard the paper leaflets, business cards and attendee packs and go digital instead. The amount of waste that’s produced from discarded handouts at exhibitions is staggering. And not only is it bad for the environment, it’s not good for business – it’s a waste of money and resources, and if your marketing material ends up in the bin it’s not driving sales either.
Instead there are tools on the market that capitalise on QR codes and mobile apps to create digital platforms that allow interested delegates to simply swipe and collect information from exhibitors. Many exhibitions actually offer their own scanner hire and provide all delegates with coded badges, which allows data collection for the exhibitor too.
Going digital not only cuts down on waste and drives efficiency in data collection, but it also provides easy to use data post event, which should enable the business to effectively chase their sales leads.
Team
Exhibition events are resource greedy, not just in the materials they require in the build and execution of an event, but also in man hours required on the ground. The actual event itself can run for multiple days, each of which may demand up to ten or twelve hours a day on the stand. And for this reason any exhibitor will reasonably need a large team of people to effectively service the event. So with all of these people involved it’s essential to consider the impact they’ll have on the environment.
When organising the logistics for a team the two key elements that can have an eco impact are the travel and accommodation arrangements. Most exhibitions take place in major cities, so wherever possible choosing train travel over cars is preferential, or if vehicles are needed then opting for a green fuel or electric car hire company is the best alternative. And in these days of environmental awareness hotels have picked up the eco baton, which means there’s a good selection of carbon neutral or low carbon hotels and self catering apartments in many of the UK’s major cities.
Carbon offsetting is a great thing for businesses to back to increase their green credentials and to show that they are serious about the environment. As well as a fuzzy glow for the businesses of ‘doing the responsible thing’, it also creates a great boasting point to boost conversions as a USP.
It’s now not enough for businesses just to say they’re green by adding a recycling box in their kitchens – it’s more about becoming carbon neutral and making more considered purchases that aren’t wasteful to the environment (in terms of their production as well as opportunity to reuse & recycle to not end up in landfill – which also increases their ROI).
Offsetting
Why not join the likes of Sky and offset your carbon, it is relatively cheap and makes a brighter future for all.
Carbon offsetting is great for businesses to back to increase their green credentials and to show that they are serious about the environment. As well as a fuzzy glow for the businesses of ‘doing the responsible thing’, it also creates a great boasting point to boost conversions as a USP. It’s about becoming carbon neutral and making more considered purchases that aren’t wasteful to the environment in terms of their production as well as opportunity to reuse & recycle to not end up in landfill – which also increases their ROI.
Nimlok are providers of bespoke exhibition stand design and hire. Visit the site for all your exhibition stand needs.
