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10 Tips for an Eco-Friendly Trade Show

Posted by Bill Taylor — Monday April 28, 2008

Companies must strive for a transparent, earnest environmental initiative.  

There is a green wave sweeping across the country and marketers are paddling like the devil to catch it and not get washed out in the crowd.  Green is not just for Nalgene-toting, oat-eating activist types anymore.  Now the Hummer-driving, Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenager, who said “no to girly-man economics," is now saying “yes” to environmental responsibility with his new “green agenda,” says Fortune Magazine (read more).  In business, even traditionally conservative big hitters like Goldman-Saxx have turned to the green side.  And competitors are turning green with envy.  

With so many companies becoming more eco-friendly how can you make sure your company does not get lost in the mix?  What will set you apart?  Sure you support the environment theoretically, just like you are against the starvation of children in Africa.  But what are you doing about it?  Ethically, your effort requires just that: effort.  And it must be open and genuine.  A recent survey conducted by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship cited by USA Today suggests that a mere 47% of consumers trust companies to tell the truth in environmental marketing (read the article).  An increasingly skeptical consumer base: what great news!  It’s great news, anyway, for a company that wants to distinguish itself from a sea of contending pretenders.  Amidst intense public scrutiny, companies must make promises they mean. 

Painfully, I must admit that the tradeshow industry is resource guzzling vehicle often driven by deadlines, convenience, and low costs.  Environmental concerns get left by the wayside.  Even “eco-friendly events” with environmental themes tend to produce monumental damage, laments Jeffrey MacDonald of USA Today (read more).  A big part of the problem is that companies think they have to hit the ground running.  But first let’s learn to crawl. 

We all have to start somewhere.  With great pride and even greater humility, I can say that here on top of the hill at Advent we are in the infant stages of an environmentally friendly initiative.  Our progress is both enthusiastic and reluctant.  Sometimes smooth and sometimes painful, we will suffer through growing pains until we are able to leap and bound towards our ultimate environmental goal of sustainability.  None of us can afford to treat this as a fad marketing strategy, but rather an imperative ethical and practical long-term commitment.  Here are 10 good ideas to get you off and crawling at your next tradeshow:   

10 Tips for an Eco-Friendly Tradeshow: 

1. REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE.  This is the basic tenet to the yet to be defined dogma of the “Green” movement. 

2. Reduce paper waste by communicating electronically.  Send information via email whenever possible.  Communicate with potential and existing customers via web and phone. Also, allow visitors at your trade show exhibit to sign up for more information at a computer rather than handing out sheets of paper for them to turn in.

3. Use low impact printing techniques for graphics.  Many chemicals used in the printing process are harmful to the environment. 

4. Reuse as much of the booth as possible.  Buy a quality, well designed exhibit that will last for multiple shows. 

5. Forget about disposable giveaways.  We all know where they’ll end up.   

6. Encourage branded reusable giveaways.  Branded water bottles will eliminate the need for paper and Styrofoam cups.  Branded canvas bags can be used to carry collateral at the show and groceries at home while replacing piles of disposable plastic bags. 

7. Ship an exhibit directly from show to show.  Save on shipping costs and reduce emissions by shipping your exhibit to advance warehouses near the next show, thus eliminating an unnecessary trip home in the interim. 

8. Use local resources.  Many resources like labor, carpet, and furniture can be obtained at the show site further reducing travel and shipping volume. 

9. Do the little things.  Turn the lights off.  Take a few extra steps to the recycling bin.  Forgo the convenience of a cab in favor of a nice walk or a ride on the metro.  

10. Make a donation.  Donate a portion of your tradeshow budget to an environmental cause to help balance your environmental impact. 

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