3 Ideas to Make Your Next Exhibition Eco-Friendly

There are many different ways to make your business more eco-friendly: but what can you do when it comes to making corporate events such as exhibitions and trade shows more eco-friendly? Whilst the transition to online practices such as email, PDFs and even video calls have made many business practices more sustainable, there are still many aspects of running a business which produce waste material and generate CO2.

One surprisingly big polluter for businesses are promotional events, which can cause a number of damaging environmental impacts.

What effects can an exhibition have on the environment?

In the modern world of business where everything is online, the appeal of face-to-face communication is actually growing, thus making these events a big draw for businesses looking to connect with their audience.

Despite the obvious benefits, exhibitions are often not as eco-friendly as we’d like them to be. The logistics of getting all the exhibitors and attendees to the event; the power used during a show; and the production of promotional materials and exhibition stands make exhibitions potentially very damaging to the environment.

However, don’t worry if your business wants to remain eco-friendly at an upcoming event, simply follow the following 3 tips to lessen your environmental footprint at your next exhibition or trade show.

Lose The Paper!

From promotional leaflets to enquiry forms, exhibitions traditionally use a lot of paper making them not-so environmentally friendly. But it doesn’t have to be this way – there are a number of different options to ensure paper wastage is kept to a minimum.

You can collect your leads electronically on an iPad or mobile phone. What’s more, there are now a number of data capture apps which integrate directly with a CRM system.

When thinking about any leaflets or flyers you want for the show try and think if they are completely necessary. If you can convey the same information via a post-show email or follow-up call, why not do-away with unnecessary print items (which will probably only get thrown in the bin anyway!).

Re-use your exhibition stand!

Exhibition stands are an important aspect of your exhibiting presence, but can also be damaging to the environment. Therefore it is not a good idea to have display stands designed for single-use only. If the design includes information such as current prices; the year; or name of a particular marketing campaign it may become dated and be obsolete for your next event.

If you plan to attend several shows throughout the year, a good option may be a modular exhibition system. These modular stands can be reconfigured to fit different shapes and sizes of exhibit area meaning they can last for a number of different events.

Many of these systems can have banners added or removed to the display meaning certain changes can be added to your display as you exhibit at different shows.

If you have a larger space, why not hire an exhibition stand for the event? This means all the materials will be re-used by the supplier and can be easily set up for your next event without the need for additional storage/costs.

Get Eco-Friendly Exhibition Giveaways

Exhibition giveaways are a great way to both entice visitors onto your stand and then make them remember you after the show. Many exhibitors go down the branded promo product route with items such as pens, notepads and keyrings.

However, why not take a different route and go green with your giveaways? Rather than mass-produced branded plastic items you could offer recycled products or an online discount code for your shop.

Many companies now offer sustainable bamboo ranges of traditional giveaways. Whilst they will cost a little more, they will show your brand’s values whilst being much less harmful to the environment.

About The Author

Matthew Pavli is the Marketing Manager at Display Wizard, the UK’s no.1 supplier of display stands, specialising in display boards, banner stands and much more. The company offers many eco-friendly alternatives to traditional exhibition stands.