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Linda Musgrove, the TradeShow Teacher authored the "Complete Idiots Guide to Trade Shows"

Linda Musgrove
TradeShow Teacher
www.tsteacher.com

Hello class, it's good to be back for another lesson! This article will be covering how to "go green" with your exhibiting, or at least "greenish".

Fortunately, the world is becoming increasingly aware of the need to be more environmentally conscious. The trade show industry is jumping on the same bandwagon of course, and a significant trend towards “green exhibiting” is quite noticeable.  This is not just a trendy thing to do, but makes a very positive contribution to preserving natural resources and protecting the environment.

Printed Materials

In the trade show industry, "going green" is often primarily associated with the trade show display exhibitors use, but that's not the only area where you can apply green exhibiting practices. We'll cover displays in detail a little later in this lesson, but first we'll start by discussing a few other areas which can contribute towards greener exhibiting for your company. An area that involves a considerable amount of waste is printed materials; commonly exhibitors print way more collateral than necessary and often throw away the leftovers so they don't have to ship them after the show. Several ways to reduce the negative environmental impact of printed collateral are:

• Print on recycled paper
• Use vendors that can print with vegetable-based inks
• Print double-sided
• Format your documents in a way that allows for more text per page; to reduce the amount of paper you use
• Don't print dates or show names on materials so they can be re-used for future shows
• Don't throw away extra collateral, use it for a future show
• Send collateral electronically following the show, instead of distributing printed collateral at the show. That way, the material makes it to the attendees office; more often than printed material will.
• and more...

Advertising and Give-Aways

Advertising and give-aways are a big part of the marketing mix for trade shows; they play an important role in branding companies and building awareness. "Going green" doesn't eliminate these items from your show planning, but think about the material the items are made of, how much shipping they need to get to the show and what impact they have on waste processing in the unlikely event not every attendee keeps your give-away.

• Make use of electronic advertising as much as possible, such as e-mail, company website, show website and web advertising
• Purchase give-aways that can be reused
• Use give-aways that are made from recycled materials or are bio-degradable
• Use give-aways that have little or no packaging
• Don't print dates or show names on give-aways and advertising, so they can be re-used for future shows
• Use items that are made locally and don't need to be shipped twice around the planet
• and more...

Shipping and Packing

Another key area where you can be more green friendly is with your shipping practices and packing materials. Some examples of reducing waste are:

• Reuse boxes from show to show
• Reuse packing materials
• Use shredded paper for padding
• Ship less materials to the show to reduce weight; which reduces fuel usage
• Print materials in the show city so they don't need to be shipped

Trade Show Display

Entire “green displays” and accessories are now readily available, and not just by companies specializing in these options. By now most vendors have added “green displays” to their line of offerings and if you are in the market for a new display that you plan to use for several years, you should definitely consider an environmentally friendly display since you can expect attendee’s feelings towards environmentally friendly exhibiting to become only more common.

 “Green Exhibiting” Goals

If you’re considering a “green display”, you should make a list of what the top goals are so you can better compare vendors and their offerings.  If your company already has green initiatives, you should get all the details and see how your trade show exhibiting can fit in. Chances are, you do not just want to have a display building process that reduces air pollution or uses recycled materials, you probably want to use those facts as part of how you present your company and your company’s values. Essentially, create a list of what your environmental goals are and then execute accordingly.

 “Green Exhibiting” Questions to Ask Vendors

Now that you know what your goals are, you need to know what questions you should ask vendors about their green products. Here is a list of questions to help get you started; customize these questions and add to the list based on your company’s needs and policies.

• What type of energy efficient lighting options do you provide?
• What type of fabric is used? (If that is a factor in the display you are considering).
• What type of carpeting and padding do you offer?
• Do you print with “green ink” and what does it consist of?
• Do you use wood in your display? (If the display has wood in it ask what type of wood it is and avoid endangered wood such as teak from problematic regions.)
• Do you use recycled metal?
• What other recycled materials are used in the display?
• Is the manufacturing process for building the display energy efficient? Please describe how.
• Does your facility/office practice green behaviors? What are they?
• Does the display contain harmful or toxic ingredients?

That's it for this lesson class, I hope you enjoyed it. Bye for now!

HOMEWORK:
Create your green exhibiting goals and start exploring strategies your company can implement to "go green"; or at least start going "greenish"!

Linda Musgrove is President of the Trade Show Training firm, TradeShow Teacher. She focuses on significantly improving Trade Show Results through Products offered on the TradeShow Teacher website and strategic, customized Trade Show Training for individuals, departments or entire teams. Musgrove presents goal based Trade Show, Marketing and Networking Seminars at Industry Conferences and creates customized training programs for Trade Show Producers to offer exhibitors. She authored "The Complete Idiots Guide to Trade Shows", as well as a Trade Show Training Manual titled "Trade Show Training for Increased ROI" and writes columns for a variety of Trade Show industry publications. To learn more, and sign up for the FREE Trade Show Tactics Newsletter visit http://www.tsteacher.com