How can you manage vendor responsibility for social and environmental impact at trade shows?

Consideration should be given to the recycling practices taken after the event. Disposing of your singular use stand should no longer be an option. Be informed on where your stand will end up, how parts of it can be re-used at different events, and how your contractor is going to recycle it. Don’t let another stand end up in landfill.

For smaller stands at trade shows, look to see what can be donated to the local community, e.g. rather than fitting single-use, unattractive carpeting at a stand, buy a large rug from a furniture store which can be donated to a local charity after the show. It will likely look nicer than the usual trade show carpets too! We have done the same with tables and chairs, lamps and even plant decorations. Furnish your stand with items people would want to use in a home setting afterwards. It saves on transport costs for shipping furniture from show to show, reduces waste, and gives back to the local communities.

Thought should be given into stand design and how exhibitors reuse these stands or clients should look into the overall look and feel of their show and factor sustainability into every aspect of it. Show guides and material should be in digital formats and food sustainability and quantities should be considered

This, and other answers are clearly AI generated, hence full of ESG clichés. It remains questionable if environmental and/or social concerns really pay off. I’ve been actively involved as a consultant in using “carbon scores” of manufactured products from a multinational - sometimes even using the lowest carbon score as a USP. The initiative didn’t last long, customers hardly cared.

The most simple one here is to use system and reusable display elements, get creative with LED or lighting too - these options reduce the potential of single use materials.

Consider prioritising getting local vendors. While the event you’re exhibiting at may be local to you, it may not be local to your vendor. If the vendor is not local, more trips and resources are needed. More trips and vehicles means more pollutants in the air, but consideration should also be given to the number of trips the company may need to take. This leads to making a conscious decision to choose suppliers that are already travelling to your event. If these tick your sustainability boxes then go with them. If vendors are already travelling to your event for other exhibitors, carbon emissions are less by sending all materials in one go. Moreover, forklift loads can be greater and labour hire can be lower.

Trade show organisers don't really have "brand permission here" already business environments can be over regulated, so by organisers taking an authoritative stand, it's more likely to be rejected. Rather put a positive spin and some hype on it.

I work with trade associates on the best shows to attend for my clients and our company. Frank Frystak - President- Frystak Associates.

Drive communication across as many channels as possible, by pulsing the shows sustainability initiatives it makes it relevant, then heard and understood.

I work with trade associations on the best possible shows to attend and alert my clients of our exhibiting and attending these shows Frank Frystak - President, Frystak Associates

Do your own research, understand the range of solutions and possibilities that could enter your clients' world. Then engage them on it, create awareness around it and then create promotion for it. Imagine an award for the *lowest carbon emissions* ... it's possible.

Engage and collaborate with other vendors that are already focused on sustainability as a priority at trade shows. Share best practices & implement them. Call attention to this on a sign at your booth with a sign like: ‘Our Booth Reduces Waste!’ Here are some examples: 1)No plastic used for serving samples. 2)Our booth is made using recycled materials. 3)Our new booth is half of the weight of previous years, saving on carbon emissions 4) Less use or paper sell sheets: ‘We save trees!’ We use technology for sales materials. Please scan or QR code for more information 5) List how your team is personally contributing. Ex: ‘We Travel Together’! List ways you your company reduced your footprint by use of ride sharing, etc.

It is essential to engage authentically with companies, stakeholders, and non-profit organizations, collaborate, and share best practices. One thing I learned early on from promotions is that if you or your organization has ideas, someone else has probably thought of it or might think of a way to do it better. If you collectively work together, you can amplify your impact and drive change within the industry, not on your own. Create success together.

Whilst measurement is important, so are audiences and live events will never escape their carbon footprints but they can get a baseline and assess ways to move the needle towards better practices.

Look internally on your stand and see what else can be reduced. Lighting and power are just the beginning of the energy use on your expo stand. Here are a few tips to keep the impact low: 1. Natural lighting: when choosing your stand, understand where natural light will flow at the event and select a location with this in mind 2. LED Lights: If lighting is essential, choose LED lights as an energy efficient option. They use up to 75% less energy than regular light bulbs. 3. Energy efficiency rating: at times electricity will be required to communicate your message. Most smart technologies have energy efficient options. Use colour-coded energy efficiency guides at the back of electrical equipment to influence decision making.

Insist on "building systems". Octanorm for example. NOT single use composite wood materials. This is one of the lowest hanging opportunities for trade show organisers to reduce emissions and waste as a result of event production.

Considering the environmental impact of Trade Shows, there are incredible digital cards that can create follow-up opportunities and incorporate a digital CRM into your daily workflow. A paper sticker, a book, or swag may be great initially. Still, your crucial connection is that digital connection posts in person and digital tools can help facilitate those authentic connections and next steps with your attendees.