Across the business event and trade show industry, everyone is conscious of the growing need for environmentally sound display booth products. The trade show convention industry releases its first Green Meetings Report ten years ago in regard to exhibiting in an environmentally-friendly fashion: “Establish detailed environmental practices and a strategy to implement them…

• Consistently communicate the policy in various ways to engage all employees, vendors and clients.

• Ask event organizers to inform exhibitors in advance about on-site waste reduction and environmental efforts.

• This may include encouraging vendors to: Print collateral materials on double-sided, post-consumer recycled paper using vegetable based inks

• Provide materials via digital downloads

• Bring only what they need for the event, and take away what they don’t distribute at the event

• Provide on-site recycling for paper, cardboard, metals, glass, plastics, and other
recyclable materials. Offer exhibitors re-use opportunities for their decorations and display materials. These items may be in demand by local schools or charitable organizations.

In a world where quality environment is key, where green grass is wanted, and where green drives business, how could the exhibit industry look the other way? Going green and becoming green has never been more urgent for both exhibitors and exhibit suppliers. Environmental impact must be considered. This is a very difficult bar to jump over as working in very tight time constraints with Union restrictions, makes the challenge not just about turning on the green light in our workshop, but also on the Trade Show floor. Absolute Exhibits has been an environmentally conscious company since its inception. As more and more materials become available for exhibit fabrication, we discuss them with clients and make them available whenever appropriate.

Some of the materials that we consider during fabrication:

• Bamboo – produces 35% more oxygen than average trees, matures quickly, and
does not require re-planting

• FSC Certified wood

• Metals – recycled aluminum when possible

• Paint – low VOC, organic paint, recycled latex paint

• Tension Fabric – low weight and small shipping and storage space

• Cardboard – large tubes can be used for walls or other structure elements

While the formula for being green has yet to be clearly established the Absolute Exhibits idea is to be Green Conscious. For your next Trade Show, partner with Absolute Exhibits and minimize environmental waste by renting an exhibit made of prefabricated, reusable systems components and still achieve a sophisticated look while being environmentally aware. Amongst the many new initiatives we have undertaken at our Absolute Exhibits fabrication plants:

• We are working diligently to recycle our exhibit building materials including steel, aluminum scraps, recyclable plastics, and wood trimmings to improve environmental impact.

• All exhibit carpeting is steam cleaned, repaired, and cut to a new size to minimize waste through repeated reuse.

• Carpet padding is reused as packing materials and recycled into new reclaimed carpet pad.

• In our offices we have maximized technology for our internal processes to reduce paper consumption and reduce electricity use.

When we talk about “saving the planet,” or being “environmentally friendly” it seems people take sides instantly. Why is this? It seems many people believe it is expensive to go green and while that may be true in some areas, that does not have to be the case with exhibiting.

Here is what we know, as more people reduce their ecological footprint by becoming conscious consumers, each person’s effort, no matter how small, will make a large, hopefully long lasting difference as the whole for the whole!