Tips and Resources for Sustainable Exhibiting

Water Bottle

Consider bringing a re-usable water bottle and coffee cup and reduce waste by using it instead of single use bottles and cups.

Tips and Resources for Sustainable Exhibiting

Before the Event

  • Re-Think: Think about how your display can go lighter on the earth. Include your staff and volunteers in the conversation and make sure they are trained in any practices to be implemented.
  • Signage: Use signage that is reusable and made of recycled materials with removable water-based graphics.
  • Reduce: Reduce costly shipping and your carbon footprint by bringing any display or sample materials with you in your car, or acquiring them locally, if possible.
  • Re-use:Consider re-usable or sustainably produced giveaways and avoid or eliminate disposable items. This list of sustainable swag options is a great resource. If you are shipping anything try to reuse packing materials and boxes. If your booth includes banners or signs design them in a way you can re-use them next year or at other shows. It’s not just more sustainable, it’s cheaper!
  • Policy: Create asustainability policy (Word) for your booth staff to identify sustainability goals. Assign a point person to help measure successes and recognize improvements.
  • Packaging: Make a conscious effort to minimize packing materials. Use environmentally responsible materials that are reusable, recyclable or biodegradable.
  • Brochures: Lower cost by reducing the amount of promotional collateral. Go digital to reduce paper use – Share your PDF brochures on the GA app.
  • Printing: If you must print, print double-sided and using soy/vegetable-based ink and post-consumer recycled content paper (the higher the % the better) that has not been bleached with chlorine.
  • Recycle: Plan to participate in the facility's recycling, composting, and donation efforts, especially during move in and move out.
  • Booth design: Use environmentally responsible materials and energy efficient lighting if applicable. Avoid use of toxic chemicals that have an unpleasant smell.
  • Freight: If you ship things to the site via surface transport, choose a company with high fuel efficiency, biodiesel or alternative fuel trucks.
  • Carbon offsetting: Although GA offsets carbon emissions associated with hotel/venue energy, contractor freight, and attendee air travel, we cannot estimate the transport and electricity use of our exhibitors accurately. Help us reduce our overall impact by calculating event-related carbon emissions resulting from transport and electricity use and offset through UUA’s chosen partners at CarbonFund.

Onsite

  • Transport: Minimize transportation from show site. Use fuel-efficient, biodiesel or alternative fuel trucks.
  • No Idling: Observe a ‘no-idling’ policy and do not leave your engine idling if you are unloading or loading booth materials.
  • Re-fillable bottles: Consider bringing a re-usable water bottle and coffee cup and reduce waste by using it instead of single use bottles and cups.
  • Paper: Avoid large quantities of collateral and offer to send information upon request.
  • Lead Retrieval: Use the GA app (or other digital means, such as QR codes) to capture the details of attendees who visit your booth rather than paper/business cards.
  • Energy: At closing each day, don't forget to lower your carbon footprint by turning off anything electrical you might be using in your booth. Turning off your lights when you leave your hotel and walking to GA are also great ways to conserve energy.

After the Event

  • Donate: Participate in the exhibit donation program by providing any usable materials you don’t want that are eligible for donation.
  • Report: Kindly complete any sustainability surveys or requests for data or information to help GA accurately capture, report upon, and offset its environmental footprint.

For more information contact gaexhibits@uua.org.