Sustainable exhibition stand as a green signal for the trade fair industry
Since january 1st 2017 exhibition stands can be awarded with the Austrian Ecolabel for "Green Stands" UZ75 for exhibition stand construction.
Trade fairs are an important means of advertising and communication for companies and serve to maintain direct contact with customers or partners. News and product innovations can also be presented here to a large audience. At the presentation the exhibition stand is a decisive element. For companies that value sustainability in the construction of their stands, there is now a new Ecolabel directive: UZ75 Green Stands.
Companies can have their stand certified if they attach particular importance to the following criteria:
- Use of reusable or recyclable materials
- Waste prevention
- Saving energy
- CO2 reduction
An important driving forse in the elaboration of the criteria was I.M. Austria, the association of trade fair and live marketing specialists in Austria. "The directive of the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings and Green Events gave us the idea to award trade fair stands," says Birgit Hölzl-Zech of I.M. Austria. "Sustainable and environmentally friendly business is very important to us." In a pilot project with the company FAIRTRADE Austria, the implementation of a sustainable exhibition stand was already successfully tested in practice at the trade fair "Alles für den GAST" in autumn 2015.
Environmentally and health friendly
“Material used for exhibition stands or whole stands very often end up in waste, in landfills or incinerators directly after their use," explains Barbara Dusek from the Association for Consumer Information. "The focus of the directive is on the prevention of environmental and health risks in the production and disposal of the stand." Halogenated plastics must not be used. If wood is used, at least 50% of it must come from sustainable forestry (except recycled wood). When packaging, the use of disposable films is kept to a minimum. A mobility concept for all stand deployments has to outline how to optimize unavoidable trips and how to reduce emissions.
The company Schiff Fair Success GmbH was also involved in the developement of the new Ecolabel Directive. "For me, it is important not to think about waste separation but waste prevention," says Managing Director Sabine Sturm. "Reciprocity is very important to us." So the architecture of the booth is not "finished with sustainability", every licensed exhibition stand construction company can advise its customers on the sustainable operation of the stand directly at the trade fair, adds Barbara Dusek from the VKI. "The possibilities range from the abandonment of printed advertising materials or cheap giveaways to the use of environmentally friendly travel and accommodation for stand staff." This also supports the EU's desire for a closed circular economy, according to Dusek.
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