Exhibition stands have traditionally been no friend of the environment.
Fabricated from heavy, non-sustainable woods, previous generations of exhibition stands have tended to be single-use and difficult to dispose of once they have served their purpose.
To add insult to injury, their unwieldiness and heft meant they needed heavy-duty diesel vans to shift them from one location to another, adding to their carbon footprint.
The good news is that new materials, coupled with a modular approach to stand design, have made modern exhibition stands a lot more eco-friendly recently.
In this post, we take a look at the quiet revolution that has meant exhibition stands are nowadays more friendly to the environment than ever before.
Sustainable Materials
Perhaps the biggest change in the way exhibition stands are manufactured today is in the materials they are made from.
Previously, exhibition stand boards were fabricated from heavy timber, MDF, plywood, and chipboard, while the frames used to support them were made from energy-intensive metals such as aluminium and steel.
These boards were often single-use and difficult – if not impossible – to recycle or reuse easily.
Instead, stands today are typically made to be reused show after show or event after event, and are fabricated from recyclable metals and sustainable woods so that they can be safely and environmentally disposed of at the end of their useful life.
Materials include:
- Recycled aluminium
- FSC-certified wood
- Recyclable fabrics
- PVC-free graphics
- Water-based inks
- Natural cellulose fibreboard Xanita.
Lower Shipping Costs
In the past, large-framed timber stands required large vans and specialist equipment to load and unload.
Conversely, today’s lightweight stands can often be shipped in small vans and even cars to their destination, reducing the carbon footprint and cost of transport.
Eco-Lighting
Older types of exhibition stands were typically lit by halogen spotlights or fluorescent strip lights.
This type of light uses more energy and generates more heat than the modern lighting systems used to illuminate today’s exhibition stands.
Modern exhibition stands are more often than not lit by LED lights, which are more eco-friendly than those lit by energy-burning elements, as they consume less electricity, produce less heat, and have a much longer lifespan.
This not only reduces energy consumption during the stand’s lifetime, but also has the added bonus of lowering the maintenance requirements of the lights.
Modular Components
The fact that many modern exhibition stands, like the Modulink exhibition stands at GoDisplay, now also feature modular components that can be added and removed as the occasion requires has transformed their eco credentials.
In the past, stands would often be disposed of after the event, and a new one brought in for the next exhibition.
Today, modular design elements can be stored away and brought back into use at a future date, rather than simply being binned after use.
Conclusion
Reusability and recyclability are front-of-mind in the design and manufacture of modern exhibition stands.
Add in much-reduced transport costs and energy-efficient lighting systems, and the carbon footprint of modern exhibition stands is much lower than it once was.
