How important is a Green booth in the scheme of things? Should we focus on other things instead?

This is a great question because so many exhibitors are looking to build Greener exhibits. The booth is the most public and visible part of most programs, so the passion for building Green booths is easy to understand. But what about all the things you do behind the scenes? How important are they?

Follow the Money
Unfortunately, corporate budgets probably focus too much attention on the Green build. A booth is a capital asset. Capital spending happens infrequently — only once every five or more years, on average. So a new build makes a big splash. You confront the costs and the environmental impacts all at once. It looks pretty dramatic compared to the steady, day-to-day trickle of ongoing operations.

But what happens after the newness wears off? I'm talking about years two through five, when you buy new graphics and an occasional feature display, but spend most of your days worrying about logistics? If you're like most people, the booth becomes so familiar that you stop thinking about its Green qualities.

Are We There Yet?
Suppose, for example, that you use your Green booth at five shows each year for five years. That's 25 events. Your company amortizes the cost over all 25, and it is reasonable to amortize the environmental impacts too.

In other words, only one-twenty-fifth (or about 4 percent) of the booth's impact applies to each event. If we're measuring carbon, as we did last month, then we divide the construction footprint by 25. Suddenly, this number doesn't look very big.

I ran these calculations on an actual exhibitor's program that uses a 10-by-30-foot custom exhibit at three shows each year — West Coast, East Coast and Midwest — and sends eight people to each event. Most staff travel from the East Coast, but some come from the Midwest and one comes from California. The booth has been in service for ten years, which is quite reasonable given its light travel schedule.

These Numbers Don't Lie
The results were striking. In fact, 59 percent of the annual carbon footprint comes from staff air travel. The next largest category is shipping at 30 percent. Add another 8 percent for hotels. This means that a whopping 97 percent of the program's carbon footprint comes from event-related activities. A mere 3 percent comes from the amortized carbon footprint of booth construction.

The carbon metric reveals huge opportunities to go after these big numbers. The company might consider using more local reps at shows or combining show travel with other business functions to reduce pollution overall. They might also look at new shipping strategies, such as show-to-show routing.

Pollution is pollution, of course, so a Greener build is certainly important. But don't be fooled by the big splash it makes. The longer view reveals much bigger opportunities. In the end, that's what environmental metrics are all about. E