 usinesses are going Green faster than the Incredible Hulk. According to the State of Green Business 2008 report from Oakland, CA-based eco-news source www.GreenBiz.com, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which owns the second-largest private shipping fleet in the United States, plans to double its 7,000-truck fleet's fuel efficiency by 2015. The British supermarket chain Tesco PLC now powers its trucks with biodiesel fuel and some of its stores with wind energy. And Hewlett Packard Development Co. exceeded its 2007 recycling goal of 1 billion pounds of electronic waste - then promptly declared it would recycle another billion pounds by 2010.
Green practices have become as much a priority for businesses as a black bottom line. According to Oakland-based nonprofit research and consulting service Business for Social Responsibility, almost 30 companies the world over have committed to going carbon-neutral, including a who's-who of business movers and shakers that includes Barclays PLC, Nike Inc., and Yahoo Inc.
Anytime a business goes Green, it's likely for a wide variety of reasons. The most common seems to be upper management's personal values, such as Patagonia Inc.'s founder Yvon Chouinard, whose earth-friendly beliefs have shaped the sports-apparel maker from its inception. Other companies reduce their carbon footprint to reduce their internal costs, like Bellisio Foods Inc. did with its two 5.25-million-gallon "digesters" for food waste that will reportedly save the company nearly $1.3 million a year in energy, transportation, and landfill costs. Still others become eco conscious to set their products apart from look-alike competitors, such as Adnams PLC, which brewed up a carbon-neutral beer (bottled at energy-saving plants) whose ingredients are grown with comparably low levels of pesticides.
But as business goes, so goes the exhibition industry. According to EXHIBITOR magazine's study, "An Inconvenient Booth," 62 percent of exhibitors surveyed reported "high" or "very high" personal interest in Greening their programs, and 86 percent expected to allocate some portion of their 2008 budget to Green exhibiting options.
Just like Wal-Mart and Nike, exhibit managers are going Green to fulfill business strategies and objectives, from appealing to younger consumers and reducing costs to reinforcing a particular brand image.
To help you go Green without going gaga in the process, we've devoted the bulk of this issue to examples of exhibitors who have gone Greener, information on how you can follow their lead, and eco-friendly products and services to help you minimize your program's carbon footprint.
If you're left wanting even more eco info, visit www.GreenExhibiting.com to peruse past articles, download a copy of "An Inconvenient Booth," check out the new online-only Ask Mr. Green column, and do a little shopping in the Green Marketplace.
While Greening your exhibit-marketing program might be far from easy, it's also far from impossible. And as you'll discover inside this issue, it's getting easier every day. e
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