By Lorraine Jenks
For Lorraine Jenks, when building and decorating an exhibition stand, only sustainable products and services will be used.
THE CONCEPT OF green procurement is daunting. It can be a minefield of allegory, misinformation, conflicting research, controversy and constantly evolving definitions of green criteria. South Africa is rife with ‘green washing’, which is when a manufacturer deliberately provides misleading information about how green the product is.
For a large exhibition to be formally classified as green, a professional audit is the first step. Perceived to be expensive, the benefits are, in fact, substantial – excellent energy cost savings and the discipline of accurate consumption measurements. Companies like Heritage SA or Green Stay will assess your energy and water use and advise on waste management.
WHAT YOU CAN DO IMMEDIATELY
Everything bought, used or consumed at your exhibition should be chosen with care. Buy locally whenever you can, because that will enhance the economic and social health of a region, promote small economies instead of corporate institutions, and negate the large transport carbon footprints. Each product purchased should be selected based on its overall greenness. That means evaluating the environmental consequences of a product through all the different stages of its life cycle – where and how raw materials are sourced, the manufacturing process, handling, transport, safety, and finally, the disposal of the product.
BE FIRM WITH YOUR SUPPLIERS.
The manufacturer of a product should be able to furnish you with information on the level of green compliance at each level of his supply chain too and he should continue to monitor these for as long as his company remains a preferred supplier.
Greening the event industry is not about cost; it is about price. It is not about being better than your competitor; it is about everyone collaborating to clean up our industry. Be the green champion – it’s actually easier than you think.
