CHICAGO — The Exhibition Services and Contractors Association (ESCA) recently hosted the first installment of its Rising Leaders Committee’s Leadership Lab — which is a webinar series designed to empower newcomers in the exhibition and event industry. During the “Closing the Loop: The Path to Sustainable Events” webinar, Elizabeth Fretheim, Vice President of Sustainability at Freeman Company and Will Estes, Sustainability Manager at Emerald Carpets, discussed how sustainability has reshaped the way trade show professionals do business.
Picking the Low-Hanging Fruit of Sustainability
Although bringing sustainability to the trade show floor may sound like an exhaustive process, it doesn’t have to be. In fact, both Estes and Fretheim agree that there are some small areas where professionals can begin this process, so they can build a foundation to expand from.
“The low-hanging fruit out there is where you can get your quickest wins. Sustainability can be daunting and a little overwhelming at first, so if you can just go after these little wins and start building yourself a foundation, you can start looking at your product innovation. You can start looking at better design. You can start looking at your energy policies,” said Estes. “It doesn’t have to be some over-the-top change right off the bat. Start the journey and hopefully you get to the point where you’re doing product innovation and better designs.”
Related. ESCA Announces the 2025 Rising Leaders Summit
One of the low-hanging fruit that can be picked is consulting with suppliers about choosing sustainable products whenever possible.
“If you look at some of the booths out there, some of them have PVC panels in the structure. We have a paper base for that. Instead of using foam core for signage, use honeycomb. In some of these cases, it’s actually less expensive. It’s less expensive to use honeycomb than it is to use some of the foam-based products,” Fretheim said. “Really dig in with your suppliers. Ask them what they have access to [and] what some of your options are, and I think you’ll be surprised at how many options there are to be more sustainable without adding cost.”
In addition, people can look at what they’re bringing to a show and how much of it will ultimately need to be thrown away. In some cases, doing this re-evaluation may reveal that certain items may not be needed after all.
Related. ESCA Launches New Rising Leaders Committee for Young and Early-Career Professionals
“For example, instead of some of the giveaways that could be thrown out literally as people are walking out of the exhibit, how do you really enhance your experience with your attendees and the people that are coming to your exhibit or your booth or your show?” explained Fretheim. “How do you really think through your purchases? Is it adding to your message? Is it adding to the booth? And if not, maybe you don’t need it.”
By looking at the little things that can add to a show’s sustainability, says Estes, it will lead to finding more complex things that can improve. The key is to build that strong foundation.
“A gentleman once told me the good thing about low-hanging fruit is it always grows back,” Estes said. “So you’re always going to be able to find these little wins to continue to build on that foundation to make it stronger.”
To get more articles like this, sign up for TSE’s free Young Professionals Newsletter.
