So we all know that sustainability is important.  But there seems to be a little bit of confusion out there as to how all this fits into a tradeshow message. Let’s divide it clearly here and then talk about the gray area in between:

1.) There is your companies overall sustainable message.  Why your products are green, why your manufacturing processes are green, how you can positively contribute to an overall sustainable manufacturing, distribution and consumption process.

2.) There is sustainability in your booth in terms of materials, shipping, waste and reusability.In the post below, Triplepundit blasts Tetrapak for having a green booth but not green products.

You know Tetra Pak envelopes– those mailers made of bubble wrap, foil, and paper, right? Well, those are pretty tough to recycle, but did you know Tetra Pak is committed to sustainability? They had a booth at the recent Natural Products Expo West 2008 trade show, and because they are “a natural products” company, they wanted to make a little video showcasing how green their booth was. That’s right. Not their products, just their tradeshow booth.

This is a great example of why a company needs to blend its messages every step of the way.  The video is an interview with a Tetrapak employee giving a tour of the booth and talking about the sustainability of it.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t really explain how this fits into a green iniiative wihtin his company.  In fact, Tetrapak has a rather long history with creating sustainable packaging.  You can argue whether or not it’s truly a green product.  For example, they product for packaging milk is complicated to recycle but allows for milk to be stored without refridgeration.  They product for packaging veggies is less recyclable than a can, but is square so it reduces shipping weights.  But that’s not the point here.The point here is that they have a sustainable message about their product but it doesn’t come through in the description of the booth.  They missed an opportunity to really talk about how those messages in relation to a booth.Remember, a booth should be a reflection of your brand.  Sustainability is certainly a positive brand attribute these days, but your booth should tell that story.  Not a story about itself. You can read the post from Triplepundit.com here: Link

You can view the video on that post or here: Link