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Giving sustainability the green light!

Promoting more sustainable trade fair appearances

Reflect, rethink – reduce!

As a marketplace for new technologies and innovations we provide key impulses for the future. This holds great potential but also involves great responsibility. After all, when lots of people get together plenty of resources are consumed. Which is also why acting sustainably is becoming an increasing focus at our major events, both on a national and international level. We want to help meet the Paris climate goals and slow down global warming. Together with you! By involving sustainability already in the planning stage and identifying – and using – opportunities for improvement. With positive consequences: minimised costs, reduced expenses and a smaller corporate carbon footprint! For you and for us.

To the measures

Join us on this journey!

We drive innovation; and we advocate change. With climate change, things are different. Here we do our best to stop change, with our strategic energy-management system and the on-going climate-compatible optimisation of our fairgrounds and exhibition halls. Did you know that our premises run on green power – and, hence, your trade fair stand, too?

Let's do it together - the 7 R

Measures

How to make progress!

When it comes to sustainable trade fair appearances, every step counts. And there are many in each phase – also in the run-up to an event. This means, you can also contribute with your exhibition stand to make our events increasingly sustainable:

Before the trade fair
At the trade fair
After the trade fair

Before the trade fair.

Good consulting means better planning

Consulting & Conception

Want your trade fair participation to also make a difference for the environment? Then agree with all parties involved on your goal from the outset and stick to it consistently.

You can already chart the course for sustainability in the conceptual phase, for instance by:
  • Getting advice from your partner companies and service providers
  • Laying down CSR guidelines and insisting on their compliance
  • Preparing a carbon balance sheet for your trade fair participation together with your stand construction company
  • Checking the (environmental) impact of various options

Choose your partners carefully

Partner companies & services

Sustainability is teamwork. If all parties share the same goals, unexpected opportunities arise – also through synergies. When selecting your partner companies you should pay attention to:

  • Experience in the sustainable trade fair business: proven by references and, if available, certificates (also from sub-contractors)
  • Less is more: also for tenders and involved companies
  • Short distances: preferably bank on local service providers – this saves transport emissions
  • First digital, then face-to-face: online meetings in the run-up save unnecessary travelling and their impact on the environment

Still looking? Our Service Alliance would be happy to advise you!

Built for the future

Stand Construction

Shell stand or custom construction? If specific aspects are taken into consideration, both can be realised in an eco-friendly way.

Shell stand – sustainable by nature
  • Modular, flexible to use and individually adaptable
  • Long useful life and reusable elements
  • Predominantly recyclable and durable materials
  • Can be extended and re-designed time and again
Custom-built stand construction – leverage potentials
  • Here, too, a modular construction can be realised – preferably without joint filling, wallpapering and whitewashing
  • Pay attention to environmental certificates – e.g. FSC for wood from sustainable forestry – as well as the use of recyclable materials
  • Avoid composite materials and opt for environment-compatible adhesives, paints and varnishes
  • Bonus points for the re-usability of individual modules and furnishing elements

Nice to see you again: if you use the same stand over many years this will not only delight the environment but also your customers. Because they will recognise your brand from afar. This is why you should ensure modules and furnishings such as counters, stage components or shelving are easy to assemble and dismantle without damage. Also forego printing dates or years. And if you wish to minimise your carbon footprint even further our best advice is to rent rather than buy it!


At the trade fair.

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Less is more

Sourcing

Often less is more. This also applies to your trade fair stand!

By keeping stand furnishings to a minimum you direct visitors’ attention to selected highlights – while avoiding unnecessary purchases. With everything you need for your trade fair watch out for
  • Possible alternatives such as rental
  • Compliance with sustainability criteria while sourcing
  • Environment-compliant, certified products, if possible, that were produced under fair conditions
  • Energy efficiency and lifecycle costs

On our journey towards the future

Transport & Logistics

Admittedly: there is no avoiding the transport of materials, furnishings and stand elements but the route from A to B can be shortened!

By means of:
  • Optimised routing
  • Optimal capacity utilisation of vehicles – such as partial cargo in one joint shipment

Other eco-logical (!) measures:

  • Vehicles that are fuel-efficient and driven in a resource-saving way
  • The use of reusable packaging materials and transport crates

Eco mode on!

Technical Equipment

Needless to say, you don’t want to leave visitors to your trade fair standing in the dark but rather set one highlight or the other.
And you should – only more efficiently:
  • When planning, consider the power consumption of the devices you plan to use.
  • Forego unnecessary screens – use one bigger, cleverly placed monitor rather than two smaller ones.
  • Pay attention to the energy efficiency of your lighting and media technology.


Messages that last

Promotional Materials & Give-aways

When you promote your company, you want to achieve predominantly one aim: leave a lasting impression. You can also do this with simple means:

  • With each item of promotional material take a deliberate decision in favour or against a printed version.
  • With printed material make sure to use certified recycling paper and eco-friendly vegetable printing inks.
  • If possible, use undated, timeless promotional products.
  • Provide information preferably in digital format by means of QR codes at the stand.
  • Always consider the added value of give-aways.
  • Forego disposable items, unnecessary packaging and perishable consumables.
  • Obtain information on the carbon footprint and manufacturing conditions of these products.
  • Avoid large quantities of leftovers.

Sustainable credentials: As a special service for all our events we offer you digital exhibitor passes that you can forward to your staff by e-mail and use paperless! Even for managing your invites we provide you with digital voucher codes.

Too beautiful to dispose of

Furnishings & Decoration

Pay attention to the reusability and future use of

  • Floor coverings
  • Fascias
  • Decoration

And if you really do need metre goods, non-neutral fascias or a cut-flower bouquet for that special occasion: Insist on recyclable or recycled materials and also book their recycling after disposal right in the OOS.

Arrive safely!

Mobility & Accommodation

All roads lead to Düsseldorf – and from there right to the fairgrounds: within 15 minutes from most anywhere using local public transport. Other ways to reach us with low emissions:
  • Within Germany – by Deutsche Bahn: using the Veranstaltungsticket [Verlinkung], offered at a fixed price for all Düsseldorf trade fairs
  • From the airport or within Düsseldorf – by local public transport: the fairgrounds are ideally connected with two underground stations and several bus stops
  • By car sharing
  • By e-vehicle – thanks to charging stations [Verlinkung], located around the fairgrounds

Be sure to organise sustainable accommodation with good transport connections to the fairgrounds early on so you can start your trade fair adventure well rested.

Fair play

Personnel

Act responsibly – also towards your own stand staff.

They will be especially happy about good working conditions, payment and breaks.

Eating better

Catering

To make sure not only your guests but also the environment likes your stand catering:
  • Serve predominantly regional, seasonal, vegetarian or vegan foods – this way you reduce your carbon footprint with your offering.
  • Opt for fairtrade products.
  • Avoid disposable plastics. Use reusable crockery and bottles – they also look better!
  • Do without portion-packages of milk and sugar, for example.
  • Only order as much as you need – to avoid food waste.

Bon Appetit!

Sorting is child’s play

Disposal

Avoid, reduce, recycle – are our principles when it comes to the waste produced during a trade fair day. That’s the way to handle it properly:
  • Please collect your waste by grade – sorted by paper and cardboard, plastic films, carpet offcuts etc.! This increases the recycling ratio and saves money for costly sorting of mixed waste.
  • Make use of our well labelled recyclates stations for separated waste collection on the entire premises.
  • Please also note our waste management offers such as collecting points for special waste and the individual disposal service.

You can register the disposal of your waste via the OOS!

After the trade fair.

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After the trade fair is before the trade fair

Dismantling

Dismantling will reveal how sustainable your planning really was because it will show what’s left over – single use carpeting, wood and chipboard, leftover wallpaper – and how it can be reused.
Even though you may not have thought of everything: next time you know better what to avoid – by banking on reusable floor covering, reusable construction components and uncoated, easily recyclable materials. Then:
  • Prepare all reusable stand components and furnishings for transport.
  • Check which of the remaining objects and materials can be disposed of in a clean-grade way.
  • Maybe you’ll find a grateful recipient for one piece or the other or find out whether you can probably donate leftover food to a food bank.

Messe Düsseldorf is cooperating with Tafel Düsseldorf e.V.. Subject to sufficient capacity at the Tafel for collection and storage, their volunteers will be happy to collect leftover food and other goods from your stand at the end of the trade fair and make them available to people affected by poverty in Düsseldorf and the surrounding area. Here you can find a list of things the Tafel will accept. The passing on of leftovers from open catering is not allowed for hygiene reasons.
We will take care of the logistics in consultation with the Tafel. You only need to register the goods with the Tafel:

Contact:
Tafel Düsseldorf e. V.
Mrs. Bruns, Mrs. Schütze
Tel: +49 211 4360103
info@tafel-duesseldorf.de
Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Cards on the table

Evaluation & Communication

How big was the carbon footprint of your trade fair participation?

Even if you were satisfied, there is definitely room for improvement for next time. And communicate what went well and what you want to improve in future – to your stakeholders, for example.

Reset to zero

Offsetting

Despite all efforts there will be some emissions that are still unavoidable. But you can compensate for them via high-quality offsetting projects to minimise greenhouse gas emissions.

Find out more about trustworthy carbon offsetting projects at the website of the United Nations Carbon offset platform.

Thanks for supporting us – for trade fairs with a future!

Even though not all measures can be put into practice at once, taking the first little steps is right and important. Because these little steps taken together also make a strong impact. For people. For the planet. And for the future of our beautiful industry.

Download Checklist
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Let’s make a start!

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And share our thoughts – and your ideas! If you have any questions, inspirations or tips, feel free to get in touch with our contact person for CSR:

Andrea Eppert
EppertA@messe-duesseldorf.de

And if you are looking for suitable partner companies, simply talk to the Service Alliance:

Phone: +49 211 45 60 600
servicealliance@messe-duesseldorf.de


You can find an overview of our services here:
www.messe-duesseldorf.com/servicealliance