Designing for More Eco-Friendly Events

At Soap we’re committed to limiting the environmental impact of our work. But we also design collateral for a lot of conferences, trade shows and expos – which aren’t always the most eco of gatherings. Events can create an estimated 1kg of landfill-bound waste, per person, per day and a 2022 survey found that 50% of companies plan to host one or more in-person events this year. In fact, 64% of respondents to the same study are already registered to attend two or more in-person events. Which got us thinking: 

How can we balance our green ethos with our clients’ need for brilliant, bold and robust event collateral?

Could fully recyclable roller banners be a cost effective and more environmentally friendly way to create an eye-catching event stand? And how else could we create collateral that’s a little closer to carbon neutral? 

We decided to road test a few ideas (or, as Richard Cook of Monzo would have it, pull on our ‘mad scientist’ lab coats and test a few hypotheses) at Noisy Little Money’s Digital Gaggle, which we were recently co-sponsoring. And the results are in!

The fully recyclable roller banners we used to create our stand were really easy to put up and, we were told by a number of gagglers, looked great. 

• The base is made from cardboard and contained the banner itself plus the (cardboard) assembly components

• Our artwork was printed onto a 170gsm silk paper banner by inkjet printers, making it crystal clear and completely PVC free, and came attached to a cardboard spindle and top rail

• All we had to do was extend the collapsible cardboard poles to prop the banner up and we were good to go!

At the end of the day, we quickly packed them up and they were easy to carry away, ready for recycling back at the office. If it had been a multi day conference or expo, we’re sure they would have lasted. 

With careful handling – and, of course, the right brand design – banners like these could definitely be reused multiple times, making them even more eco-friendly. They are slightly more expensive than their PVC & aluminium frame alternatives, but given their landfill-dodging credentials, we think it’s well worth the small premium. Especially for one-off events. 

We also printed A6 double sided postcards on recycled paper and made sure we collected entries into our acorn-counting prize draw digitally, to save paper and speed up the process.

And we know we aren’t the only ones thinking about this issue. Apart from loads of conversations at our stand about the banners themselves, a recent survey found 58–67% of event professionals are very or completely likely to address sustainability in their future event planning. 

With our eco experiments and our time at Digital Gaggle a resounding success, and a growing appetite for not just events, but more eco events, we feel confident that our greener approach can work for our clients’ future needs.

So how can we help you to make your next event a little greener? Get in touch with Christy to discuss fully recyclable roller banner design ideas today.