Marketers are slowly taking steps to make events more eco-friendly

Whether it’s a matter of social responsibility or brand identity, taking green measures can be as simple as deciding to recycle or drastic enough to require integration at the event’s conception.

Three tips for tech event marketers looking to go green:

1. Material World. For a 2007 event program promoting its hybrid vehicles, Toyota is investigating ways to include environmentally friendly materials into the exhibit build. Under consideration: 40 percent recycled ceiling tiles and eco-friendly wall covers and flooring. The automaker also could bring in suppliers who provide those materials as partners for the initiative. “There may be opportunities [to partner], if... we could both enhance our image or message to the consumer,” says Doug Coleman, Toyota’s advanced technology vehicle manager.

2. Electric Slide. Other brands are offsetting electricity and gas use at events and mobile tours by purchasing energy credits to offset the damage caused to the environment. For a recent mobile tour that traveled throughout California, Whitewave Foods’ Horizon Organic dairy brand purchased wind energy credits to offset the gas used in the Ford E-350 that accompanied the tour. The company purchased the credits through a renewable energy organization, Portland, OR-based Bonneville Environmental Foundation, says Ellen Feeney, Whitewave’s director-responsible livelihood.

The company also works to “green” events that it sponsors. Whitewave purchases energy to offset the electricity used throughout the facility for the Natural Products Expo, for example. To get a good estimate, the company examines electricity bills for similar-sized shows that have been held in the facility.

3. Property Picks. An easy way to start making events more environmentally friendly is to pick venues that already have green policies in place for events. A page on the Environmental Protection Agency’s web site—epa.gov/oppt/ greenmeetings—includes links to a list of properties with environmentally friendly practices in check and tips for planning green events.