Event Marketer Spring 2022 - 14

e
STRATEGY
DEEP IMPACT
World of Concrete's director offers five tips on building a more sustainable event
GREEN MACHINE: World of Concrete,
the 47-year-old event for the
construction and masonry
industries, got a sustainable
makeover this year.
SUSTAINABILITY is top of mind for a
vast range of industries, and the commercial
construction and masonry business is
no exception. It comes as no surprise, then,
that the yearly exhibition for the industry,
World of Concrete (WOC), just completed
its most sustainable event yet.
Held at the Las Vegas Convention
Center, Jan. 18-20, the 47-year-old show,
put on by Informa Markets, drew nearly
37,000 attendees, including 1,100 exhibitors.
And thanks to show partner HILTI's
renewable electricity sponsorship, WOC's
use of sustainable energy sources saved an
estimated 204 tons of CO2e (or Carbon
Dioxide Equivalent, the standard for measuring
carbon footprints). And tapping
into renewable energy sources was just one
of the tactics that contributed to a more
environmentally-friendly event.
For Jackie James, group director at
World of Concrete, the willingness of all
players within the event's ecosystem, from
the vendors to the venue, to make small
steps toward a more sustainable event
was integral to its success. All of those
little adjustments, she says, added up to
big change. But it was WOC that led the
14 EVENT MARKETER SPRING 2022
charge, so we asked James how she and
her team elevated the event's sustainability
components without compromising the
attendee experience.
1.
REQUIRE ONLINE
REGISTRATION
Many events offer the option to register
online or in person, but implementing an
all-digital registration system is a more
environmentally friendly strategy. It's also
an opportunity to get a clearer sense of
who's planning to attend before it begins.
" One of the biggest things that we
did that I think is pretty amazing is that
we went to online registration-only, as
opposed to having people come to the
show and register, " says James. " They still
can if there's an issue or a mistake or a correction
that needs to be made. But we've
made it very clear that you must register
online. That's been really successful for us
in terms of knowing our numbers better
ahead of time. It gives you a lot more data
ahead of time. Plus, we don't have all the
paper forms and the pencils and all the
different things that come with doing it
on-site. "
2.
EMBRACE BARE
FLOORS
WOC eliminated aisle carpeting at the
event this year. As James pointed out, it
wasn't difficult to get World of Concrete
attendees to embrace a show floor comprised
only of... concrete. But eliminating
carpeting has sustainability implications
for event marketers in many industries to
consider.
" We did away with aisle carpet and
that was a huge one-really difficult, " says
James. " I love the look of a show with
carpeting and I'm not saying anything bad
about it, but not having the aisle carpet has
made it a lot easier to move in, a lot easier
to move out, less labor intensive. And it's
been well received. "
Bonus: Without carpets to scrub,
cleaning crews will be using fewer chemicals
to keep your event footprint sparkling.
3.
DITCH THE PRINTED
PROGRAM
Another paper-saving strategy is to turn
your printed show program into a digieventmarketer.com
http://www.eventmarketer.com
Event Marketer Spring 2022

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