How to Build a Sustainable Exhibition Stand (That Actually Reflects Your Values)

Why exhibition stands need rethinking

Trade shows are loud, bright, and resource-intensive.

Behind the gloss lies a sobering fact: they are bad for the environment.

Exhibitions generate over 600,000 tonnes of waste globally each year, and in the UK alone, the events industry generates around 100,000 tonnes of waste annually.

It’s estimated that over half of all event waste still goes to landfill, with only around a quarter being recycled, much of it from materials that are used once and discarded.

Foam boards, vinyl banners, PVC signage – they’re rarely recycled, and often designed for a single outing. And for what? A few hours of brand visibility, then back to business as usual.

We wanted to do it differently. Instead of asking “How do we look impressive?” we asked: How do we live our values?

So, how to build a sustainable exhibition stand? Something meaningful, reusable, and honest in a sea of plastic and print.

Start with your values, then plan your stand around them

The design started with intention, not aesthetics. We knew we wanted to:

• Use recycled or reclaimed materials
• Avoid virgin plastics or foam board
• Create something modular, packable and reusable
• Align every visual element with our purpose

That meant practical constraints too. Materials needed to be light enough to transport. The structure had to be built by hand, with no large-scale fabrication.

And it needed to hold up in a professional environment – not look like something thrown together in a garage (which of course it was).

It also meant planning early.

Sustainable decisions create challenges because you have constraints – it takes time to source, there are limited materials and you need to clean, test and prototype.

So, the earlier you embed them into your thinking, the more creative freedom you actually gain. You stop choosing from what exists and start shaping what could be.

Our journey to building our sustainable exhibition stand began in summer 2024 – with early 2025 the target for our maiden voyage.

Designing a point of interest (games and props)…but with purpose

You know the drill.

Popup banner, table, sweets. “Hello, what do you do?” “blah, what do you do?” “blah, have a sweet, bye.”

It’s as memorable an experience as it is a sustainable one. Maybe, maybe the first time someone took sweets absolutely smashed the day, but its 2025 – what is going to be your point of interest?

We wanted a conversation starter, and our last stand (shamefully plastic), was a garden kerplunk set we turned into a marketing funnel.

We popped googley eyes on ballpool balls, and attached labels to the sticks for marketing activites, if you do “PPC” you can pull the stick, and voila customers drop through the funnel, well googley eyed balls at least.

The idea was sound, well recieved and more importantly… a starting point, so where do we get recyled materials to make this mad contraption?

Enter Gary at Till the Coast is Clear, on a mission to remove waste from the beaches of the South West, we had done a volunteer day with the Positive Nature Network and helped him clear up a yard of rubbish.

So, we went over and started gathering bits and peices, my eyes lit up when he mentioned how many tennis balls wash up on beaches from dog walkers, our customers were ready made.

The funnel was made from a traffic cone and a crabbing basket, I made a prototype.

But early tests revealed a problem…

I worked that out later by cutting the cone at the front to widen the hole, there was also the other problem – letting all the balls fall through was fun, but meaningless.

So in my head I started forming rules. You could only pull a stick if you do something sustainable, then we can reward and highlight to others the things they could be doing.

Hmm, could we gamify this, offer prizes? That rolled around in my head for a little while longer…

First we had the rest of the stand to consider.

When cardboard stands out more than plastic ever could

Trade shows are full of gloss. Everyone’s trying to outshine each other with backlit graphics, foam board arches, and bright, synthetic banners – a sustainable stand is humble, understated.

We needed something light and readily available as rubbish, cardboard seemed like the only real choice.

At first glance, it felt like a risk. Would it just look unfinished? Boring?

And how will we brand it, what will we say?

That gave depth, texture, and a bit of intrigue – without ink or vinyl. The cutouts caught light differently throughout the day.

It was raw, but deliberate.

I had seen quite commonly that cardboard plinths are used at tradeshows, often with a glossy finish – ours wouldn’t.

We recreated the B Corp logo for intreague and credibility and began to play with phrases like “This stand is rubbish” to really own the narrative.

The material became part of the message.

Gamifying the stand (and going from panic to purpose)

It was at this point, with some curious looks from my kids (and my wife asking for the dining room table back), where I genuinely thought the stand would look like a five-year-old had gone wild with glue and cereal boxes.

That anxiety was real. Especially when I cast mind forward to standing next to professionally fabricated stands (in the marketing industry no less), there’s a pressure to look “finished.”

The answer came as I was unpicking the trigger for the game, and it was slightly obscure – Tarot cards?

In truth that was a stretch, cards seemed like an obvious solution, in thinking of sustainable actions businesses can take I could see the visual style soming together as illustrations.

So each card was individually designed to carry meaning through both imagery and words.

They weren’t just decorative. They tied marketing, messaging and sustainability together in a way people could touch and feel.

Now they would draw a card and pull a stick if they use “renewable energy” for example in their business. Fewest cards to empty the funnel must be the most sustainable? (with a bit of luck thrown in)

That attention to detail, turned the whole thing around. Now to mull over some prizes.

Prizes aligned with your values

We wanted the prizes to reflect our values too.

No handing out branded pens or throwaway merch, what would be a meaningful reward?

These included a free digital sustainability audit, a strategy workshop, and a copse of trees via local charity Moor Trees on behalf of the winner.

It gave people a reason to engage, but more importantly, when the prize supports the same mission as your stand, it becomes part of the story.

Capturing Data at an exhibition, ethically

We have seen the business card box on the stand, “throw your card in there” – and what will happen to my email address? Nothing? Or will it go into a dozen automations of spammy emails competing for a sale?

Not a particualrly GDPR friendly or human centered approach.

Much better to try and merge the real and digital world, so we set up a simple Typeform on an iPad with a few quick questions, including email capture and an option for us to stay in touch.

If they said yes (and every single person did) the form fed directly into our mailing list via Ecosend.

But we were clear about intent: no sneaky pre-ticked boxes. We asked players to opt in, honestly and transparently, and they all did – If you’re doing something similar, there is no need to be insincere if you are offering value.

Email automation followup

Of course, most trade show organisaers will tell you the value is in the folloup, just like any networking, the ability to do business is in the trust of the relationship not the initial meeting.

Trust is hard earned and easily lost (especially, if I am spammed after I threw my card in the business card box), so we wanted to construct something of value, without being a pain.

Email 1/3 (after 1 day) – Thanks!

A simple thankyou for stopping by and bothering to speak to us. If you are going to do manual followup then this email looks the same.

Email 2/3 (after 1 week) – Quiz & Toolkit?

We recently created a digital sustainability toolkit and quiz. For those drawn to our stand it seems like a good thing to offer. A free 60 page online guide full of practical ideas.

Email 3/3 (after 2 weeks) – Connect in real life?

This one simply says it would be great to meet in the flesh with a list of networks I am a part of and signs off.

If you’re capturing data, why not put it to a good cause?

We also realised this interaction could do more than just serve our list.

So we added a second layer, we asked if they’d like to support a cause we care about, and gained online singatures for good causes trying to get heard in government like this one.

On the ipad form we just asked if they wanted to support it, if they said yes we just needed to grab their postcode too, and then they went over and signed the good cause board.

The game sparked plenty of chat, but so did this.

Drawn faces (in every sense)

Every evening for weeks, I sat with a handful of scruffy tennis balls and a marker pen.

Trimming off the dog-chewed fluff.

Turning rough waste into something resembling people (our would-be customers).

It was repetitive. Meditative. And if I’m honest, slightly ridiculous.

There was a real anxiety running underneath: Is this going to work? Will people get it? Or are we making total fools of ourselves with 100 tennis balls and a funnel made from a traffic cone?

But as the faces built up, character by character, the project started to feel more human. It wasn’t just a gimmick – it was a slow, imperfect metaphor for what it means to connect.

By the end, every tennis ball had a story. And together, they became the story we were trying to tell.

The sustainable exhibition trade stand

“its perfectly you” said one of our friends also exhibiting at the show.

I’m not sure what that meant, or whether itr was a compliment or an insult, but it was certainly the point.

Throughout the day we were run off our feet, one said “I have been around 4 times because theres always so many people at your stand!” and a handful said it was the best stand there.

Moreover the people that were drawn to it were our people, and did it work?

Absobloody-exactly! The funnel didnt block, the tech didnt fail, the cards didnt confuse.

We will tweak it of course, but now its time to take it on tour – coming to an exhibition near you!

Storing a sustainable exhibition stand!

We managed to get it in two cars, with some good tetrising, I think I could get it in one.

One thing we didn’t plan for? Storage.

Our cardboard panels were beautiful, but huge. Crabbing bucket – pretty big!

So I sliced each board into four smaller panels, and designed a simple labelling system for each panel. We set it up in a couple of hours, but we had to cut and stick velcro. I think we could do it in under an hour next time.

And nothing will get thrown away.

What we learned from building a trade stand that doesn’t cost the earth

Firstly, consider this: in a world of high-gloss sameness, the dull stands out.

Learning how to build a sustainable exhibition stand wasn’t quick. Or easy. Or clean.

We feared failing & judgement of daring to be different.

It was worth it.

Full transparency: We did spend a few quid. Screws and wire for the funnel, velcro hooks for the cardboard panels, paper roll for the good cause, a plant for the plinth.

A chair would’ve been handy – I will find something tatty at the recycling centre if it doesnt wash up on a beach!

Here’s what we took from it:

• Values based choices don’t limit creativity – they direct it
• People do notice the difference when you lead with values
• You don’t need to be loud to stand out (in fact, in the loudness then…)

Most importantly, we found that everything on the stand sparked conversation. From the materials to the game to the phrases on the wall.

It gave people joy and made them ask questions, and that’s all we wanted.

Quick tips for sustainable stand ideas (without the late nights)

According to the EAIE Sustainability Guide, a typical stand can produce over 170 kg of waste, with most of it heading straight to landfill.

But not everyone wants to spend months drawing on tennis balls and carving cardboard.

So here are some simpler ideas to take the same principles and run with them:

• Modular backdrops: Design panels you can pack flat and reuse (cut them for storage and label them – it will look great)
• Secondhand props: Use Facebook Marketplace, Freecycle, local businesses or recycling centers
• Print with care: If you need print, use FSC paper and avoid gloss coatings
• Rent, don’t buy: Borrow furniture, AV, and lighting when you can
• Tell the story: Use signage or QR codes to explain your choices

Even one or two of these can cut waste and make your presence more meaningful.

Want to build a more impactful brand?

If you’re exploring how to build a sustainable exhibition stand (or perhaps a more values-led business) we’d love to chat.

If you aren’t sure where to start, join our community and sign up to our newsletter for monthly advice.

Whether you’re big or small, this isn’t about choosing between sustainability and success.

It’s about building with purpose.