research

our years ago, on the heels of Al Gore’s Academy Award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” EXHIBITOR released the results of a groundbreaking survey designed to measure the Green movement’s impact on the trade show industry. According to the white paper, which was appropriately titled “An Inconvenient Booth,” exhibit marketers reported considerable interest in Green exhibiting, and that interest translated into small, measured steps toward adopting Green alternatives to traditional exhibit-related products and services. But the economic and environmental landscapes have shifted considerably in the 48 months since that benchmark survey was released, prompting EXHIBITOR to wonder how, exactly, eco-mindedness fits into marketers’ current agendas. Is going Green still atop corporate priority lists? Or has the movement screeched to a halt as a result of the Great Recession and arguably waning public interest? To answer those questions and take the pulse of marketers regarding their perceptions of and experiences with Green exhibiting, EXHIBITOR issued the 2011 Green Exhibiting Survey. According to the research, sponsored by Lynch Exhibits Inc., interest in Green exhibiting has increased since 2007. But despite increased adoption of Green products and services, exhibitors are less willing to pay a premium for those comparably eco-friendly options. An impressive 53 percent of exhibitors indicate “high” or “very high” interest in Green exhibiting, mostly driven by their own personal interest and a feeling that going Green is “the right thing to do.” Company interest, on the other hand, seems to be lagging behind that figure, as just 36 percent of exhibitors feel their companies share their eco enthusiasm. Furthermore, the fuel behind the Green movement appears to be burning with a little less intensity. In 2007, 62 percent of marketers reported that their interest in eco-friendly options was increasing “somewhat” or “significantly;” whereas only 38 percent responded as such in 2011. Having said that, the tables have literally turned in the four years since “An Inconvenient Booth” was published. At that time, 63 percent of exhibitors had not even considered Greening their programs; whereas today, 66 percent have taken some steps toward going Green. Additionally, while only 58 percent of exhibitors planned to spend even a portion of their budgets on Green products or services in 2007, 75 percent currently earmark funds for Green alternatives to traditional options. But economic factors threaten to inhibit increased adoption, as the price of Green products and services topped respondents’ list of primary obstacles. In 2007, 73 percent of exhibit managers reported they would pay at least a 5-percent premium for Green alternatives, compared to only 60 percent in 2011. The following pages contain additional data points culled from the results of our 2011 Green Exhibiting Survey, along with a handful of participants’ quotes in response to open-ended questions regarding Green exhibit-related products and services. E