Events play a crucial role in the commercial world.
They bring businesses together, allow brands to showcase their products or services, and provide opportunities for entertainment, education and networking.
However, with increasing focus on both sustainability and health & safety at events, it’s essential to plan carefully to balance these two critical factors.
As the world becomes more conscious of the impact of human activities on the environment, there’s a growing emphasis on sustainability in every aspect of life, including events. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of health & safety in public gatherings and the need to protect attendees from harm.
With these two factors in mind, event organisers and exhibitors must take a balanced approach when planning their next event.
Whether it’s a small networking gathering or a large-scale conference or trade show, it’s possible to create a safe and sustainable event for attendees. Here are some things you need to bear in mind when trying to address these two elements.
Understanding the balance between sustainability and health & safety at events
We’ve written before about the importance of sustainability and health & safety at events, but which takes precedence?
It’s widely accepted across the events industry – whether we like it or not – that health & safety always trumps sustainability. However, that doesn’t mean you must sacrifice every element of sustainability at your next event to ensure you meet health & safety regulations. Far from it, in fact.
With careful planning – and the support of an experienced events partner like Exhibit Interactive – you can still run a sustainable event while addressing any potential health & safety risks.
First of all, let’s consider what we need to balance.
Sustainability is about taking care of the environment and preserving it for future generations. It involves reducing waste, conserving resources and minimising the negative impact of events on the environment.
Health & safety, on the other hand, is about ensuring that event attendees – or visitors to your stand – are protected from harm.
So, sustainability and health & safety are two critical factors you must consider when planning an event. However, they aren’t mutually exclusive.
The importance of sustainability
When organising or exhibiting at an event, it’s essential to develop a sustainability plan that considers your environmental impact, as well as any health & safety implications.
Your plan should include waste management and energy-saving measures, and a method for reducing the event’s carbon footprint. It should also have a strategy for sourcing materials and supplies in an environmentally-friendly manner. This is something we can help with.
Waste management is one of the key components. It concerns reducing waste at your event and ensuring it’s disposed of responsibly. You should choose reusable materials wherever possible, especially when creating exhibition stands and other event spaces.
Single-use exhibition stands produce a vast amount of waste and are challenging to dispose of. They can also create huge health & safety issues on site, thanks to the higher risk involved in their build and installation.
Modular system stands, cardboard exhibition stands, simple stands and shell scheme alternatives like Exhibit Cube are a safer and more sustainable option. They all use recyclable or reusable elements to keep unnecessary waste to a minimum, are quicker – and safer – to assemble and take down, and allow for easier storage and transportation.
Integrating digital technology wherever possible will help reduce the amount of printed materials you need for an event. Relevant information, documentation or marketing materials can be pre-loaded onto devices such as touch screens, tablets or laptops, helping reduce waste and production costs.
Not only is this more sustainable, it also helps improve health & safety, as there’ll be no bulky boxes of brochures or leaflets cluttering stands and the venue. This is a double-win, as it removes the risk of tripping or falling as well as a potential fire hazard.
The importance of health & safety
The health & safety of attendees is a top priority when planning an event. While most event organisers conduct a thorough risk assessment of the event venue and identify any potential safety hazards beforehand, exhibitors should also consider a few things.
These include checking for fire, trip or electrical hazards on your stand, and other potential safety risks such as stand construction, low ceilings and hanging lights or display boards.
By identifying and addressing these potential hazards before the event, you can minimise the risk of harm to your visitors.
As an exhibitor, you’ll need to provide several documents when you book your stand, including detailed stand drawings, a risk assessment and method statement, and proof of insurance.
These are all essential for demonstrating that you’ve taken the time to think about reducing the risk of accidents. Again, working with an experienced events partner is essential, as they’ll be able to guide you through the process of producing all the necessary documentation to ensure your event goes off without a hitch.
While most event organisers – and venues – prioritise health & safety over sustainability, that doesn’t mean you have to compromise on reducing waste and being more environmentally friendly completely.
Many events encourage using modular or system stands instead of single-use stands. While organisers won’t actively flex the rules regarding health & safety, they will try and accommodate exhibitors’ efforts to be more sustainable wherever possible.
So, if you have any queries or concerns, it’s always worth discussing them with us beforehand. We can usually find a creative and sustainable solution to ensure your stand – or event – can still meet health & safety rules.
Balancing sustainability efforts with health & safety concerns
Managing sustainability and health & safety is a challenge because, as we said earlier, the latter will always trump the former when it comes to the crunch.
But, it is possible to find a balance that works. By taking a proactive approach, you can create a safe and sustainable event that benefits both the environment and attendees.
The key is to prioritise the needs and concerns of your attendees and build your solution around them. That’s where Exhibit Interactive can help.
We’ve delivered thousands of exhibition stands for organisers and exhibitors at venues across the UK and beyond.
Whatever you need, we’ll work with you to ensure your stand or exhibition solution is as sustainable as possible while still meeting all the relevant health & safety regulations. Get in touch to find out more.
