As most of us know, the last several years have most certainly put sustainability on the back burner, making room for what most of us consider green… a profit. Nonetheless, many companies have continued a commitment to their sustainability missions and efforts and have been able to provide clients with the kind of environmentally friendly solutions they need. In fact, recently Apple Rock was proud to work with Modernizing Medicine who needed to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. We produced a display with bamboo, recycled content graphics and upcycled extrusion. For those that have heard this term for the first time, Upcycling is "the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value."*
As the year comes to a close, Apple Rock's own commitment to being environmentally responsible has been shown with our Year to Date metrics calculating that we mitigated 26.04 cubic feet from being sent to a landfill, saved over 174 trees from being cut down and recycled more than 228 tons of build material. Small steps, maybe, but putting one foot in front of the other moves us forward.
We're proud of that, of course. But can we do better? More importantly, where is the industry going with regards to sustainability? As trade shows are looking up and our clients are reengaging us for more environmentally responsible solutions we have to ask ourselves, how we can go from fad to fact? We know there is nothing that replaces a face to face meeting and certainly nothing more important than being able to market directly to your audience. Recognizing that, the question comes back to how we can do that with as little impact as possible to the environment?
There are many ways we can cut down on waste. Consider the amount of marketing materials you print to take to a show that most people throw out before they leave the building. Trade show technology is ever evolving. Comparable to bar code technology on merchandise, QR Code Technology serves a similar purpose but takes it a step further providing a great deal of information about your company and/or product(s). Apple Rock is tapping into this technology with the innovative Apple Rock Event Shopper Program (ARES). Through the use of Smart Phones, a quick scan of a company's QR code brings up a bevy of information for a buyer, ranging from the products name, price, detailed description, and even video. This gives many of our clients the perfect solution to direct market meaningfully on a show floor with absolutely no printed materials and no waste (plus… adios drayage!). We see the Apple Rock Event Shopper as the future and our mad scientists are creating even more waste eliminating solutions for our clients and the industry. Stay tuned!!
*Wikipedia November 2011.