11.30.2009

The Green Trade Show

Data Connect’s Show Expert Technologies:  The Environmentally Friendly Trade Show Solution

As the industry leader in paperless trade show ordering technology, Data Connect is committed to environmentally-friendly business practices.  We believe in evaluating the ecological implications of our activities and choosing options with the lowest impact.  We are a values-driven company that strives to create a better trade show solution for show hosts, exhibitors, attendees, and the planet. 

With Show Expert Technologies, Data Connect allows show hosts to choose an environmentally responsible solution for their trade events.  Show Expert reduces wasteful and cumbersome paper processes with the best-in-practice electronic Point-Of-Sale ordering system and web services.  Before a show begins, Data Connect’s Show Expert website allows allowances to be negotiated, customers to be pre-registered, and items to be pre-booked and even Target Marketed, all without a single sheet of paper.

At the show, items are booked, quantities are changed, leads are placed, surveys are taken, and attendance is tracked, again, all without paper.  Customers’ show day reports can even be printed on a self-serve basis, further reducing excess paper use.  

The Carbon Footprint—shorthand for the amount of carbon emitted by a particular activity, entity, or group, typically from the burning of fossil fuels—is 50 percent of humanity’s overall Ecological Footprint, and its fastest-growing component. Data Connect practices a number of fuel-saving strategies to minimize emissions and to save our partners money:  Tradeshow staff commutes to and from shows via airline.  Of all the ways to commute long-distance, air travel has the lowest impact (see Figure 1 for emissions figures for travel from Denver, CO to Los Angeles, California).   Once on the ground, the staff carpools, typically using just one car for the entire trip.   

Figure 1:  Air Travel Emissions from Denver, CO to Los Angeles, CA - an average-length trip for a trade-show

It’s important to the company and to each member of our team to maintain a low-consumption strategy on the road and in the office.  At its Denver headquarters, Data Connect recycles old computers and peripherals, ink cartridges, paper, and aluminum.  Cleaning products are Green certified and completely biodegradable.  Many of our employees telecommute, reducing gasoline expenditures and preserving air quality.  

These routine considerations are ways big and small that Data Connect protects, preserves, and sustains our environment.  We appreciate your participation in this environmental stewardship and we look forward to working with you!