Equinox Design has partnered with the Middle East headquarters of carbon trading organisation, Advanced Global Trading (AGT), to offset the huge amount of environmental waste created by the exhibition industry, estimated at over 200,000 tonnes a year in the UAE alone.
With Samsung and Hi-Tec already on board, Equinox Design’s new division, Exhibit Green will give its clients the option of retiring the sufficient quantity of credits to offset the environmental damage, or CO2 emissions, produced during the transport, manufacture and disposal of the stands, which can weigh over 20 tonnes.
Equinox Design is contracted to build eight exhibition stands in the UAE before the end of 2011 and last year designed and built over 304 stands worldwide, largely for blue chip multinationals, and is aiming to top this figure in 2012.
Carbon credits are similar to certificates that represent a reduction of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere with one carbon credit equivalent to the saving of one tonne of CO2. Projects that prevent the generation of greenhouse gasses or remove them from the atmosphere earn these credits, which can then be sold to other businesses and individuals to offset the emissions they generate.
“We’re delighted to be part of this voluntary joint initiative as we’ve been looking for viable ways to help the environment for many years. Over 30 years in operation, Equinox has built thousands of stands and we’ve seen incredible amounts of waste, which is exacerbated by the fact many need to be fire-proofed, making them even more difficult to destroy,” Carl Criscione, Equinox Design’s partner, said.
“We believe collaborating with AGT as part of our new entity, Exhibit Green, to create a simple system where clients can opt to offset the environmental damage caused by the stands through the purchase of carbon credits is a big step in the right direction and we’re delighted to have some household names already on board.
“We’re excited to build our first stand which will proudly display the green AGT Seal of Approval, demonstrating our client’s environmental conscientiousness to all the other exhibitors and anyone attending the exhibition.”
The exhibition industry tie-up follows AGT’s recent success in helping Swiss Le Mans race team, Hope Racing, become the first professional motorsport team to become completely carbon neutral – through the same process of retiring credits.
“As an industry-leader in sourcing and trading carbon credits, we’re targeting some of the biggest brands in the world to help them improve their CSR and negate the significant environmental impact the temporary stands they build for exhibitions right across the globe,” Charles Stephenson, AGT director, said.
The cost per stand of retiring the credits, which averages approximately two per cent of each stand’s value, allows the exhibitor to stick the seal of approval on the stand and use it in any marketing literature, demonstrating their commitment to offsetting environmental damage by buying credits, which will be ploughed into environmental products.
“The question is really – why wouldn’t these top brands take part? The AGT Seal of Approval makes it as simple as possible to negate environmental damage and we also give advice on how to embed this into exhibitors’ organisational CSR strategies and corporate governance frameworks,” Stephenson added.
“At the moment exhibitors see this as a way of differentiating themselves from the competition and the next stage will be to take this model directly to the associations who organise exhibitions, particularly in the UAE, then roll it out worldwide.”
“Nearly every client we speak to is interested in principle, with a few already on board and our vision is that one day all clients who exhibit will do so in a more environmentally conscious way. In the end exhibition stands are a snapshot of a company and its values and this is a great way to add value to brands and convey positive messages,” Criscione, added.
AGT is an industry-leader in sourcing and trading carbon credits to help companies and individuals offset their CO2 emissions and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change. With offices in Dubai, London, Zurich, Salt Lake City, Miami, New York and Los Angeles, AGT currently employs over 40 traders.
Equinox Design is based in UK, with offices in the Middle East, North America and China. Last year Equinox Design planned, built, transported, installed, dismantled, returned and stored an exhibition somewhere in the world once every 2.6 days.