Isla, an organisation leading the drive to make events more sustainable, has joined forces with the Print Hub to help its members deliver more sustainable print.
Events and exhibitions are in the sustainability spotlight as most are treated as one-offs with display and promotional material that cannot be reused. Isla wants to stop this.
It was formed by 12 event agencies at the end of 2019 following discussions on how to make the industry more sustainable through collective action. The plans ran straight into Covid-19 and lockdown, before eventually launching in September last year. Print Hub Global is, itself, a consortium of freelance experts steeped in the display print and project management sector.
Isla has followed up with publication of a guide to sourcing print sustainably. Buying Better for Print is a step by step guide for event planners to help them make the right choices to minimise environmental impact.
It has also attracted membership from the large format print sector, including MacroArt, Rocket Graphics and Spectral Creative.
Laura Fell, head of graphic production at the agency GPJ and lead of the Isla print working group, says the collaboration with Print Hub Global is a logical step. “Their values are aligned with Isla’s in that we want to change the way the printing industry looks at large format print. We want all decisions regarding printing in our industry to be made with sustainable solutions in mind, and the Print Hub are experts in this.”
Print Hub director Chris Kelly points to a PVC-free alternative to standard Foamex board. “This innovation was developed by one of the UK’s major material suppliers and the quality and durability of the product is as good as, if not better, and is also cheaper. Plus it is manufactured here in the UK, which has reduced the carbon footprint.”
The events sector is calculated to produce as much as 100,000 tonnes of waste in a single year. An application which will be available to Isla members called Trace is intended to track and reduce the waste created and calculate the amount of carbon generated in B2B events, reporting to a dashboard view to help event organisers identify where improvements are possible.
