Natural Products Expo East/Organic Products Expo-BioFach America (www.expoeast.com), to be held October 15-18 in Boston, Mass., will make a lighter impact on the environment this year by implementing several sustainable practices. More than 1,200 exhibitors and 25,000 overall expected attendees of the East Coast’s largest natural, organic and healthy products trade show will experience, and take part in, choices that honor the environmental commitment of the industry. 

“Natural Products Expo East is creating a green event that has a broad and thoughtful array of environmentally friendly practices,” said Dan Ruben, executive director of Boston Green Tourism. “By doing so, they are demonstrating the kinds of practices that are very important to our future.”

This year, show organizers are implementing a comprehensive greening plan that includes the following:

·         A program that encourages and recognizes exhibiting companies to reduce their environmental impact at the show through trash diversion, travel offset and sustainable booth design.

·         The use of recyclable, biodegradable and sustainable materials whenever possible, including jute attendee bags and signage created from 90 percent recycled and fully recyclable materials.

·         Utilization of bulk containers and reusable or compostable service ware and cups for all food service.

·         32,000 compostable badge holders instead of the plastic standard, which will divert about 810 pounds of plastic from the landfill — the equivalent of 16,200 plastic bottles.

·         An extended onsite recycling program that includes traditional recycling, shipping material recycling and composting.

·         The “Travel Green and Save Green” program, which will fund travel for up to 1,000 people traveling 300 miles on public transportation. The program will reduce 884 tons of carbon emissions (see BEF Carbon Calculator:  http://www.b-e-f.org).

·         A renewable energy sponsorship that, through the purchase of Green Tags, will provide 122,780 kWh of clean, renewable energy credits to offset the energy used during the show

·         A paperless press room

“By partnering with the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, our trade show vendors and our exhibitors, this year’s show will prove to be our greenest yet, and will set the standard for improvement in the years to come,” said Erica Stone, show manager for Natural Products Expo East, produced by New Hope Natural Media, a division of Penton Media.

Reducing environmental impact is a major initiative for the trade show industry as a whole, and a joint project between major meeting organizers including New Hope Natural Media and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working to define an industry standard for green meetings.

“Green Guru” recycling and renewable energy initiatives are produced in partnership with Nordic Naturals and WhiteWave Foods.  For more information about Natural Products Expo East, including green initiatives, visit www.expoeast.com and click on ‘Green Efforts.’

Members of the media who provide editorial content may attend the show free of charge. Register online at www.expoeast.com/media. This show is open to a professional audience of manufacturers, buyers, retailers, media and service providers. It is NOT open to the general public.

New Hope Natural Media (www.newhope.com), a division of the Penton Media Inc., is the leading media resource and information provider for the natural, organic and healthy products industry, with print, in-person/event, and e-business products and services. Penton Media is the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S., serving more than 6 million business professionals every month. The company’s market-leading brands are focused on 30 industries and include 113 trade magazines, 145 Web sites, 150 industry trade shows and conferences, and more than 500 information data products. Headquartered in New York City, the privately held company is owned by MidOcean Partners and U.S. Equity Partners II, an investment fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP, and its co-investors. For additional information on the company and its businesses, visit www.penton.com.