We Need to Talk About Event Signs & Banners

After seven years in the sustainable events business, I’ve seen some encouraging steps forward. Composting has skyrocketed in popularity since I got started, and there are lots of great initiatives for recovering food waste and recyclables. However, there’s one major aspect of events where I’ve seen hardly any change in the last seven years.

We need to talk about event signs and banners.

As some of you know, signs and banners were one of the catalysts that inspired me to get into sustainable events. I used to be a graphic designer for events, and one day it finally clicked how much unnecessary waste I was creating in the name of arbitrary branding updates.

I’ve been fortunate to be part of the waste diversion programs for many major citywide events. However, I’ve learned that the bigger the event and the more prestigious it is for the host city, the more sign and banner waste there is.

Signs and banners can be valuable tools for conveying information, creating a sense of place, and recognizing sponsors. But I’ve noticed a tendency to over-rely on signs and banners without apparent strategy. Here are just a few instances I’ve seen of over-the-top sign and banner waste:

• A vinyl banner that was 10+ feet high and half a city block long. The design was branding only; it was not conveying information or covering an eyesore. It certainly created a sense of place, but the same effect could have been achieved with a fraction of the material.
• Covering hundreds of crowd-control bike racks with identical sponsor banners. The sponsor would have had plenty of visibility with banners on 50% of the bike racks or those located in strategic areas. The banners were branding and sponsor recognition only, not functioning as a visibility barrier.
• Switching out hundreds of vinyl banners to accommodate a different headline sponsor for the final day of a multi-day event. This is an example of an opportunity for the sponsorship team and design team to work together more strategically. Is there another sponsorship solution besides changing the headline sponsor for a single day? If there must be two different headline sponsors, where are the most strategic and valuable locations to recognize them?

Why are signs & banners a waste problem?

First, most sign and banner materials are not recyclable. In all my research, I have yet to find a recycling option for vinyl banners. (If you’re aware of one, please tell me about it!) Some rigid sign materials claim to be recyclable, but the available information tends to be vague, making it difficult to confirm if “recyclable” signs can actually be recycled in the relevant local recycling program.

There is an important difference between what is technically recyclable and practically recyclable. When manufacturers make claims about their products being recyclable, what they often mean is that the material the product is made of is technically recyclable. Unfortunately, this can be misleading. While there are many materials (especially various types of plastic) that can technically be recycled in certain types of programs, there are far fewer materials that are widely and consistently recyclable across the entire geographic area where the product is sold. Even if the manufacturer did consult with their local recycling program, accepted materials vary between different recycling programs (even in the same city), so what’s recyclable in one program may not be in another.

After going on multiple tours of the recycling facilities in Indianapolis, I now know that even if a plastic sign is advertised as “recyclable,” it would probably not actually be recycled in our local facilities, because they aren’t set up to sort out flat plastic signs. A plastic sign would probably end up getting sorted in with the cardboard, where it would be a contaminant. On the other hand, a cardboard sign would probably be okay, because it would get sorted with all the rest of the flattened cardboard.

The guidelines from your local recycling facility are the best place to start. Does the “recyclable” product you’re considering fall into any of the accepted categories of recyclables? If not, it is probably not practically recyclable in that program. Simple paper signs from your office printer in a reusable frame or stanchion are the most likely to be recyclable in most locations.

Second, the reuse options for signs and banners are limited. Here are the three most common reuse options for signs and banners and the limitations of each:

1) Donation

Yes, there are several donation options for signs and banners. In Indianapolis, we donate signs and banners to Teachers’ Treasures, which is  part of the nationwide Kids In Need Foundation. Other donation possibilities include schools, art programs, theater programs, Habitat for Humanity, and anyone else you can think of who might need a surface for artwork, a tarp, or a visibility barrier.

However, even with these options, the fact remains that events generate far more signs and banners than most donation recipients need. One event I worked on recently generated an entire semi-truck full of vinyl banners for donation. It would take any organization a long time to use those banners, and that doesn’t even take into account the banners from events that were held the following week, or the week after that, or the week after that….

Most event banners are not recovered for donation. But if they were, you can see that donation recipients would soon be overwhelmed. Donation is not a total solution to sign and banner waste unless we also work to reduce the volume of materials we need to donate.

2) Upcycle into products

Another common reuse idea for event banners is to have them upcycled into products like tote bags.

While I love this idea, it falls short of being a total solution for a few reasons:

• You need to have a market or planned use for the products. Can you sell the upcycled tote bags to next year’s event attendees or other members of your audience? Do you plan to use the tote bags as thank-you gifts? If you don’t have a plan for how you will use the upcycled products, you haven’t really solved the waste problem.
• Similar to donation, many events generate more banners than are needed to make the quantity of products they can practically use. If you upcycled all banners from a citywide event, you could end up with thousands of tote bags. Is that a quantity you can feasibly use?
• There are usually costs associated with the upcycling process. You either need to have a budget to cover the cost of upcycling or be able to sell the upcycled products at a price that will at least cover your expenses.

3) Internal reuse

Internal reuse is one of the most under-utilized solutions for reducing waste from signs and banners. When you design signs and banners to be reusable, you prevent the need to order that same sign or banner again for your next event. Reusing signs reduces both waste and expenses. Common barriers to reusing signs and banners include:

• Designs with event-specific branding
• Designs including event-specific information such as dates, locations, and sponsors
• Concerns about shipping costs vs. ordering new
• Concerns about damage and storage

However, planners can have direct influence on many of these barriers. By collaborating with designers and other team members to find solutions, planners can play an important role in establishing a culture of sustainability.

Sustainable alternatives to event signs & banners

What can you do to reduce waste from event signs and banners? By using a mix of the strategies below, you’ll be able to dramatically reduce the volume of sign and banner material that goes to waste from your events.

Alternatives to printed signs and banners:

• Work with your AV vendor to project sponsor logos and branding elements onto walls rather than printing banners
  
• Utilize digital screens already installed in your venue or additional rented screens to convey information digitally
  • No need to replace signs one-to-one with screens. Screens can rotate information, so you don’t need as many screens as printed signs.
• Hire an artist to create unique chalkboard signs on reusable A-frames
• Use whiteboards for casual, short-term announcements (such as “Back in 5 minutes!”)
• Post volunteers in corridors to function as human signs as an alternative to printed directional signs

Ways to reduce the volume of printed signs and banners:

• Rethink the size of large branding banners. Do you need to cover an entire skywalk to create a sense of place, or would just the center section be sufficient? How big does a photo backdrop for attendees really need to be? Can you reduce the amount of material and still create a powerful moment?
• Be strategic about where you focus your branding placement. Where will your graphics have the most impact? For example, do you need convention banners on every downtown lamppost, or would these be the most relevant in the 2-block radius of your meeting location? Branding helps cue attendees that they are in the right general area for official event activities, so minimize branding installations outside of the active area.
• Prioritize conveying information over branding. Attendees know what event they’re attending, what city they’re in, and what year it is. Focus your sign strategy on conveying practical information like directions, session titles and times, and other need-to-know info.
• Require sponsors and exhibitors to bring their own signs for their booths and take them home afterward. Encourage them to use displays they can reuse, rather than creating materials specific to your event.
• Separate long-term information from short-term information and use the appropriate type of sign for each.
  • Does your event name, host name, or other information stay the same year after year? Print this information on durable, reusable signs and banners. Ship them home and reuse them for multiple years.
  • Use digital or recyclable signs for information specific to a single event, such as dates, locations, sponsors, and session information. Paper signs in a reusable frame or stanchion are the most easily recyclable.
• Work with the design team to create a multi-year brand for the event, or use the host organization’s branding for the event’s overall look. This will allow more of your signs and banners to be saved for reuse. You can even create custom-branded backing boards with a document sleeve for inserting new information.

What is the purpose of your signs & banners?

The best way to reduce waste from event signs and banners is to be strategic about your reasons for using them. What is the purpose of each sign? Is the information specific to this event, or is it information that stays the same year after year? If the purpose of the sign is branding rather than informational, what is the best location and size? How much material is really needed to create a wow moment?

Get help with your sustainable sign & banner strategy

Are you ready to rethink your sign and banner strategy to be more sustainable? When you work with Ecosystem Events, I’ll use my unique blend of experience to help you create a plan. As a former graphic designer, I understand the role of branding, as well as the process of working with printers. As a waste diversion expert, I know how to minimize waste, find sustainable material options, and determine what products can truly be recycled. To get started, submit our consulting interest form >>