With the business aviation community’s groundswell of interest in becoming more eco-friendly, NBAA has begun to reflect this awareness as well with several initiatives at its shows. “Our exhibitors, who are our customers, want it,” said Maureen Cameron, NBAA’s marketing director. “They recognize that our industry is in the press a great deal and they are looking to help diminish the carbon footprint of the industry in whatever way they can.” She pointed to the many items that come in to the show, such as packaging and signage, “that conceivably could be a one-time use thing, but our exhibitors are looking to us to help set the trend for making them multi-functional or multi-year usage to help reduce waste.”
From simple solutions such as providing recycling bins for cans and bottles to switching from plastic tableware and paper tablecloths to silverware, glasses and linens, the organization is gradually bringing more ecological solutions to its shows, including directly saving energy. “At all of our events we have been working very hard with the convention centers. When we can, we turn off the lights and we turn off the air conditioning,” Cameron said.
