Better Stands Won 2026 UFI Sustainability Award
Exhibition organizers and venue operators can adopt this collaborative framework to reduce waste from single-use booth construction.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Remote Work
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Better Stands earned the 2026 UFI Sustainable Development Award for its Best Carbon Reduction Initiative. The program provides a collaborative framework for the exhibition industry to curb the environmental impact of single-use stand materials.
Why it matters
The initiative addresses the high volume of waste typically generated by temporary exhibition builds. By providing a tiered system for sustainable construction, the framework offers operators a scalable way to reduce site material consumption.
The competition reviewed 4 finalists to select one winner, while 6 total projects were highlighted as best practices. UFI maintains these results within its library for industry benchmarking.
The players
Better Stands
An initiative focused on replacing single-use exhibition booth construction with sustainable, collaborative practices.
UFI
The global association for the exhibition industry that sets standards and maintains best-practice libraries for venue and event operators.
The details
Better Stands operates via a tiered system that encourages collaboration among organizers, exhibitors, and contractors to minimize single-use material waste. Instead of traditional stand building, participants follow a structured approach to manage resource lifecycles more efficiently. The UFI cataloged this project in its Best Practices Library to encourage broader adoption of these carbon-reduction standards across international venues.
Timeline
September 22, 2026: The award winner was officially announced.
November 2-5, 2026: Better Stands will be recognized at the 93rd UFI Global Congress in Bahrain.
Market Landscape
This win reinforces the industry shift toward standardized sustainability metrics managed through the UFI Best Practices Library. The methodology follows a broader trend of formalizing carbon reduction initiatives across international exhibition venues.
Event operators should evaluate their current material usage policies against the criteria used by the Better Stands framework. Managers can reference the UFI Best Practices Library to review the specific tiered system and potential compliance benchmarks for their own site builds.
The takeaway
Sustainability in events is shifting from generic goals to specific, tiered collaborative frameworks. Operators should audit their current booth construction contracts to identify if they meet these newly validated best-practice standards.
Further reading
For more on evolving operational standards, explore the Remote Work resources.
More information
Access the full list of recognized sustainability initiatives in the UFI Best Practices Library.
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Do you believe sustainability awards for industry practices lead to meaningful environmental progress?
