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Better Stands Contractor
Reusable Exhibition Stands for CPHI, Vitafoods, in-cosmetics and Every Informa Show
Informa’s Better Stands programme is changing what exhibitors are allowed to build. If you take space only at CPHI, Vitafoods, in-cosmetics, Fi Europe or any other Informa show, you need a Better Stands contractor — a builder whose structures are made to come apart, travel, and go up again somewhere else.
Echo Expo builds that way, and has done it at Informa events across Europe. This page sets out what the programme asks for, what it changes about your budget, and what we can and cannot promise you.
What a Better Stands Contractor Has to Deliver
Informa defines a disposable stand as a space-only build used once at a single event — one “typically constructed from poor quality raw materials onsite which are then demolished post show and sent to either landfill or burnt for energy”.
Every space-only stand is classified into one of four levels: Disposable, Bronze, Silver or Gold. To reach a level, every element on that level’s list must be shown to be reused or recycled. Miss one and the stand drops. Miss any of the Bronze elements and the stand is classed as disposable.
Two lines from Informa’s contractor briefing matter more than the rest. The first: “Going forward Better Stands will become part of stand build regulations.” The second: compliance “will be monitored throughout the event cycle from stand plan submission through to on-site review and verification”.
So this is moving from encouragement towards condition of entry, and it is checked at the drawing stage rather than only on the show floor. CPHI states the ambition plainly on its Better Stands programme page: eliminate all disposable stands from its events by 2030.
The Ten Elements Your Stand Is Judged On
Informa assesses a stand across ten element categories. A Better Stands contractor has to account for every one of them while the stand is still a drawing, because by the time it reaches the loading bay the decisions are already made.
- Stand structure and walls — framework, walls, meeting room panels, backdrop (reused)
- Platform or raised flooring — the structure of the flooring, excluding surface covering (reused)
- Furniture and equipment — showcases, counters, seating, tables, flyer stands, LED walls, TV and AV (reused)
- Lighting — all lighting on the stand and inside showcases (reused)
- Fascia and overhead signage — overhead branding, fascia, logo above the structure (reused)
- Rigged structure — any rigged structure, lighting gantries, structural elements (reused)
- Ceiling — fabric ceilings, solid ceilings for lighting or support (reused)
- Display facilities — built-in or detachable display cabinets, lightboxes (reused)
- Floor covering — carpet, floor tiles, HDF coverings, lino (reused or recycled)
- Graphics and decorative items — wall-mounted and floor-standing graphics, plants, models, ornaments (reused or recycled)
The first eight categories must be reused. Only the last two — floor covering, and graphics and decorative items — may be reused or recycled.
Why Reusable Stands Cost Less Than They Look
Most sustainability arguments stop at goodwill. This one does not, because a disposable stand needs more time on site, and time on site at a major venue is priced.
Take CPHI Milan 2026 as a worked example. Published Early Access charges run to €2,280 per exhibitor for 30 September and €1,515 for 1 October, with forklift handling mandatory and billed separately, plus €785 for each additional timeslot. Book after 15 September and those same figures become €2,850, €1,895 and €980. A stand that arrives finished and assembles inside the standard build window avoids that line entirely.
Waste is the second cost. Informa reports that in some regions disposable stands account for more than 80% of an event’s total waste. Venue waste removal is not free, must be ordered in advance, and lands on the exhibitor’s invoice. A reused structure, by contrast, is a cost you have already paid.
These figures are specific to the 2026 edition and are revised between editions, so confirm current rates in your Exhibitor Manual before budgeting against them.
How We Build for Reuse
Informa expects contractors to supply “pre-cut and ready prepared exhibition stand materials onsite wherever reasonably practicable”, and states that cutting and preparing materials on site “should be the exception not the rule”. That is already how our workshop runs.
- Frames and wall systems are fabricated in the workshop, numbered, and dry-assembled before they ship
- Counters, cabinets and display units are built as demountable assemblies rather than glued once
- Lighting, AV and LED are specified as fixtures we recover, not as consumables
- Graphics print on tensioned fabric or interchangeable panels, so a stand can be rebranded instead of rebuilt
- Only water-based paints are used, because paint spraying equipment is prohibited on site at Informa events
- Flooring is laid with industry-standard tape, since fixings into hall floors need explicit venue consent
CPHI describes two routes to a compliant stand: one built from reusable components already used at other events, or a modular stand you own, store and reuse. We offer both. Which one suits you depends on how often you exhibit and whether you want to own the structure or hire it.
Where We Have Built at Informa Shows
Vitafoods Europe, Barcelona
Two modular stands in a single edition, including an 18 sqm build for Accent Microcell. Modular construction meant both assembled inside the standard build window. Read the Vitafoods Europe case study.
in-cosmetics Global, Amsterdam
Three separate stands for three clients at one edition at RAI Amsterdam, delivered in parallel. See the in-cosmetics Amsterdam case study.
CPHI Milan
141 sqm across three stands in one CPHI Milan edition, built in three days at Fiera Milano. Read the CPHI Milan case study, or see how a repeat client works with us across editions in the Sudeep Pharma case study.
What We Will and Will Not Claim
We build reusable stands, and we can show you the same structures working at more than one show. What we will not do is put a Bronze, Silver or Gold badge on a stand before Informa has awarded one.
CPHI is explicit about this. Stands “will be independently verified to determine which level they have achieved”, and certification follows that verification. The level belongs to the organiser to award, not to a contractor to advertise.
What we will do is tell you at design stage which elements of your stand are reusable and which are not, and where a change in specification would move you up a level. That conversation belongs at concept stage, while changing it is still free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Better Stands apply to shell scheme stands?
The programme targets space-only builds, and Informa’s own definition of a disposable stand is a space-only build used once. Shell scheme packages supplied by the organiser are already reused by the venue contractor. If you have booked raw space, this applies to you.
Will a reusable stand look different from a custom build?
No. Informa puts it plainly in its contractor briefing: provided each element is reused rather than single-use, a Better Stand “will look the same or even better than current builds”. Reuse is a construction method, not a design style.
Do contractors need Informa training?
At some shows, yes. CPHI Milan 2026 requires the supervisor responsible for build-up and dismantling to complete a mandatory health and safety and Better Stands course before permission to build is granted. Requirements differ by event and by edition, so confirm yours in the Exhibitor Manual.
Can the same stand travel to several shows?
That is the point of building it this way. The frame, flooring, lighting and cabinetry travel, while graphics, layout and footprint change. Storage and freight between shows is something we handle directly.
Where can I read the official rules?
Better Stands is documented by Informa and issued through the Exhibitor Manual for each show. Details are revised between editions, so always work from the current contractor briefing rather than a previous one.
Talk to Us About a Reusable Stand
If you have booked space only at an Informa show and want a Better Stands contractor who can demonstrate the method rather than describe it, tell us the show, the stand size and the hall. We build across Europe and the Middle East, including Italy and the wider international circuit.
Send us the floor plan and we will come back with a specification that says, element by element, what is reused and what is not.
Get a Quote for Your Reusable Stand
Tell us the show, the stand size and the hall, and send the floor plan. We will come back with a specification that says, element by element, what is reused and what is not.
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