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Better Stands

Moving towards a more sustainable exhibiting experience

Better Stands at Pharmapack 2025

Working hand in hand with you and our community to achieve better quality, better safety, better time efficiency, better sustainability, and a better exhibition experience for everyone.

From Barcelona to India, China to North America, each edition of CPHI creates thousands of exhibition stands for you to meet clients face-to-face, promote your brand with eye-catching designs, and bring a taste of your company to the show floor.

We’re proud of being the place where the pharma industry makes these invaluable connections, but we’re conscious that the ‘single use’ nature of many stands leads to significant amounts of waste.

This is why we’ve introduced our Better Stands programme. We believe that by working in collaboration with our exhibitors and your appointed contractors we can eliminate the waste connected to single use, space only stands – while still delivering world-class designs that have a second life after the show closes its doors.

Why

Better Stands

Move away from single-use stands

In short, it is a move away from disposable, single-use stands – these are space only builds that are used only once. They are constructed onsite, often from poor quality material, demolished post show and sent to a landfill or burned.

Switch to reusable stands

Instead, switching to reusable stands, where all core elements are reusable. This will reduce waste and improve the ease, safety & sustainability at CPHI, leading to a better exhibitor experience – while lowering costs with a stress-free build and breakdown.

The Better Stands vision

Our vision is to eliminate all disposable stands from our events by 2030. We know it’s an ambitious goal, and that the journey to sustainability doesn’t happen overnight! To help us get there – and help bring our exhibitors and contractors along the journey with us – we have introduced different tiers of Better Stands for space only stands. We are recommending all space only exhibitors work towards achieving at least Bronze status in 2025, so now is the time to speak to your contractor about making the switch to a sustainable stand solution.

Bronze

Reusable:

• Stand structure & walls
• Platform
• Furniture & equipment
• Lighting

All space only stands are independently verified at the end of the event to determine their individual level.

Silver

Reusable:

• Stand structure & walls
• Platform
• Furniture & equipment
• Lighting
• Fascia & overhead signage
• Rigged structure
• Ceiling
• Display facilities

All space only stands are independently verified at the end of the event to determine their individual level.

Gold

Reusable:

• Stand structure & walls
• Platform
• Furniture & equipment
• Lighting
• Fascia & overhead signage
• Rigged structure
• Ceiling
• Display facilities
• Graphics & decorative items
• Floor covering

By working with contractors that align stand design and build to Better Stands recommendations, exhibitors can benefit from the aforementioned advantages and contribute to a greener and more responsible exhibition industry.

Silvia Forroova
Director of Partnerships & Sustainability – Pharma

Your impact

Benefits

opportunities for cost savings

designs and customisations

Significant waste reduction

Work with stand contractors

Showcase your own commitment

Lower your carbon footprint

Three pharma professionals sat down having a meeting

Collaborate

Work with your contractor

Your contractor builds your stand from reusable components used at other events or the option for your contractor builds you a modular stand that you can store and reuse again.

Join us in moving towards the future of events

View stand options

FAQs

Answers to some of the most common queries

Why did you create Better Stands?

We know that disposable stands create significant environmental, health and safety and wellbeing issues onsite at our events. Across Informa (CPHI’s parent company) in 2019, we saw that disposable stands/booths equated to over 80% of our total waste generated at events. Proactively addressing this practice globally, at individual events like CPHI, is key to creating a more sustainable events industry.

What is a disposable stand?

When we talk about disposable stands we mean single use, disposable booths made from raw materials onsite, such as chipboard, particleboard or low-density fiberboard (LDF). The quality of finish is often also compromised due to working time pressures.

What is a reusable / non-disposable stand?

A non-disposable/reusable stand is constructed using materials designed to be used multiple times. For example:

• Frame and fabric
• Wood stock panels
• Aluminium modular
• Cardboard flat pack
• Exhibitor owner OR rented
• Plus many others!

There are almost endless variations of multiple use stands to suit every size and desired appearance. The cost of these stands is generally lower than for disposable stands, helping reduce outlay and provide a better long-term investment.

How do I know if my stand is Bronze, Silver or Gold?

All stands at Pharmapack will be independently verified to determine which level they have achieved. Better Stands exhibitors will receive certification following the verification to confirm the level they have achieved.

What about shell scheme or MSD stands?

These are already compliant with our sustainability measures. Better Stands is targeted at space only builds, which historically create the most waste.

What else are you doing to make CPHI more sustainable?

We aren’t just asking our exhibitors to consider sustainability – we are working hard to become a more sustainable brand. You can find out more about what we’re doing at our events here, or keep up with industry sustainability updates through CPHI Online.

I have a question that hasn’t been answered here

Please contact [email protected] or get in touch directly with your account manager to discuss exhibiting more sustainably.

Pharmapack Europe

Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles - Hall 7.2 | Paris, France

Opening times

In-person*

22 January 2025: 9:00 - 18:00

23 January 2025: 9:00 - 17:00

*IMPORTANT: morning access hours may vary depending on pass type purchased

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About Pharmapack

Launched in 1997, Pharmapack is the leading European event for Pharmaceutical Packaging, Drug Delivery, Medical Devices and Machinery. In the past 25+ years, the event has grown from a conference with a small table-top exhibition, to an event hosting 300+ exhibitors and welcoming attendees from 75 different countries.

About Pharmapack