A key element of a green strategy is to simply avoid using resources, and to that end I propose using technology to create a 100% paperless event.
Onsite, attendees still need considerable information about their options to fully experience the event. What if the entire contents of a show guide were downloaded to the attendee’s smart phone? Not only could they scroll to the choices for the next session or find a map of the show floor with a couple of clicks, but you could also push out reminders of key program events, like a midday keynote, or a notification of a schedule change.  For me, this is a great example of the technology actually providing a better user experience than the paper does.  The attendee doesn’t have to carry around the heavy show guide, and can find the information they’re looking for much faster on their device.
What about advertising? Lets re-think that experience in the new medium.  Exhibitors can sponsor the home page with a banner ad.  They can sponsor a pushed message.  Best: they can pay for promotion of their event activities (conference speakers, give-aways, parties, press conferences…) in context within the program guide.  Like a well-placed Google ad.
The trade-off?  No branding advertising. No reference tool to put on the shelf post-event.  Show directors would want to create a show directory online to replicate the post-event ability to look up exhibitors.  Again, an ongoing online directory of exhibitors would provide both attendees and exhibitors more value than the show guide being replaced.
All we need to do is rethink the experience we want to create in the context of currently available media: rather than substitute exact functionality.
Now:  who does this?  I’m working on it.  Accenture did exactly this smart phone application for CTIA.  But I don’t think it is on the market.  Vaultus is in a similar situation, but working on how to make it broadly available.  And I read that A2Z has this type of technology…still checking into it.