AUMA: Nearly 90% of Exhibiting Companies Now Address the Environmental Impact of Their Trade Fair Appearances

In the fifth of eight trade fair trends set out in AUMA Trends 2026/2027, AUMA identifies the circular economy as a driver of sustainability in the exhibition industry, with pilot projects at trade fairs aiming to record material flows systematically and make them measurable. AUMA says circularity is gaining weight as regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations rise, and that material flow balances create transparency as a basis for resource efficiency, circularity and economic efficiency gains. It adds that new European rules make robust sustainability communication more important, since environmental and social claims must be substantiated, transparently worded and often independently verifiable. AUMA Managing Director Jörn Holtmeier said just under 90 percent of exhibiting companies are now taking first steps to examine the environmental impact and the cost-effectiveness of their trade fair appearances, and that exhibition companies will invest a high three-digit million euro sum in energy efficiency and sustainable exhibition grounds by 2029.