Insight
Build and burn: The dirty side of events
London-based experiential agency PIE Factory welcomes the Better Stands initiative but says much more needs to be done to clean up the exhibition act
n the post Covid world,
I in-person events have surged. According to recent research reported by Bizzaboo; 57 % of event organisers saw increased attendance at in-person events in 2024. Global branding spend on live experiences has never been higher, as companies seek to connect in a world of filters, fake news and AI‐generation.
While most people think of the Olympics, Glastonbury or the World Cup when they think of large-scale events, behind the scenes is something far less glamorous. Every single day, in every major city, thousands of companies haul teams, booths, logistics and freight around the world to exhibit for just a few days and then vanish. This $ 60 + bn industry drives growth, fuels sales pipelines and remains one of the most powerful channels for return on investment.
The real cost of events Despite fuelling economic growth, the question often posed is whether trade shows do more harm than good, and are sustainability-minded audiences starting to realise?
On average, events produce around 2kg of waste per attendee per day and Trade Show Labs recent report
Left: Industry on display: IBTM World 2025 suggests, in the US alone, trade shows generate an estimated 600,000 tons of trash annually.
Some major brands with strong public sustainability commitments still deploy this one-use booth, build and burn approach: shipping large amounts of material across continents and discarding them after a single show. The disconnect between big brands Environmental, Social, Governance( ESG) messaging and exhibition reality is increasingly being exposed.
Ask any event manager and they will tell you: exhibiting is chaos. It’ s fast, complex, expensive, confusing and over in a flash. Companies adopt the build and burn approach because they feel it works and more dangerously, because that’ s how the industry has always done it. However, behind the scenes it’ s painfully inefficient, and sustainability ends up bottom of the priority list.
For years the industry’ s response has been simply to say: What’ s the least we can do to keep the wolves from the door? Even the newest collective solution, Better Stands, is a step forward, but it’ s not far enough. With Conference Source recently reporting approximately 60 % of materials used in trade show booths end up in landfill; the team at Trade Show TIM, are on a mission to get the industry to clean up their act.
TIM is an ESG mapping software platform designed for corporations who are tired of waiting for the industry to catch up. The platform gives event teams and brands the opportunity to change and adopt more sustainable practices, without the extra pressure.
The reality is trade shows are one of the world’ s most influential marketing platforms, but they are unsustainable and we need action now. By making a step change today, the events industry can be at the forefront of change, becoming much more impactful, responsible and commercially smart. EW www. exhibitionworld. co. uk Issue 6 2025 21