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“ We will use these findings in many of our current projects aiming to further improve the performance of exhibitions as sustainable ways of doing business .”
– Kai Hattendorf , UFI managing director and CEO , on UFI ’ s latest sustainability report
73 %
73 % of exhibitors and visitors want to see sustainablity commitments .
34 % of exhibitors said they would not attend a show that does not have a responsible approach to sustainability .
89 %
87 %
In 2021 , 86 % of exhibitors and 87 % of visitors say that travelling to an exhibition helps them save time , while 84 % of exhibitors and 83 % of visitors say it helps save money .
34 %
89 % of companies from the exhibition industry believe public investments to be necessary .
58 %
58 % of both exhibitors and visitors consider that improving this environmental impact will become increasingly more important to the sector ’ s long-term success .
UFI releases major sustainability report on the exhibition industry
Global association of the exhibition industry , UFI has released a new report on the status of sustainability in the exhibition industry , including results from surveys conducted by UFI research partner Explori . For 86 % of exhibitors and 87 % of visitors , travelling to an exhibition helps save time , while for 84 % of exhibitors and 83 % of visitors it helps save money . For 67 % of exhibitors and 64 % of visitors , travelling to an exhibition , where they can do multiple things under one roof and avoid separate flights to other locations , helps to reduce their carbon footprint . In parallel , the majority consider the environmental impact of the tradeshow sector to be important to them , and they believe that improving this environmental impact will become increasingly more important to the sector ’ s long-term success . Across all segments ( organisers , venues and service providers ) there is a feeling that the rate of transition towards sustainability is around halfway between ‘ only starting the transition ’ and ‘ very advanced ’, and , in general , exhibition participants also rate the efforts of the industry as ‘ average ’, in this regard . Kai Hattendorf , UFI managing director and CEO , said : “ This report is unprecedented in its analysis of the views of the industry and its clients as to the key issue of sustainability in our industry . We will use these findings in many of our current projects aiming to further improve the performance of exhibitions as sustainable ways of doing business .” Exhibition participants prioritise three domains of action to make the industry environmentally sustainable , such as to ‘ reduce the costs of sustainable materials / products / services available for use ’, ‘ develop new technologies or processes for problems such as waste , carbon emissions , etc .’ and ‘ develop education about sustainable events at all levels ’.
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