Long-term Analysis: Environmental Technologies Brave Market Environment
Even in challenging times, environmental technologies continue to represent a strong future market, according to a long-term analysis conducted by IFAT Munich. This analysis evaluated exhibitor surveys from the past 13 years.
According to Messe München GmbH, the analysis illustrates how resilient the sector is in responding to external shocks. “Neither economic fluctuations nor severe global crises such as the pandemic led to a sustained decline in future valuations,” the exhibition corporation stated. “Although the industry has been increasingly critical since 2018 in its assessment of the current economic situation, companies still firmly believe that investment in infrastructure, resource efficiency, and the circular economy will be continued or expanded in the coming years.”
Source: Messe München GmbH
That perspective would set the trend for the upcoming IFAT Munich 2026 (May 4 to 7, 2026). As reported, the focus of this important trade fair is exactly where the industry sees its strongest future driver: in the transition from linear to circular value chain models. “Companies very clearly recognize that recycling, resource conservation, and efficient infrastructures are not just ecological necessities, but rather economic and security policy imperatives,” Exhibition Director Philipp Eisenmann was cited. “That is also reflected in the extraordinary resilience and stability of future expectations over more than a decade.”
IFAT Munich 2026: Circularity is a must
According to the organizer of IFAT Munich 2026, with the slogan “Circularity is a must”, the international trade fair is sending a clear signal: Circularity creates strategic supply security, reduces dependencies, and keeps critical raw materials in a closed loop system, while at the same time enabling new business models, innovations, and value creation in future markets. “In doing so, it combines ecological necessity with economic rationality – and shows that circular entrepreneurship is becoming a decisive success factor for competitive, resilient, and sustainably prosperous industries.”
(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 1/2026, Page 8)
