Greening Exhibition Events in China: Beyond Sustainability Into Regeneration

Abstract

As business events flourish in diverse markets, the emphasis on experience needs to be tempered with sustainable operations. Through interviews with exhibition events sector stakeholders, this research examines the adoption of green practices in the Chinese context. The study adopts a stakeholder perspective to examine the multiple relationships that influence the choice and implementation of green practices in the exhibition events sector, examining motivations and barriers to the adoption of these practices. Leveraging on the regenerative paradigm, which positions sustainability as an acceptable but insufficient course of action for a long-term future, the study delves into the sector's receptivity toward regenerative practices as a radical improvement of green practices. The findings suggest that the challenge to innovate in green practices into the realm of regeneration is firmly considered a government-level directive. Moreover, there remains a lack of whole-of-place perspective in the current green practices, which is contrary to the regenerative paradigm. By extending the study beyond sustainability into regeneration, this research contributes to the literature on event management and its environmental impacts, challenging the exhibition events sector to adopt green practices that not only mitigate but actively remediate their impacts on the world they operate in.