From April 20 to 22, 2027, Asia's leading environmental trade fair — the 28th IE expo Shanghai (IE expo Shanghai 2027) — will be grandly held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. The event is jointly organized by Messe München, Messe Muenchen Zhongmao Co., Ltd., together with the Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences , theChina Environmental Services Chamber of Commerce, the Shanghai Environmental Protection Industry Association, and other authoritative institutions.

Against the backdrop of a profound global transformation of the environmental protection industry from end-of-pipe treatment toward resource circulation, IE expo Shanghai 2027 debuts with an all-new theme — "Strengthen Foundations, Drive Innovation, Enable Smart Circularity" — focusing on on Water, Air, Recycling and Circular Circularity Solutions. Break through by building on heritage, evolve through deeper industry engagement, the expo presents the entire industry with an event that is even more forward-looking and leading.

I. Twenty-seven Years of Deep Cultivation, Forging Asia's Flagship Environmental Expo

IE expo Shanghai traces its origins to the Shanghai International Environmental Protection Water Exhibition (EPTEE), founded in 2000, and to IFAT CHINA, which entered China in 2004 (IFAT is the world's leading environmental expo in terms of scale and influence today). Upholding the 60-year excellence of the IFAT brand, IE expo Shanghai has deeply cultivated China's environmental protection industry for 27 years and has grown into the world's second-largest environmental expo after IFAT. It is a super-scale environmental exhibition in Asia that integrates business negotiation, technical exchange, market expansion, brand marketing, trend release and international cooperation.

In 2026,  IE expo Shanghai 2027, with an exhibition scale of 170,000 square meters, brought together 1,987 exhibiting companies from 20 countries and regions and received 82,419 professional visitors from 119 countries and regions worldwide, with the number of international visitors increasing by more than 30% for two consecutive years. IE expo Shanghai has always been the flagship platform for discerning industry trends and connecting global resources. In 2027, this flagship platform will open a new chapter of evolution for the next decade with an all-new landscape.

II. Theme Change: A Strategic Reconfiguration from "End-of-Pipe Treatment" to "The Circular Economy Stage"

Over the past 27 years, IE expo Shanghai has been renowned for its "one-stop environmental solutions" covering water, solid waste, air and soil. The biggest change in 2027 is this: recycling and the circular economy officially rise from a "sub-sector" of the exhibition to a "core engine." Going forward, IE expo Shanghai will become a one-stop exchange platform focused on solutions for water, air, recycling and the circular economy — with recycling and the circular economy occupying half of the program, becoming a strategic pillar on par with water and air.

This adjustment means the exhibition is no longer merely a showcase for pollution treatment technologies, but is transforming into an industrial hub for the entire resource-circulation value chain — from waste collection and sorting to regeneration and processing to high-value applications, and from industrial solid waste and household waste to the recycling of decommissioned new-energy equipment. The circular economy is no longer a "bonus topic" of the exhibition, but a protagonist standing alongside water and air on the core stage.

IE expo Shanghai 2027 puts forward the all-new theme "Strengthen Foundations, Drive Innovation, Enable Smart Circularity" This is not merely an update of the annual slogan, but a structural reshaping of the exhibition's positioning. In "consolidating the foundation," it safeguards the basic foundation of end-of-pipe environmental treatment; in "exploring the new," it opens up new growth space through recycling and the circular economy; and "empowering intelligence-driven circulation" points to enhancing the efficiency of environmental governance and resource circulation through digital and intelligent means — a systematic response by IE expo Shanghai 2027 to the industry's transition from "pollution reduction" to "coordinated carbon reduction and value-added circulation."

III. Sector Innovation: Strengthening the Full-Chain Display of the Circular Economy and Reconstructing a New Paradigm for Coordinated Pollution and Carbon Reduction

The 2027 exhibition further integrates and upgrades the circular economy display sector, systematically presenting full-chain segments such as waste-to-energy, high-value utilization of renewable resources, comprehensive utilization of bulk solid waste, bioenergy, resource recovery of food waste, and coordinated disposal of industrial solid waste, creating a complete closed-loop display from "waste generation — collection and sorting — regeneration and processing — high-value application." At the same time, the exhibition deeply incorporates the concept of "digital-intelligent circulation," introducing digital tools such as AI-based energy efficiency optimization, carbon footprint tracking and smart sorting, upgrading traditional "end-of-pipe treatment" into a full-lifecycle solution of "source reduction — process control — end-of-pipe circulation."

This sector innovation works in concert with exhibition zones such as carbon neutrality and energy conservation/carbon reduction, and waste resource recovery, truly making the exhibition a panoramic industrial high ground integrating pollution reduction, circulation and carbon reduction.

IV. Deepening Global Links: Helping Chinese Enterprises Go Global Efficiently

Relying on Messe München's globally spanning IFAT exhibition network, the 2027 exhibition will further connect with environmental institutions and procurement alliances along the "Belt and Road," in RCEP member states and in key global markets, and will invite overseas professional buyer delegations to visit and procure in China in a targeted manner. On site, the exhibition will continue to build the "Going Global Lounge" and expand its scale, hold dozens of precise matchmaking sessions and market briefing sessions, and invite official procurement delegations and industry representatives from around the world to engage in in-depth exchange on core environmental fields, opening up the full chain for domestic environmental enterprises going global. In 2026, the exhibition attracted professional visitors from 119 countries and regions worldwide and organized and received more than 40 international procurement visiting delegations; in 2027, on this basis, it will further deepen the precision and breadth of international invitations, helping exhibiting companies efficiently acquire customers and expand markets at home and abroad.

V. A Source of Ideas: IE expo China Environmental Technology Conference 2027 to Lead Industry Trends

"IE expo China Environmental Technology Conference 2027" held concurrently with the exhibition, will continue to serve as the core source for the industry's top-level ideas and cutting-edge technology releases. It will feature one summit forum and more than 30 sub-theme forums, bringing together over 500 domestic and international policymakers, industry pioneers, technical experts, research scholars and capital representatives.

In 2027, the conference will further broaden its horizons in setting its agenda, closely tracking key junctures of industrial change: it will conduct in-depth discussions around cutting-edge directions such as wastewater resource recovery and low-carbon, smart upgrades of water supply and drainage; coordinated disposal of solid waste and recycling of new-energy solid waste; deep air treatment and coordinated ozone prevention and control; AI-empowered environmental protection and innovative applications of digital-intelligent governance; and carbon capture and zero-carbon industry integration — providing top-level insights for the industry to assess technology roadmaps and market landscapes over the next 5 to 10 years.

In addition, the conference will continue to set up dedicated international exchange sessions, inviting environmental policymakers and procurement decision-makers from Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and other regions to share overseas market access thresholds and investment opportunities, building an efficient information channel and resource-matching platform for domestic enterprises to "go global."

VI. At a pivotal moment of industry transformation, join us at IE expo Shanghai for an evolution worth being part of

Today, the environmental protection industry is undergoing a profound transformation from "end-of-pipe treatment" to "full-chain coordination," and from "scale-driven" to "quality-driven." At this critical juncture of industry reshuffling and value reconstruction, IE expo Shanghai 2027, with the resolve to "consolidate the foundation and explore the new," safeguards the industry's foundations, and with the boldness to "empower intelligence-driven circulation," opens up new growth prospects — this is not only the exhibition's self-evolution, but also a reassessment of the value of the industry's future.

From April 20 to 22, 2027, at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, IE expo Shanghai 2027 invites you to jointly witness the renewed moment of the environmental protection industry.