FESPA has unveiled its new corporate vision, "FESPA Future." This forward-looking strategy, detailed in the newly released FESPA Future manifesto, outlines how the global federation will inspire, connect, and support its community beyond its acclaimed exhibitions, with a strong focus on sustainability, innovation, and nurturing future talent.
- The manifesto highlights significant investments across its 37 global member associations and a renewed commitment to digital transformation.
- The manifesto provides a future-facing view of FESPA's evolving community and details how the organisation is investing in innovation, educational programmes, youth engagement, and digital transformation to future-proof the industry.
- A key highlight in the manifesto is FESPA's achievement of ISO 20121:2012 certification for Sustainable Event Management. This landmark certification solidifies FESPA's commitment to implementing best practices for sustainable development in its own business, minimising the environmental impact of its events, increasing positive community engagement, and motivating print businesses to adopt more sustainable operations. The 2025 FESPA Global Print Expo, Personalisation Experience, and European Sign Expo in Berlin will be the first in the speciality print sector to be run under this certification.
SUSTAINABILITY LEADERSHIP: FESPA has positioned itself as a sustainability leader through comprehensive environmental initiatives and certification programmes. The organisation has developed extensive online resources to guide the industry towards more sustainable practices whilst reducing environmental impact across supply chains.
- FESPA's ISO 20121:2012 certification for Sustainable Event Management in 2024 underscores its commitment to sustainable development, minimising environmental impact, and encouraging sustainable operations within the print sector.
- To achieve the ISO certification, FESPA implemented extensive policies and procedures focusing on waste reduction, energy efficiency, carbon emissions reduction, and stakeholder engagement. These were independently audited and verified by the British Standards Institute (BSI).
- The Sustainability Spotlight online hub guides print businesses on energy-efficient and sustainable operations, including working with stakeholders to reduce negative environmental impacts across supply chains and reducing their carbon footprint. Key focus areas include printing with green materials and inks, supporting the circular economy, updates on regulations, energy reduction, and greener textile printing.
- Expert-authored guides on navigating sustainability legislation, titled "Calculating Carbon," "Sustainable Certification Scheme Guide," and "Glossary of Terms," were launched in 2024.
PROMOTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: FESPA actively fosters the next generation of print professionals through various youth-focused programmes across its global network. These initiatives connect young people with career pathways in print through work placements, internships, and educational events designed to inspire and attract emerging talent to the industry.
- FESPA actively nurtures future print professionals through comprehensive youth engagement programmes across its global network. Initiatives include the UK's Next Gen placements and internships for disabled individuals, Global Print Expo tours and career discussions, Bulgaria's interactive Careers Shows attracting 130+ attendees, and Australia's Future Leaders Program supporting emerging talent at international conferences.
EVENT PORTFOLIO AND COMMUNITY CONNECTION: FESPA's extensive global event portfolio connects industry professionals across multiple regions and specialities while channelling profits back into community support programmes. The organisation has expanded into new markets and achieved record-breaking attendance figures, demonstrating the strength and reach of its international network.
- FESPA's evolving global event portfolio connects technology vendors with senior decision-makers worldwide, expanding into new markets through FESPA Middle East (3,400+ visitors from 80+ countries) and specialised events like WrapFest for vehicle wrapping and Expo Producción for textile supply chains.
- Regional events across Africa, Brasil, and Mexico drive local market growth, with FESPA Brasil achieving record attendance of 24,000 visitors. Event recovery since 2021 has reactivated FESPA's reinvestment programme, channelling over €7,000,000 in profits over ten years to support community development.
- The FESPA Awards (established 1991) celebrate industry excellence through global recognition ceremonies, whilst FESPA Leadership Exchange events facilitate business growth and knowledge sharing among senior professionals, with programmes tailored to address specific regional challenges and opportunities.
KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND INSIGHTS: FESPA provides comprehensive industry intelligence and educational resources through multiple channels and partnerships to help businesses navigate market shifts and drive strategic growth. The organisation offers specialised content covering digital transformation, sustainability, automation, and emerging applications across various platforms and member-exclusive resources.
- FESPA partners with Keypoint Intelligence as its official Thought Leadership Partner (March 2025-July 2026) to deliver comprehensive research, speaking engagements, and strategic content. The organisation shares industry insights through multiple channels including its website, events, publications, social media platforms, and webinars covering current developments.
- FESPA's knowledge-sharing resources encompass specialised content hubs for Personalisation Experience, Printeriors, and Sustainability Spotlight, alongside Club FESPA's member-exclusive platform. The website provides educational materials for screen, signage, wide format, and textile printing professionals, featuring expert articles and industry insights.
- Current industry focus areas include digital transformation, application diversification across packaging, signage, vehicle wraps, textiles, and 3D printing, plus automation and AI integration. FESPA supports global associations with training resources and networking tools, whilst exhibitions feature educational programmes addressing growth opportunities in personalisation and data-driven marketing.
WHAT THEY SAID:
The progressive return to strength of our events since 2021 has enabled us to reactivate the reinvestment programme that is central to FESPA’s organisational purpose, channelling profits from our events in support of the global speciality print community to learn, develop and adopt best practices. Our global network of 37 Association members plays a key role in driving and delivering this. Collectively running more than 300 events each year, they provide valuable local platforms for knowledge-sharing, networking and inspiration.
— Daniel Sunderland
President
FESPA
2025 marks five years since the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a seismic impact on the FESPA community and the world at large. The years since have been a period of recovery and rebuilding, and businesses have focused on stabilising, reviving revenue streams and regaining commercial momentum. For most, it’s been ‘survival mode’, and for FESPA, it has inevitably been a time for us to concentrate on our global event business. Five years down the line, we see now as the ideal time to galvanise our community with a refreshed and positive vision towards a prosperous future.
— Neil Felton
Chief Executive Officer
FESPA
