2023 International Turfgrass Congress Recap from Toledo, Spain
The 2023 International Turfgrass Congress in Toledo, Spain brought together the turfgrass production, golf, and sports field industries across Europe for three days of education and field demonstrations. TPI and the European Turfgrass Producers Association, among many others, were sponsors of this event and met to discuss how to continue to serve turfgrass producers from around the world. The over-arching theme of the event was Sustainability and Technology and included speakers from many European countries, as well as the United States, who primarily spoke about how to continue to address sustainability in the green industry through new and improved practices, technologies, varieties, and so on. I was there myself to share recent consumer research on the new and emerging trends of how sustainability is now showing up as a motivating factor in purchasing decisions.
Did you know that between 51 and 95% of consumers are willing to pay more for products, including turfgrasses, that they perceive as more sustainable? Inversely, if consumers do not see products as sustainable, they increasingly will simply just not purchase them. How do we as industry continue to meet consumer demands with grasses, practices, and technologies that fit within these emerging trends? For a full recap of the 2023 International Turfgrass Congress and to read more about sustainability, be on the lookout for more on this topic in future issues of Turf News magazines.
