SusChem looks forward to 2011

The International Year of Chemistry 2011 (IYC 2011) will be an exciting time for all SusChem stakeholders with events throughout the world and throughout the year. IYC2011 is a amazing opportunity for the whole chemistry community to show the world how the molecular sciences are providing solutions to the significant challenges facing our society today.

The 2011 SusChem Stakeholder event will also embrace this theme under the working title of 'SusChem Partnering for Sustainable Growth' and will be part of the IYC 2011 programme. The 9^th annual SusChem Stakeholder event will take place on 17 May in the historic Beurs van Berlage conference facility in central Amsterdam.

The Beurs van Berlage building (see below) was built at the beginning of the 20^th century as the third incarnation of the Amsterdam stock exchange and was a controversial and innovative architectural project at the time. However, this iconic building is now acknowledged as marking the birth of modern Dutch architecture and is a contemporary and stylish conference and exhibition complex situated between Amsterdam's Central Station and de Dam square.


Supporting EU2020
SusChem is looking towards 2011 and the Amsterdam stakeholder event as an opportunity to demonstrate the key role that sustainable chemistry can play in providing a basis for sustainable growth in Europe. Specifically SusChem is working hard to support the European Union's ambitious targets set out in the EU2020 strategy.

This strategy is looking to achieve smart, sustainable and inclusive growth for Europe and its citizens through a number of initiatives including the creation of an effective and efficient Innovation Union.

One of the bases of this Innovation Union will be new Innovation Partnerships. SusChem is well placed to make significant contributions to Innovation Partnerships in a wide range of sectors and SusChem's ambition is to lead one of the partnerships.

The Amsterdam Stakeholder event will discuss a number of questions around the EU2020 Strategy such as: How can sustainable chemistry contribute to the different Innovation Partnerships? How can collaboration along the value chain be encouraged to accelerate innovation? And how can the Member States be motivated to respond more effectively to the challenge?

All these questions and more will be debated in Amsterdam on May 17, 2011. Reserve the date in your diary or agenda now!

Seasons greetings
Finally on behalf of the SusChem Newsblog and the whole SusChem team we wish you a very happy festive season and a prosperous, peaceful and productive New International Year of Chemistry in 2011.

Investment Forum on Sustainable Chemistry

The second 'Sustainable Chemistry, Innovative and Competitive Companies' Conference will take place in Barcelona on February 17 to 18. The event will be held at the IESE Business School (the graduate management school of the University of Navarra) and is jointly organised by IESE, SusChem España and Foro Química y Sociedad.

The conference aims to provide competitive insights and advantage to the chemical and pharmaceutical value chains. With the chemical industry at the start of most value chains and supplying its products to all sectors of the economy, it is at the forefront of the transition to a more sustainable society.

The second 'Sustainable Chemistry, Innovative and Competitive Companies' event has two distinct strands: the first part on Thursday February 17, will show new developments successfully implemented by the Chemical and Pharmaceutical industries in different areas, with special emphasis on new plant, reaction and process design, and on materials technology.

The second part on Friday February 18 will involve an expert panel session giving their insights on '2050: the Future of Industry'. This will be followed by the first Investment Forum on Sustainable Chemistry.

Sustainable innovation
The theme for the first day is 'Sustainable chemistry: innovating solutions to present and future challenges'. Presentations will showcase a range of new approaches including: the Future of Manufacturing; Engineering and Construction of Process Plants as the Basis of Sustainability and Competitiveness; New Materials and Solutions for Energy Efficiency in Construction; and New Developments on Ground and Water Decontamination through Chemical Reduction.

The session will be opened by a plenary presentation by Ger Spork Innovation Manager at Cefic and SusChem coordinator. Ger will speak on 'European Innovation Partnerships: the role of chemical industry as solution provider'.

Among solutions for increased sustainability presented during the first section of the conference will be a set of case studies from the SusChem-inspired F³ factory. The F³ factory is a collaborative research programme for strengthening the European chemical industry’s global technological leadership through faster, more flexible production methods.

Future industry, future investment
On the second day an expert panel will indulge their views on the future development of the industry over the next few decades in the '2050: the Future of Industry' debate. Participants include Dr. Gernot Klotz, CEFIC Executive Director, Research & Innovation. This debate will be chaired by Juan Roure, professor of Entrepreneurship and a member of IESE’s International Advisory Board.

Following the debate, the aim of the Investment Forum is to support the creation and development of entrepreneurship in Sustainable Chemistry by creating a reference meeting platform for enterprises and potential “business angel” investors who are interested in projects with high growth potential.

Participants will carry out short ‘elevator pitch’ presentations of projects at the initial phase and looking for development finance. The nature of these innovative projects will also give some excellent ideas on the future direction of a sustainable chemical industry.

More information
For more information on the conference visit the dedicated website or contact SusChem España Technical Secretary Cristina González. Please note that registration before 31 December 2010 attracts a 20% discount on conference fees.