SusChem at Green Week 2012

The 12th edition of Green Week, Europe’s biggest annual conference on environmental policy, took place 22 to 25 May in Brussels and with this year’s theme of ‘Water - Every Drop Counts – The Water Challenge’ SusChem was a prominent participant.

The message from Green Week was clear: water is a valuable resource that needs to be used properly and sparingly. We must make sure that we have enough for all of its uses and we must avoid polluting our rivers, seas and oceans. Along with all other natural resources, water is one of the most vital for our continued existence on this planet.

SusChem founding partners Cefic (above) and EuropaBio (below) both had stands in the exhibition area together with partner organisations such the Water Technology Platform (WssTP).

ChemWater event
SusChem, WssTP and the European Membrane House (EMH) held an important workshop as part of Green Week on 24 May for the ChemWater FP7 project. The all-day event focused on identifying new tools and methodologies, technology gaps and the needs of other sectors that will be required to reach a water sustainable process industry vision by 2050.

The workshop attracted a good number of participants (see below) and the outputs will be used to revise the ChemWater vision, and as a basis for the European R&D Agenda, in programmes including Public-Private-Partnerships (PPP), European Innovation Partnerships (EIP), and Horizon 2020.

In particular the output of the ChemWater project will be directly linked to the recently adopted EIP on Water, and will provide information to set the priorities for research and innovation in its Strategic Implementation Plan and therefore the reference for future calls. The aim of the EIP on Water is to position Europe as the world leader in sustainable water management by boosting innovation.

Participants got an update on the potential timetable for the Water EIP. The implementation plan was likely to start the drafting process in August with the aim of adoption by December 2012 and the first calls from the EIP being announced in January 2013. Up to €40 million was available for funding of FP7 projects under the EIP and to accommodate the call process the deadline for these FP7 project submissions would be extended into April 2013.

Global tool
Another feature of the workshop was a presentation on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Global Water Tool. This tool helps companies and organizations map their water use and assess risks relative to their global operations and supply chains.

Find out more about the WBCSD Global Water Tool – and assess own organisation’s water situation – by downloading the tool for free from the WBCSD website.

Other highlights
Two other highlights caught SusChem’s eye at the Green Week exhibition.

Firstly the wealth of knowledge on Water issues to be found in the European Commissions Joint Research Centre (JRC). JRC has just published the first of a series of Science for Water thematic reports. You can find out more here.

Secondly the United Nations European Ad Competition on Water has produced some fantastic images and ideas. See the top 30 finalists in this competition here.