RIO+20 Minus 1 Week (IWCAIS 2012)
June 20 – 22nd sees many of the world’s leaders convene at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development to secure renewed political commitment and assess progress on sustainable developments.
Just one week earlier, International Synergies and Birmingham City Council will host a groundbreaking International Working Conference on Applied Industrial Symbiosis (WCAIS 2012) bringing together 150 individuals from the world’s leading businesses, policy makers, institutions and academia to work alongside experienced industrial symbiosis practitioners to discuss how the methodology can be used as a key tool to address many of the issues that will be discussed at Rio + 20.
IWCAIS 2012 will focus on the wide scale application of Industrial Symbiosis with the concomitant innovation and transformation it can bring to bear in generating global green growth. Working themes include the role of Industrial Symbiosis in addressing Climate Change and Energy Security, the role of Industrial Symbiosis in addressing material scarcity and Industrial Symbiosis as a driver for Eco-Innovation. The detailed action plan for each theme will be published following the event.
Prospective delegates will be identified based on their expertise, experience and knowledge and although places are limited there will be many opportunities to be involved either through the forum on the soon to be launched conference website, www.iwcais.com or by submitting case study examples of Industrial Symbiosis synergies and projects from around the world that will be featured during the conference.
Peter Laybourn, Chief Executive of International Synergies explains, "The past 20 years has seen some progress in the implementation of policies to move towards sustainable economic development, however, with much thinking focused on the wellbeing of future generations the emphasis is not always focused on what can be achieved today.
"Decisive action is needed and if we use proven methodologies that are already available to us, such as Industrial Symbiosis, we have a real opportunity to turn some of the rhetoric on its head and act now to secure a sustainable future."
The European Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potočnik will officially open IWCAIS 2012. Supporters of the conference already include URS, Veolia Environmental Services and the Kalundbourg Institute.
The conference will be carbon neutral.
