Europe

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 development and to assess new and emerging challenges.

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 industrial symbiosis can be used as a key tool to address much of the Rio + 20 agenda.

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.  Prospective delegates will receive a formal invite to participate in WCAIS 2012 early in 2012 and have been identified based on their expertise and experience. 

Delegates will participate in a series of working groups. Each working group will be chaired by a leading international figure and will report back to the conference with a firm set of recommendations and/or action plan for implementation in order to harness the full potential of Industrial Symbiosis.

Themes for the working groups will be confirmed shortly but recommendations include: 
•       The role of Industrial Symbiosis in addressing Climate Change & Energy Security;
•       Industrial Symbiosis as a driver of Eco-innovation and Green Growth;
•       The role of Industrial Symbiosis in addressing Material Scarcity; keeping resources in productive use for longer;
•       Industrial Symbiosis as a tool for Regional Economic Development;
•       The application of Industrial Symbiosis in Post disaster, Post conflict and Developing Economies.

The European Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potočnik will officially open IWCAIS 2012.  Sponsors already include URS, Veolia Environmental Services and the Kalundbourg Institute.