ACTS means Business II

ACTS means Business 2008 is the national meeting for innovation-driven research on sustainable chemical technologies. It provides an excellent network opportunity where all ACTS research programmes present their work, focussing on their specific sustainable technologies.

Images of melting icebergs set the tone for ACTS Means Business 2008. The congress, which took place on 2 October 2008, brought together representatives of academia, industry and the Dutch government to discuss the role ACTS can play in furthering the development of sustainable technology.

Arctic explorer ir. Marc Cornelissen, who chaired the proceeding, opened the day with a slide show of images from his expeditions, images that clearly illustrated the urgency of the climate crisis.

In her keynote lecture ing. Saskia Borgers, director general for environmental affairs with the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning, and the Environment, discussed the Dutch government’s agenda for sustainability. One of the goals is a fifty per cent efficiency improvement in the chemical sector, over the next 25 years. This target is based on the roadmap for the chemical sector that was initiated by ACTS. A second goal is the increase of green procurement.

The final part of the programme featured two keynote speakers who each presented their own distinctive view on the theme of sustainable development. Neither of them believe that reduction is the way to a sustainable future.

In the day’s final lecture, prof.dr. Michael Braungart, founder and scientific director of the Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency (EPEA), took on the role of devil’s advocate, by denying the validity of the concept of sustainability. Braungart, who co-authored the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things (2002), pointed out that human beings are the only species to produce waste. This, he argued, is what we have to change. Everything that is consumed needs to go back into the biological cycle.

ACTS Director dr. Louis Vertegaal also emphasized the strategic alliance between academia, industry, and government that lies at the foundation of ACTS. This alliance, in which both sustainability and innovation play a key role, was also the central theme of the presentations outlining the contribution of the five ACTS programmes to the development of sustainable technologies.

What the programme presentations made clear, is that the interaction between researchers and industry partners is very rewarding, but that bridging the gap between fundamental research and commercial application continues to pose certain challenges. Throughout the day the participants could also visit the information market to learn more about the ACTS research projects. Read more about ACTS Means Business 2008 in our next ACTS newsletter "interACTS".