International Forum of R&D for Eco-innovation: Research for combining environmental priorities with economic opportunities

An international conference concerning R&D for Eco-innovation organised by ENVITECH-Net in Katowice, Poland in the dates of 22-23 October 2009.

This event will be a unique opportunity to identify, discuss, prioritise and recommend research needs for eco-innovations as a feedback of the international scientific community for planning the future Workprogrammes of FP7 as well as joint actions under the prepared ERA-Net Research for Eco-Innovation proposal. It will also help networking and promoting the existing eco-innovation research potential across Europe.

The forum will consist of two plenary and five thematic sessions addressing different aspects of eco-innovation research including such thematic areas as:

• water management and wastewater treatment
• waste management and recycling
• air pollution control
• clean technologies
• soil and landscape protection
• cross cutting research in each of the above mentioned areas

The open plenary session with key-note presentations is aimed at opening the windows for the discussion by presenting the overview of the eco-innovation concept and the panorama of needs and opportunities for the research in this field. During the final session a presentation and discussion of the forum outputs in a form of a panel discussion will be organised.

The forum will be accompanied by a poster session presenting eco-innovation research projects.

An audience of maximum 120 participants is expected. Researchers of different scientific backgrounds are welcomed as the outcomes of the event are intended to represent integrated approaches to eco-innovation research.

So far, the participation and support in forum organisation was confirmed by DG RTD, Environmental Technologies and Pollution Prevention, European Commision. The following organisations have already confirmed their partnering role in the event:

• Resource Efficiency Transfer of Knowledge Network from UK,
• Fraunhofer Center for Central and Eastern Europe (MOEZ) from Germany,
• Polish Nation Contact Point for European Research Programmes,
• The Silesian University of Technology,
• Institute for Sustainable Technologies - National Research Institute,
• Central Mining Institute - NCP for Environmentally Efficient Technologies,
• Institute of Inorganic Chemistry,
• Institute of Environmental Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
• Institute of Chemical Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences,
• Institute of Mining Technology.