GLOBE EU Events

Sirpa Pietikäinen, MEP and President of GLOBE EU, and Catherine Chabaud, MEP welcomed Ani Dasgupta, President and CEO of the World Resources Institute, a GLOBE EU partner organization, for the keynote address.  Ani emphasized the need for national governments to prioritize water as a crisis issue and the impact of water scarcity on poor communities.

His comments on the outcome of the UN 2023 Water Conference were followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Catherine Chabaud, with interventions by UNEP, the European Commission (DG ENV), Bee Group member Ecolab, and The Ocean Cleanup, touching on microplastic pollution, extending producer responsibility, and recognizing water as a common good of humanity.

Program:

10h00   Welcome – Sirpa Pieikäinen, MEP and President of GLOBE EU

10h10    Introduction – Catherine Chabaud, MEP and member of GLOBE EU

10h15    Keynote Address – Ani Dasgupta, President and CEO, World Resources Institute

10h30    Panel Discussion

• Veronika Hunt Safrankova – Head of Brussels Office UNEP
• Veronica Manfredi, Director, DG ENV-C, European Commission
• Tiffany Atwell, SVP Global Government Relations, Ecolab
• João Ribeiro-Bidaoui, General Counsel & Director of Global Public Affairs, The Ocean Cleanup

11h10    Discussion with the audience

12h00   End

Speakers’ bios

Presentation Dasgupta

Presentation Safrankova

Presentation Ribeiro-Bidaoui

On March 8, GLOBE EU member and MEP Margrete Auken hosted an event to draw attention to the need for European cities and regions to prepare for extreme weather events caused by climate change.  Representatives from Copenhagen and Porto were on call to explain the successful implementation, with support from the European Union, in their cities of infrastructure to mitigate the impact of changing precipitation patterns.  Nestlé Waters provided examples of industry’s involvement in the implementation of nature-based solutions to manage water extraction.  The World Resources Institute and the European Commission (DG CLIMA), finally, presented tools and support mechanisms available to local governments in preparing for climate adaptation.

Program:

Welcome and Introductory remarks – Margrete Auken MEP

Panel Discussion:

• Jan Rasmussen – Project Director, City of Copenhagen
• Felipe Araújo – Vice-Mayor, City of Porto
• Janneke de Vries – Director for EU Partnerships, World Resources Institute
• Cédric Egger – Head of Sustainability, Nestlé Waters
• Willem Jan Goossen – Policy Officer, European Commission

Q&A with participants

Speakers’ bios

Presentation Jan Rasmussen

Presentation Felipe Araújo

Presentation Janneke de Vries

Presentation Cédric Egger

Presentation Willem Jan Goossen

GLOBE EU members Sirpa Pietikäinen and Martin Hojsík hosted an event on February 8 to hear from industry experts about chemical recycling and how the technology could help advance circularity in the EU and its transition to zero waste.

Specialists from the European Commission, industry, and the NGO community highlighted the importance of adopting a systemic approach to recycling and addressed regulatory, technical, and economical obstacles to a zero-waste transition.

• Welcome and Introductory remarks – Martin Hojsík MEP
• Panel Discussion (moderated by Martin Hojsík MEP):
  • Aurel Ciobanu Dordea – Director, EU Commission DG ENV
  • Chris Killian – Chief Technology Officer, Eastman
  • Peter Sandkühler – Director Sustainability EMEA, Dow
  • Lauriane Veillard – Policy Officer, Zero Waste Europe
• Short statements by companies on the use of recycled plastics in their products:
  • Tarkett (Myriam Tryjefaczka), ReturnMatras (Chico van Hemert), Nestlé (Christian Detrois)
• Q&A with participants (moderated by Sirpa Pietikäinen)

Presentation Chris Killian

Presentation Lauriane Veillard

Presentation Myriam Tryjefaczka

Presentation Christian Detrois

Eastman’s reply to online questions

Zero Waste Europe’s reply to online questions

Eastman factsheet

GLOBE EU members Pietikäinen, Hojsík, and Olekas hosted a hybrid event on regenerative farming on November 16.

Regenerative farming offers a sustainable alternative to current farming practices, which are known to cause multiple challenges to the environment.  Rather than posing a threat, regenerative farming increases biodiversity, enriches soils, improves watersheds, and enhances ecosystem services.  It involves all stakeholders and focuses on improving the whole ecosystem: soil, water, and biodiversity.

Damages to the environment caused by current farming practices were highlighted by our keynote speaker, George Monbiot, who is Guardian columnist and author of “Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet”.

Speakers from Nestlé, Unilever, the WBCSD, and WRI addressed the adverse environmental consequences of current farming practices and explored how policies must change to encourage farmers to deploy more sustainable techniques.

Program:

16h00 Welcome – Sirpa Pietikäinen MEP, President GLOBE EU

16h10 Keynote Address – George Monbiot, author of “Regenesis: Feeding the world without devouring the planet

16h30 Expert Introductions:

• Katja Seidenschnur, Sustainability Director Europe, Nestlé
• Dorothy Shaver, Sustainability Director, Nutrition & Ice Cream, Unilever
• Dana Rakha-Michalon, Manager, One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
• Morgan Gillespy, Director Food and Land Use Coalition (FOLU), World Resources Institute

17h10 Discussion – moderated by Martin Hojsík MEP, Vice-President GLOBE EU

17h50 Conclusion –  Juozas Olekas MEP, member GLOBE EU

Speakers’ bios

Presentation Katja Seidenschnur

Presentation Dana Rakha-Michalon

Presentation Morgan Gillespy

Recommendations

Construction materials have an important carbon footprint.  In the EU alone, they are responsible for 250 million tons of CO2 annually.  While the EU is already home to many of the sustainable frontrunners developing the next generation of low-carbon materials, the sector as a whole has failed to sufficiently decarbonize to date and is bound to miss the EU’s 2030 goals.

As global demand for shelter and infrastructure continues to rise, making building materials more sustainable should be a priority.  Can technology play a role in driving down resource and energy consumption in the sector?

European innovation in building materials is growing: from zero-carbon concrete to alternative building materials, from prefabricated modular buildings to 3D-printed ones.  The buildings of tomorrow should require fewer resources – and consume less energy. For this vision to emerge, a forward-thinking policy framework needs to be put in place, supporting the deployment of these innovations with clear targets and incentives.

During the joint GLOBE EU/Cleantech for Europe event on September 6, experts from the European Commission, Bee Group member Tarkett, Ecocem, Stora Enso, Aeditive, and Neolithe (see program below) considered how sustainable construction materials can enhance the EU’s industrial competitiveness, determine targets for the industry that are ambitious yet feasible; explored current roadblocks to their scale-up, and discussed how EU policies can create the conditions for this new industry to prosper.

Program

A paper with recommendations as well as speakers’ presentations are available for viewing/downloading below.

Call to Action – Cleantech for Europe and GLOBE EU

Presentation Jules Besnainou – Cleantech for Europe

Presentation Myriam Tryjefaczka – Tarkett