Representatives from industry, government and the non-profit sectors meet in Laussane, Switzerland today to give and hear a series of 10-minute pitches identifying environmental issues in emerging countries, and their possible industry-based solutions.
The eighth annual Sustainable Environmental Solutions for Emerging Countries (SESEC) symposium, November 10-12, is designed to be a networking tool and incubator for collborations in a range of fields including waste management, water treatment, renewable energies, education, tourism, urban development and environmental regulation.
SESEC was founded in 2001 by Dr. Alain Jenny, founder of the environmental technology group Granit SA. Originally dubbed "Swiss" Environmental Solutions for Emerging Countries, the symposium grew out of earlier discussions between Chinese regional authorities and environmental technology companies spun out of the Swiss Federal Institute of Science and Technology–the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). The forum was subsequently expanded to promote best practices and local solutions to environmental issues world wide.
The 10-minute format invites representatives from emerging countries to give quick summaries of local environmental issues. Likewise, researchers, small- to medium-sized cleantech companies and finance institutions are on hand to present their interests and to brainstorm localized solutions.
For instance, at the first SESEC symposium in 2001, the owners of a pulp mill located in the Punjab, India described their problem: their effluents (black liquor) were polluting the environment and local authorities were considering closing the plant. The pollution was due to the presence of lignin, an organic polymer contributing to the structure of vascular plants, which also happens to be a natural antiviral and antibacterial component. When extracting cellulosis from wood, a large quantity of lignin is released. if it goes to the environment, it has negative effects, but if captured, it can be used as a valuable component of green chemistry.
A consortium of Indian and Swiss companies was created, including the Swiss company which developed a technology to extract lignin. Two plants were built, one to extract lignin, the other to refine it. Now that it is completed, the project has had several positive effects: the remediation of the pulp mill and the prevention of pollution; the development of a new economic activity as lignin is commercialized in the fast-growing market of green chemistry; and the creation of some 50 green jobs in India and around 10 in Europe, the latter being dedicated to the development of new applications.
Jenny told SustainableBusiness.com that local the focus of SESEC is on creating localized, concrete projects for the transfer of knowledge. He said global challenges such as clean energy production and greenhouse gas reduction cannot be met with a single global solution, but must be addressed at the local level, where economic benefits will translate into increased quality of lfe for regional inhabitants. "We have created an approach to increase our global knowledge of local sustainable development by sharing good experiences," he said.
Other projects are underway in India, Sardinia, Saudi Arabia, Burkina Faso, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Poland, China, Colombia and Malta.
In 2007, the SESEC VI symposium saw the creation of the International Federation of Green Regions Associations (IFGR) to serve as a permanent platformm for the promotion of sustainable development. Founded with 18 members, it has grown to 25, including Beijing Capital Co., Ltd (China), City of Lausanne (Switzerland), Company Environmental Practices (Texas, USA), Granit Green Networks (Switzerland), Green Man Association (Italy), Auroville (India) and Suzhou National Hi-Tech Industrial Zone (China).
As stated on the IFGR website, the objective is to facilitate the exchange of practices successfully tested by local and regional communities; promote the use of renewable resources to preserve health and the environment; advise and support members in the realization of projects to achieve high performance in sustainability; and assist to create public-private partnerships and consortiums as most environmental issues involve both public authorities and industrial companies.
Jenny, who serves as the General Secretary of IFGR, said he expects membership to grow in the near term as candidate members begin to see the success of projects that are now beginning to mature.
"We are promoting local solutions to see if we can find partnerships. Of course we look to have more members and more partnerships, but this must develop slowly, case-by-case," Jenny said.
Other SESEC initiatives currently being discussed are located in Ecuador, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Syria, Kirghizstan, Kazakhstan, Italy, Switzerland-France and Switzerland-Germany.
For additional information about SESEC and IFGRA, visit the website below.
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