POLLUTEC 2004 – The World Environment Technologies Event

Now a must for all environment professionals, this major event, which will be staged in conjunction with ADEME Energies 2004, the energy saving and renewables show, is already bound to be a success. As of 26th April, 7 months from its opening, 70 % of the available space had already been booked.

90 000 m² of space offering a unique panorama of solutions

With over 1,500 stands, occupying 90.000 m² of exhibition space, Pollutec will be the world’s largest show case this year for solutions to the problems encountered by industry and local authorities in all areas of the environment: water, waste/recycling, air, energy, decontamination of polluted sites and soils, risk prevention and management, coastal development and protection, analysis/measurement/monitoring, cleaning...

The show will of course devote a very large proportion of its space to the management and treatment of water and waste. These will occupy nearly 70% of the area, and the Recycling area is expanding strongly. However, Pollutec will also reflect changing professional requirements and the increasing importance of such current concerns as:

• energy – primarily renewables – very much to the fore in a 2004 marked by deregulation and the guidance law on energy. They will occupy a sector largely devoted to alternative solutions (solar, hydrogen, wind, geothermal…) as well as a permanent discussion forum organized in partnership with ADEME, CLER (Renewables Liaison Committee), Enerpresse…
• the decontamination of polluted sites and soils, which for the first time becomes a sector of the show in its own right. Grouped around the UPDS (Association of Site Decontamination Companies), it offers a survey of what is available at each stage in decontamination, from diagnosis to the treatment and monitoring of the sites;
• and risk prevention and management, which this year offers over 1,500 m2 of solutions and a discussion forum focusing on the problems of local authorities led by INERIS (Institute for the Industrial Environment and Risks) and its partners.

A new lead theme: Environment and Health

For the first time, the show will also give extensive coverage to a theme that is the subject of concern to both industry and the general public: Environment and Health. Pollutec will host a themed village, comprising relevant organizations, laboratories, equipment companies and services, where visitors will be able to find information and advice about the various pollutants, the nature of the risks incurred, and current and anticipated regulations...

This theme will also be the subject of a major international symposium at the opening of the show on the subject of “European Environmental Health Policy: what challenges and what consequences for industry and local authorities?”, organized by EFAEP (European Federation of Associations of Environmental Professionals) and AFITE, it French member, as well as a permanent discussion forum on the health impact of the main pollutants present in the housing, water, air, soil or the food chain, as well as nuisances such as sound, atmospheric pollution or electromagnetic fields.

4 days of exchanges and discussions about all current themes

As always, the show will provide a venue for all those involved in the environment to review the current state of regulations and technology through the numerous “official” conferences organized by the trade associations and organizations in the sector (programme available at end of May on the pollutec.com site)

It will offer all visitors a wealth of opportunities for exchange and meetings in the numerous freely accessible spaces:

• 2 exhibitor forums, dedicated to presentations of technological innovations;
• 3 themed forums (Health and Environment, Risks, Energy,) and 3 villages (Coast, Polluted sites and soils, Recycling), where round tables and presentations follow one another over the four days of the show;
• a “Research-Industry Meetings space”, organized by ADEME and its press partners, hosting presentations of laboratory research and numerous discussions between manufacturers and researchers;
• finally a TV studio, which will broadcast talks by French and foreign speakers, themed discussions, presentations of new surveys and the announcements of prize-winners. 5 separate sets of awards will be presented: EEP Awards 2004/the European Environmental Innovation Awards, organized by the EEP (European Environmental Press) and the EFAEP (European Federation of Associations of Environmental Professionals), Innovative Techniques for the Environment and 12^th Clean and Economical Technologies Awards, organized by ADEME and its press partners, the Companies and the Environment Awards of the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, organized by the ACFCI, and a new trophy, organized by ADEME and Pollutec, for the best eco stand designs.

Further international expansion

Pollutec has long been one of the world’s leading environment shows, attracting an increasing number of international exhibitors and visitors each year (713 foreign exhibitors and 5,720 foreign visitors at the Pollutec Lyons in 2002).

This year, the show should expand its international audience even further through new national stands – Switzerland, new German and British regions, as well as Spain and Poland, present in Lyons for the first time – and several events will be organized in close collaboration with national and regional export promotion organizations (ERAI, UBIFRANCE, UNIDO, ADEME Action Internationale….). Announcements so far:

• a series of meetings focusing on Morocco, country of the year: national pavilion, reception of a major delegation accompanying the Minister of Local Development, Water and the Environment, conferences and meetings about de-centralized, regional Franco-Moroccan co-operation and two key priorities for Morocco: water and, in particular, sewerage and the supply of drinking water in rural areas – and waste.
• Focus on Poland, with a conference dedicated to the investment needs and technological solutions followed by business meetings between French and Polish companies;
• Numerous international business conferences intended to encourage the transfer of technologies between industries in Latin America, China, Africa, Central and Eastern Europe (especially the 10 European Union accession countries) and their European counterparts.

Information and programmes can be found on the web site.