Seizing The Future

Pollutec Horizons, the future solutions show for environmental and economic challenges, will welcome nearly 1,500 exhibitors and 40,000 visitors to an area of 50 000 m2 from 27th to 30th November this year.

As a key player in the international environment market, Pollutec Horizons is reflecting the changes in it by offering a response to all those professionals confronted by new environmental challenges. The show will present a comprehensive panorama of solutions to such key ecological challenges as the treatment of pollution, making the most of resources, fighting climate change, reducing the impact of pollution on health and working towards sustainable development.

As of 17th July, four and a half months before the show opens, more than 70% of the stand space has been booked, demonstrating the level of interest excited by this new approach.

Clearer range of exhibitors supplemented by new themes

The range of exhibits at Pollutec Horizons is being presented in a different way in order to make it easier to identify solutions in terms of major concerns and to respond more effectively to visitor expectations. In addition to the show’s traditional sectors – pollution treatment (water, waste, air, sites and soils, noise), analysis-measurement-monitoring, risk prevention and management – certain sectors will be enhanced and new themes will be covered: water saving, recycling and exploitation of materials, photocatalysis, combating greenhouse gases, renewables, economical building, sustainable building, natural risks, health and the environment, ethical buying, protection of natural environments, urban mobility, ...

Pollutec Horizons will also serve as the venue for the first Buy&Care, the new ethical buying show that aims to bring buyers from the public and private sector together with the suppliers of products and services carrying eco-labels or that meet the criteria for ethical products.

Innovation as a solution

Research into and the development of dedicated new products and services are vital if such new challenges as the increasing scarcity of resources and climate change are to be confronted. That is why, more than ever before, Pollutec Horizons will act as a show case for innovation. As of 17th July, many of the innovations that the press office had been told about focused on new challenges: sludge treatment, exploitation of worn tyres, renewables, decontamination of soils and analysis-measurement-monitoring. The Île de France pavilion will also play host to an ‘eco-innovation village’ occupied by a selection of innovative companies from the Île-de-France region.

As always, many of the conferences and debates will be devoted to innovation and numerous awards and prizes will provide recognition for innovative products and services. These include the EEP Awards 2007, the European environmental innovation awards organized by the European Environmental Press, with the support of the European Federation of Associations of Environmental Professionals (EFAEP), the French Environment Ministry Business Awards for the Environment, which form the French stage of the European Commission’s European Business Awards for the Environment, as well as the Innovative Techniques for the Environment Awards and the Economical and Clean Technologies Awards of the French environment and energy saving agency (ADEME).

International expertise in support of the new range of exhibits

This year, the organizers of Pollutec Horizons are demonstrating their desire to highlight international expertise still further by working in conjunction with several new developments. Nearly a third of exhibitors originate from abroad and they will be present both with individual stands and in the national pavilions: Austria, Belgium (Wallonia), Canada, Germany (North Rhine Westphalia and Bavaria), Hungary, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom and the United States, … have already been announced.

This expertise is reflected in the richness of the international programme that has been announced:

- North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) of Germany is the region of the year and will play an active part in numerous conferences and events dealing with clean energy and renewables, water saving and recycling;

- Hungary will present its range of solutions and investment requirements as part of the Franco-Hungarian economic year (pavilion, official delegation, conference on 29/11);

- The Ecoétape 2007 meetings will bring together over 60 representatives from Africa and Latin America to present potential European or international partners with a selection of development projects requiring inter-company partnerships or co-operation between intermediary organizations. Organized by UNIDO, these meetings will be linked to a series of conferences scheduled over two days. Themes to be covered will include: CDM projects in Africa, the agri-industry, consistency between economic and environmental policies and clean technologies;

- The presence of Poland will be marked by a conference of professionals presenting their problems and expectations in the environment field;

- The 3rd International conference on the verification of the environmental performance of eco-technologies, organized by ADEME, ETAP and the Environment DG (EU), in partnership with the USETV, ETV Canada and the PNUE. Being staged for the first time in Europe, this conference is the third in a series to survey the development of different systems for verifying the performance of eco-technologies and the subject of their international recognition, which is a key question for eco-companies that are exporters. The North American ETV (Environmental Technology Verification) programme operates in both the United States (with the EPA) and Canada.

- The 2nd European conference on the promotion of research, finance and entrepreneurship for eco-innovation Capital 4E, organized by Mar-Tech & Finance and the Île-de-France region. This three-day series of conferences is designed to support technological innovation, to promote entrepreneurship, and to permit the financing of innovative technologies (energy, eco-technologies, eco-design, eco-business).

Attracting international visitors

Pollutec Horizons is an event that international visitors eagerly anticipate and nearly 5,000 of them will flock to it. In order to help them make the most of their visit and to encourage contacts, a whole series of special services are placed at their disposal, including an Export Reception, where they can take advantage of the advice of French export specialists, a VIP Club, meetings with experts on specific subjects and a bilingual (French-English) visitor guide covering the show’s events and the most significant innovations.