IFAT: Environmental expertise from around the world digitally networked
Three days full of business contacts and knowledge transfer - that was the first completely digital IFAT impact Business Summit from September 8 to 10, 2020. Diverse technologies from recycling to water management were presented, virtual 1:1 conversations were held, and ways to a true circular economy were discussed.
"The corona pandemic is forcing us all to break new ground - we have now realized the first digital IFAT impact Business Summit," explains Stefan Rummel, Managing Director of Messe München. The three days of the event were packed with B2B networking and knowledge transfer for the international environmental industry. "We want to offer digital formats again in 2021. In addition, preparations for IFAT 2022 are starting, and companies can register as exhibitors again."
Digital interaction on many levels
The foundation of the digital summit was the IFAT exhibitor portal with more than 3,000 listed companies and their products and solutions. During the event, 154 product presentations took place and more than 1,400 1:1 meetings could be booked. A conference program with 20 sessions and around 70 speakers ran in parallel. A large part of this was realized by IFAT's partners and IFAT spin-offs from China, India and Africa. Around 2,100 participants from 104 countries took advantage of the Summit's various offerings.
Of Yogurt Cups, Africa Insights and Artificial Intelligence
Ways to achieve a circular economy were a key topic, as was the case at the "From yogurt cup to new recycled product" solution tour. The experts identified three top measures: designing products to be more recyclable, raising end-user awareness for better presorting, and setting quotas on the part of (EU) policymakers so that more recycled goods can be incorporated into new plastic products. "Plastic is necessary for our lives. The only question is how we deal with it," said Michael Perl of SeSoTec GmbH.
In addition, there were numerous insights into international markets, including Africa: "Africa is not suffering from a water shortage," said Sylvain Usher, executive director of the African Water Association (AfWA). "The problem is that water is not reaching the consumer because of many leaks or illegal discharges. So fighting water losses is one of the key concerns of African water management."
Statements on artificial intelligence in the environmental sector were also interesting: "Artificial intelligence has the most immediate and strongest impact in the greentech sector in managing climate change and in the circular economy," said Dr. Philipp Gerbert, director at appliedAI, Germany's leading artificial intelligence (AI) initiative. However, he said, AI must first eliminate its own carbon footprint through emissions from data center power consumption. Prof. Dr. Ralf Boris Wehrspohn, board member at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, pointed out, among other things, the many potential applications in water management, be it online monitoring of drinking water, more economical and resilient sewage treatment plants or sustainable water management in cities.
Content from the conference will soon be available on the IFAT website:
