Press Release
Sneak Preview: Highlights of the 10th European Bioplastics Conference 2015
Focus: new policy frameworks, market developments, and new products & materials
Berlin, 13 August 2015 – The European Bioplastics Conference will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year and has put forward an exciting two-day agenda to celebrate the achievements of Europe’s bioplastics industry over the past decade.
The European Bioplastics Conference has been witness to and a driving force behind the outstanding developments in one of the most innovative and exciting sectors of the European bioeconomy over the past decade. Today it is the leading business and networking event for the bioplastics industry in Europe. The 10th edition of the conference will take place on 5/6 November 2015 in Berlin with more than 350 delegates, speakers, and exhibitors expected to attend. The preliminary programme is now available online.
“The agenda of the 10th edition of our conference is starting to take shape, and we are excited to present you with a programme that will live up to the industry’s expectations to celebrate this exciting milestone”, says Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics. The agenda will cover a wide range of areas including the current EU policy landscape, the latest technological innovations in materials and conversion of bioplastics, advances in standardisation and labelling, biobased feedstock, end-of-life solutions, as well as the end-user and brand perspective.
Some of the highlights this year include:
Kevin Vyse, Primary Foods Packaging Technologist and Innovation Lead at Marks & Spencer will outline the UK retailer’s ‘Plan A 2020’, a self-imposed sustainability programme consisting of 100 commitments to reducing the social and environmental footprint of M&S and becoming the world’s most sustainable retailer, and the role of bioplastics in achieving this ambitious goal.
The morning session of the first day is dedicated to the European policy landscape and in particular the revised Circular Economy Package (CEP) and its ramifications for the bioplastics industry. After first-hand insights from senior representatives of the European institutions, Joachim Quoden, Managing Director of the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (EXPRA), will dissect the CEP with regards to producer responsibility when it comes to product design and waste management for (bio-)plastic packaging.
The Open-Bio project investigates how markets can be opened for biobased products through standardisation, labelling, and procurement. Antonis Mistriotis, Senior Researcher at the Dept. of Natural Resources at Agricultural University of Athens and Lara Dammer, Dissemination Officer and Working Group Lead on labelling at Open-Bio will present their results on labelling opportunities for bioplastics, especially with regards to extending the EU Ecolabel to biobased categories. We will also hear the latest updates on the progress of the project’s research into marine biodegradability, which no doubt will be of huge interest.
Another highlight will be the presentation of the 2015 bioplastics market data update, conducted by nova-Institute and IfBB on behalf of European Bioplastics. Followed by an extensive session on the ‘Latest Advances in Materials, Products, and Processes’ featuring a host of frontline R&D and marketization players, including the likes of BASF SE, Perstorp, Corbion, BioAmber, Innovia Films, Cargill, NatureWorks, and Floreon, presenting their latest advances in their fields. And in keeping with a well-received tradition, the Bioplastics Magazine will announce the winner of the 10th Annual Global Bioplastics Award on the second day of the conference.
The full preliminary conference programme is now available on the conference website at www.conference.european-bioplastics.org.
Festive fringe programme to celebrate the 10th anniversary:
The programme of the 10th European Bioplastics Conference will be complemented by a number of networking opportunities and festive fringe events, such as the Conference Anniversary Lottery, friendly sponsored by Braskem, as well as a Gala Dinner on 5th November, sponsored by Belgian certifier Vinçotte co-locating their OK Compost logo’s 20th anniversary celebrations with the conference, to which all attendees are cordially invited.
We would like to emphasise the support of this year’s conference partners Vinçotte, Perstorp, BASF, Braskem, EREMA, and BioAmber, who are officially sponsoring the conference, showing their dedication to the advancement of the bioplastics industry.
If you would like to participate or present your organisation in the exhibition alongside the conference you can secure your places via the online registration. To find out more, please go to www.conference.european-bioplastics.org or simply contact conference(at)european-bioplastics.org.