For the third time, the Clean Vision Summit inspired hundreds of visitors and dozens of companies. This year, the sun-drenched edition took place at the Bijloke in Ghent. Ann De Bie guided the guests through a day of plenary sessions, pitches, an extensive tech fair and a range of interesting side events.
See the aftermovie below.
What can we do to make our companies, our processes and our products more sustainable? How can we save our planet and our economy at the same time? The Clean Vision Summit provides visions and answers.
Jo Brouns, the incoming minister, was very pleased with this initiative: "I am pleased with an initiative such as the Clean Vision Summit that reaches out to companies to inspire, inform and connect in order to make the sustainability transition a reality together with knowledge institutions and policy makers."
"We should not turn away from our industry, but above all we should help them to become greener and more circular," stated Sophie Bracke, alderman in Ghent. With that, she indicated exactly why VITO is organising the Clean Vision Summit. "Technology is not 'the' answer, it is part of it," indicated Bruno Reyntjens of VITO. Only a holistic and systemic answer can lead to a solution. And Flanders can be a leader here, believes Benjamin Clarysse of the BBL.
If we want to take a step forward, we can only do so if we find partners. The economy, industry and sustainability need not compete with each other. It is an opportunity for business that simultaneously has an impact on society, argued Juan Carlos Alonso of Bekaert.
At the Clean Vision Summit, Clean Vision Invest was also introduced, an independent initiative of VITO aimed at supporting spin-offs in the early stage.
The Clean Vision Summit is a meeting place, but also an opportunity to put a plan or idea on the table and discuss it with VITO experts. This year too, it was striking how many visitors had made an appointment to test their idea. These individual meeting moments were fully booked.
A first survey has already shown that the Clean Vision Summit meets a clear demand. The complete results are still being processed, but we can already tell you that many visitors would definitely like to join the next Clean Vision Summit.
