Page 57 - Plastics News June 2023

IN THE NEWS

Renewable Materials Conference and Awards returns for 2023 with record
attendance

‘three particularly exciting and prom-
ising solutions’ that contribute to re-
placing fossil carbon from the ground.
Thirty companies responded to the
call for entries, six nominees present-
ed their innovations at the conference
and three were selected by the par-
ticipants of the Renewable Materials
Conference.
Christoph Gürtler, Head of Global
Industry Academia Cooperations at
Covestro (DE), congratulated the
winner: “With Kuori (CH) work-
ing on bio-based and biodegradable
he annual Renewable Materials The conference presented and dis- elastic materials, e.g. for shoe sole
TConference, took place from 23 cussed many possible pathways to applications, the audience selected a
to 25 May at “Rhein Sieg Forum” in a net-zero future for materials and highly interesting topic for the pres-
Siegburg (near Cologne), which was a chemicals. Dominik Müller, Senior tigious Renewable Materials of the
new venue for the event. Manager Sustainability & Market De- Year Award 2023. We congratulate
Organisers say that a record of 465 velopment at UPM Biochemicals (FI), the winner and are proud to sponsor
participants from 32 countries attend- the platinum sponsor of the confer- this award and to have a long-term re-
ed 80 presentations, 20 panel discus- ence, added: lationship with the nova-Institute and
sions and five workshops. Throughout “The Renewable Materials Confer- the Renewable Carbon Initiative. It is
the three days, a matchmaking area, ence was the perfect platform to a very fruitful collaboration and the
long lunch breaks and three evening discuss with other experts how we Renewable Materials Conference in
meeting points ensured extensive and can accelerate the transformation to- Siegburg was a great success.”
‘effective’ networking. wards a net zero circular economy, Raul Schweizer, Chief Operating Of-
Investors and brand owners are put- which is only feasible with a joint ho- fic o KUORI (CH): “I a privileg
ting increasing pressure on suppliers listic approach of value chain collabo- for us to be selected by international
to invest rapidly in alternative carbon ration. It became clear that alternative experts from industry and research as
sources, the availability of which was a feedstocks, such as bio-based, CO2- the 'Renewable Material of the Year
key theme at the conference. based and recycled feedstocks, are 2023'. The positive spirit and will to
the key levers to enable this transfor-
Michael Carus, CEO of nova-Insti- change towards a circular economy is
tute, an independent, science-based mation. There is a need for clear and in line with our company values and
research and consultancy institute in strong messages and commitment mission. We have had the opportunity
Germany and organiser of the confer- along the value chain from feedstock to discuss this with international com-
ence, said: suppliers towards the chemical sector panies, made valuable contacts and
to brands to enable the industry to act
“It is clear what needs to be done, the faster and bolder.“ look forward to more.”
technologies exist and many compa- First Winner
nies are willing to invest in renewable The winners of the prestigious inno- KUORI – Bio-based and Biodegrad-
solutions. What is missing now are vation award have been chosen able Elastic Materials (KUORI (CH))
smart policies to build the bridge be- With the “Renewable Material of the Kuori is developing and producing
tween now and 2050 for companies Year 2023” innovation award, the no- bio-based and biodegradable elastic
to remain competitive in the sustain- va-Institute (organiser) and Covestro materials based on food waste such
ability transformation.” (sponsor) recognise what they say are
as banana peels and nutshells, which

June 2023 PLASTICS NEWS 57