Dutch National Sustainability Congress on November 3rd

Social Innovation for Climate Change

On 3 November the 16th edition of the Dutch National Sustainability Congress will take place. A month before the start of COP21 it will emphasize the need of urgency to realise real climate impact and economical and social growth. This year the central theme is ‘Social innovation for Climate Change’. The congress will bring together all the people who are active on climate change in the Netherlands. The inspiring speakers, plenaire discussions and interactive workshops will lead to key messages which will be presented to the world leaders during COP21 in Paris.

Thematic session ‘Knowlegde sharing and co-creation for real climate impact’

During an interactive session Carolien van Hemel, Director of the Utrecht Sustainability Institute (USI), will present the case of Utrecht Centre-west, the Dutch city district selected as an icon for sustainable transformation by Climate-KIC’s Smart Sustainable Districts programme. It is a great example of how knowledge sharing and co-creation within the community of Climate-KIC can lead to successful innovations, with real impact on climate and the economy.

The sustainable transformation of the Utrecht Centre-west area is part of the Smart Sustainable Districts programme. It is set to become a global exemplar project for testing smart, sustainable systems, with the aim to be able to replicate the solutions in other urban districts around the world. Utrecht was selected from a wider collaborative network of twelve city districts, and will bring together some of the most advanced innovations from Climate-KIC’s network of over 200 partners.

The ambition in the Dutch city district is high: Utrecht Centre-west will become a model for sustainable and healthy urbanization. The main objectives for the area are energy-neutral, climate-proof and attractive through optimum greening, water retention and personal mobility. Research institutes from the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, led by the Utrecht Sustainability Institute, will help specify the sustainable transformation ambitions and will provide decisive input for the decision making on the transformation plans in 2015-2016.

More information about the congress, the programme and registration can be found on: www.sustainability-congres.nl (in Dutch).