The Greentech Festival 2023 took place from June 14th to 16th on the former site of TXL Airport in Berlin and brought together companies of all sizes, scientists, political institutions, media and committed changemakers. A total of over 11.500 visitors, more than 180 speakers and over 160 exhibitors took part. With the aim of presenting, discovering and discussing solutions to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
"Awareness of green technologies and sustainable innovations has reached the center of our society. We are proud to have made a significant contribution to a positive discussion with the Greentech Festival." - Co-founder Marco Voigt
As an interdisciplinary meeting place and stage for innovation, networking, discussions and knowledge transfer, the event lived up to its promise to advance the "Mission to Net Zero". Top-class, versatile and above all solution-oriented.
Greentech Festival 2023 celebrates innovative spirit & disruptive solutions
On June 14, the Green Awards marked the kick-off of Europe's largest sustainability festival. Co-founders Marco Voigt and Nico Rosberg, together with other well-known personalities, welcomed 600 guests and celebrated this year's award winners in the categories youngster, innovation, start-up and special award winner Prof. Dr. Johan Rockstrom.
Source & Copyright by Greentech Festival / Robert Schlesinger
Brilliant Planet beat the competition in the Innovation category. The British company uses algae as a cost-effective method for permanently and quantifiably sequestering carbon. Compared to conventional algae producers, this method is not only ten times cheaper, but also ten times faster. It thus enables affordable carbon sequestration Algae. And at the same time contributes to the health of the oceans and the air.
The Youngster Award went to Jeremiah Thoronka from Sierra Leone. At the age of just 17 he developed the "Optim Energy". A sustainable, affordable and resilient energy harvesting technology that brings clean energy to communities in need. The system captures the kinetic energy of moving objects such as people, cars and animals on various road surfaces and uses it to generate electricity. Enough to supply households and schools with free energy.
Source & Copyright by Greentech Festival / Robert Schlesinger
And courageous ambitions were also rewarded in the start-up category. Concular has developed a digital ecosystem for circular construction, as the construction sector is responsible for 60% of waste and 40% of CO2 emissions worldwide. The German start-up digitizes materials and enables them to be reused in existing and new buildings instead of being landfilled. This creates closed material cycles that help reduce global CO2 emissions by up to 15% and waste by up to 30%.
Constructive, critical, controversial: discourse as a motor for new impulses and solutions
The program of the GTF Exhibition and the GTF Conference began on June 15th and was extended to two days for the first time. More diverse than ever, this included over 180 speakers on 5 stages, 9 deep dive sessions, 16 solution stage sessions, 6 green business boot camps, and numerous lectures at the GTF Exhibition.
As a non-partisan body, the GTF brought together numerous opinion leaders, including Federal Ministers Robert Habeck, Christian Lindner, and Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Google's Chief Sustainability Officer, Kate Brandt, and Aimée van Baalen, spokeswoman for the "Last Generation. " The goal is to promote discourse and create synergies to achieve ambitious climate goals.
Source & Copyright by Greentech Festival / Robert Schlesinger
"It was about ideas, about hopes, about change, about investments, about 'us', and the mood of this room, the spirit of this room, of this stage and of your businesses is about doing something, something on to get going with a firm belief that we can be successful." - Robert Habeck, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection
In a dynamic atmosphere, the talks, panels and discussions revolved around sustainability and the spirit of innovation. About artificial intelligence and socially just innovations to limit climate change and the impact of the climate crisis on human health. Other topics included food tech and protest in the context of structural change and the legal framework.
Greentech Festival 2023 puts sustainability on the agenda of all industries
But not only the conference shone with diversity. Whether visionary start-up, research institution or established company - the most diverse organizational forms and business cases were present at the GTF Exhibition. And thus also clearly demonstrated the will to proactively accompany the "Mission to Net Zero". This proves that the climate crisis and the willingness to save our planet have reached a high level of relevance in society, politics and business.
Henrik Wenders, Head of Audi, underscores this. "We want to be part of the discussion about ways to a sustainable economy and have therefore been a founding partner of the festival since 2020. Circular Economy, due diligence in the supply chain and the decarbonization of production and logistics are in focus for all sectors and industries. The more intensively we exchange ideas, the more successfully we can tackle these challenges."
Conclusion: GTF scales positive impact through exchange, cooperation & bold visions
The Greentech Festival 2023 has proven that it not only has the potential, but also uses it to drive transformative change globally. By creating a progressive platform, international thought leaders, companies and entities find a dynamic place to exchange and discover solutions and potentially scale them.
However, the diversity of the participants, in particular, speaks for a positive development. The numerous emergence of changemakers from different sectors and industries proves that green technologies have arrived in the mainstream of society worldwide. Having visibility and getting more and more understanding and support. Since agents like the GTF are essential to this development, this year's event is considered an important milestone in the forward-looking mission to create a sustainable future.
