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One of the most important international trade exhibitions for the environmental profession has come to an end, bringing together organisations committed to sustainability and climate protection. The focus was on the environmental industry, waste, water, air quality and sustainable, innovative solutions. ENVIRONTEC powered by ÖKOINDUSTRIA is a new development of HUNGEXPO, in close cooperation with the Hungarian Association of Environmental Enterprises (HAEE). Both exhibitors and visitors rated the event a success, with several professional conferences in addition to the new products on display.
The new development of HUNGEXPO, ENVIRONTEC powered by ÖKOINDUSTRIA, the first ENVIRONTEC exhibition co-organised and professionally partnered by the Hungarian Association of Environmental Enterprises (HAEE), has taken a prominent place in the 20-year history of environmental industry exhibitions. Building on previous ÖKOINDUSTRIA exhibitions, ENVIRONTEC powered by ÖKOINDUSTRIA aims to become the largest Central and Eastern European focal point for companies and organisations working in the field of environmental protection and sustainability in Hungary and abroad.
ENVIRONTEC has realised the long-standing desire of the domestic environmental industry to provide a meeting place and a source of inspiration for managers and experts from domestic and international environmental and sustainability companies, business people, consultants, higher education institutions, NGOs, public institutions, authorities, journalists, interest groups and research institutes, where everyone can take the time and space to present their latest technologies, research results and services. Because the aim is common: to spread and put into practice green ideas and ideas, and thus to create a green economy.
As Csaba Kőrösi, strategic director of the Blue Planet Foundation, pointed out in his opening speech at the expo, "sustainable development is not about stopping economic growth.
The question now is what role do we see ourselves playing in this sustainable development turnaround: will we be buyers in the technology submarket or will we be trend-setters, market followers or attitude shapers, will we aim for low value-added or high value-added and will we be more efficient in our use of materials and energy?".
ENVIRONTEC's professional events, national and international exhibitors provided good examples, practices and tools - which are waiting to be further applied.
ENVIRONTEC in numbers
With visitor interest far exceeding the expectations of the organisers and exhibitors, and with the figures, numbers and professional successes to prove it, the event has already succeeded in making the first edition an international event.
The three-day event attracted more than 3,000 professional visitors, bringing the total number of participants to nearly 3,500, including those from the major conferences. The 103 exhibitors present at the HUNGEXPO Budapest Congress and Exhibition Centre came from 7 countries in addition to Hungary; Austria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands. They presented their latest developments and most successful projects on 1,100 square metres, offering visitors the opportunity to learn about domestic and foreign innovations that play an important role in the green transition and climate adaptation. A significant number of KSZGYSZ member companies and partners were represented both as exhibitors and visitors.
The 19 professional events accompanying the exhibition also attracted many foreign speakers and participants from Europe and the South-Eastern European region. B2B meetings were also an integral part of the expo, hosted by the Enterprise Europe Network portal for business meetings across the continent, with 109 professionals from 16 countries registered.
Commitment and important messages from green industry players
Speaking at the opening of ENVIRONTEC, Anikó Raisz, Minister of State for the Environment and the Circular Economy at the Ministry of Energy (MoE), said that the Hungarian government is committed to sustainably achieving economic growth while strengthening competitiveness, and has taken several concrete measures in recent years to this end. He added that the development of the circular economy is a top priority in Hungary too. Moreover, circular economy is a priority not only from an environmental point of view, but also because it can reduce the risks of resource scarcity and increase industry resilience to price volatility.
The CEO of the organiser HUNGEXPO also expressed this commitment. Gábor Ganczer stressed that "HUNGEXPO also has a responsibility for the future of the country and the future of our country. Beyond sound business considerations, we want to meet this responsibility when we develop a new exhibition," he said. The CEO said it is also special because it creates a common platform for all those committed to sustainability and the environment.
Dr. Csaba Ágoston, President of the co-organizer KSZGYSZ, expressed his pleasure at the renewed cooperation, as Hungexpo and KSZGYSZ started the series of environmental expos together 24 years ago: "This year our Green Economy 2023/24 study booklet was published again, and it is a sarfisfiing feeling to see its tangible, practical part here in the pavilion. We are a colorful profession, which is reflected in the diverse range of products and services on offer at the expo: exhibitors and speakers from the fields of energy efficiency, environmental consultancy, circular economy, waste and water management, wastewater treatment, remediation, air quality, noise and vibration protection, measurement and sampling." - said the President of the largest national green lobby.
A series of professional programmes
The interest in the first ENVIRONTEC is reflected by the hundreds of participants in the organised professional programmes.
Dr. Csaba Ágoston, President of the organizing KSZGYSZ, also praised the ESG roundtable, which was held in the framework of the exhibition, as a great success, as it provided participants with the latest ESG regulations and useful practical advice on how SMEs can comply with the new regulatory requirements. The international RE:BROWN conference on Remediation and Brownfield Investments was also attended by a wide range of experts from home and abroad, who discussed the EU framework for soil protection, pollution prevention and remediation measures, and best practices. The conference, organised in partnership with the International Solid Waste Management Association (ISWA), also attracted great interest, focusing on waste prevention, re-use and recovery in practice. From 2024 onwards, the Association will represent Hungary in ISWA, so it was a great honour to have the newly elected President of ISWA, James Law, personally present at the event, and ISWA had a stand at the event to showcase its activities. The latest digital solutions and developments that are most relevant to the situation in the region, such as the DRS.
Supporting partners of the professional programmes were ENVIROTIS Holding Zrt. and the Ministry of Energy.
ENVIRONTEC exhibitors, visitors, professionals, businessmen, interested parties and students of higher education institutions were interested in the round-table discussions and conferences of the event's professional partners (MAVÍZ, HOSZ, KÖVET Association). Many of them also attended the international businessmen's meeting of the Hungarian Export Promotion Agency Nonprofit Zrt. (HEPA) and the Green Balkan Forum, which promotes the technology export opportunities of Hungarian environmental companies in the Western Balkans region.
Awareness raising was also part of the exhibition's theme
Building on its decades of experience in awareness raising, the KSZGYSZ launched the Knowledge Library and the GreenPrograms.hu portals on the GreenEconomy stage at ENVIRONTEC. The former already offers 325 downloadable knowledge resources, while the latter has been created to help event organisers and interested parties to easily choose between quality sustainability-related programmes. These websites are a niche initiative to easily communicate sustainability ideas to the general public, students, decision-makers and employees of companies.
A special visually and interactively engaging element was the 'Our Everyday Air' project, supported by the Ministry of Energy, to raise awareness in schools.
Several Hungarian higher education institutions were also exhibitors at the exhibition. Many visitors came to the stands of MATE, the University of Pannonia, Edutus University, the University of Óbuda and the University of Miskolc, where they could learn about the latest research and developments in the field of environmental protection.
Good practices from the Guest Country the Netherlands and from our small country
The Guest of Honour of the first ENVIRONTEC powered by ÖKOINDUSTRIA was the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which arrived with 11 exhibitors. At the opening ceremony, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Hungary presented the Tulipán Award for Sustainability, the winner this time was Béres Plc.
Also at the opening ceremony, the grand prizes of the exhibition were awarded by the jury to the companies that presented the most innovative products and services to meet the challenges of the future. The first ENVIRONTEC Grand Award in the service category was awarded to AGRIAPIPE Pipe Cleaning, Construction and Services Ltd. for its no-dig technology for the renovation of buried utility lines without excavation; and in the product/technology category, the winner was OXYMA Systems Ltd. for its IntrCooll - HydroBank - AZUD integrated eco-centric, 4-season climate control system with circular water management. On the last day of the ENVIRONTEC trade show, the Audience Award was also presented. During the three days of the exhibition, visitors could vote for the most innovative and informative exhibitor presentation on the HUNGEXPO app.
On the last day of the ENVIRONTEC exhibition, the Audience Award was also presented. During the three days of the exhibition, visitors could vote for the most innovative and informative exhibitor presentation via the HUNGEXPO app. MiReHu Nonprofit Ltd. received the most votes.
At the opening of ENVIRONTEC, four Eco-Label and EU Ecolabel certificates were awarded.
Read more about the winners here: https://hungexpo.hu/news/dijeso-az-environtec-szakkiallitason/
Pictures from the exhibition can be downloaded here: https://environtec.hu/latogatoknak/galeria/
Photos by HUNGEXPO
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