The global water and climate dialogue is seeing a shift away from making the environment ‘less-worse’ and towards initiating regrowth and regeneration. That is the view of Paul O’Callaghan, founder and chief executive of BlueTech Research, who is observing the transition.
“Radical collaborations between industry and the supply chain are now needed if bold ambitions are to be realised,” he says.
With this in mind, BlueTech Forum 2022, which is hosted by BlueTech Research, will have the theme Radical Collaboration for Regeneration, and will seek to catalyse new partnerships to enable companies to achieve their water and carbon goals. The organisers are building an immersive and inspiring experience to bring the story of water to life and ensure enduring impact.
The event is taking place at the Vancouver Convention Centre, Canada, on 7-8 June 2022, with Science World, False Creek, as the reception venue. The first confirmed ‘bluenote’ speaker is leading environmentalist and best-selling author Paul Hawken, whose latest book Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation offers a visionary new approach to climate change.
An interactive programme will also include workshops, end-user sessions, roundtable discussions and the BlueTech Innovation Showcase, with sessions centring on key research themes such as water quality, decentralised innovations, creative communications, circular cities and cyber-security. A hands-on team activity for delegates is also being planned, involving the creation of nature-based solutions and leaving a lasting positive impact on the water environment of the host city.
“Worldwide, industrial companies and utilities are striving to meet ambitious environmental goals, with many aiming for zero carbon and zero water. To achieve these, they must come together with the supply chain to adopt technologies and solutions they’ve never tried before – we see that as radical collaboration,” O’Callaghan explains.
“The regeneration comes from moving the discussion beyond simply making things ‘less-worse’. With carbon, we want to get to the point where we’re not putting any more into the atmosphere, we’re drawing it down. With the environment, we need to make it better, to regenerate.
“This is where we see the dialogue shifting globally and BlueTech Forum plays a key role in bringing people together to meet those goals.”
Now in its 10th year, the forum is unique in its capacity to attract a very high density of global industrial end-users, as well as utilities, municipalities, technology providers and academics.
O’Callaghan said: “Over the last two years, the BlueTech community has connected through virtual events and roundtables. These have been an unmitigated success which have set the stage for bringing the community together in-person at BlueTech Forum in Vancouver in 2022.
“Our sessions and group activities are being carefully planned to tell the story of water in a meaningful and tangible way, with our host venues – both with sustainability and innovation at their heart – providing an awe-inspiring backdrop to proceedings. The result will be an immersive experience, that goes beyond what might be expected at a traditional conference.
“As our theme suggests, we hope BlueTech Forum 2022 will be a platform for radical water and technology collaborations to spark real-world regeneration.”
More information is available at https://www.bluetechforum.com/
