GROOF idea goes global

9th International Circular Economy Week & Conference took place at Environmental Campus Birkenfeld on 22 – 26 October 2018, welcoming 250 participants from 25 countries. The foci of this year were Zero Emission strategies and technologies towards Circular Economy.
Many topics were addressed to a broad audience, including energy efficiency; renewable energies; waste, water and soil management. The Conference welcomed policymakers, researches, practitioners, and students from both Germany and abroad. Partner-universities from Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, and Taiwan sent their delegations in order to expand their knowledge of Circular Economy.
The Conference served as an international platform for exchanging ideas and learning best practice examples. No wonder, the GROOF project was discussed there as well.
Prof. Dr. Peter Heck, the Managing Director of IfaS, introduced GROOF to the international audience during his welcome speech on Green Growth. He addressed the issue of CO2 emission reduction and the importance of cross-sectoral approach.
GROOF is a perfect example of increasing energy efficiency and creating additional value to buildings. Moreover, the audience acknowledged the nexus between CO2 emission reduction and natural crop production. Urban gardens, that exist upon the waste heat and the CO2 from human activities in the building, were highly appreciated by the listeners of Prof. Heck‘s speech.
It is important that such ideas as GROOF receive international attention and are speaking up to a large number of listeners. Thanks to the Circular Economy Week & Conference, both the participants from developing and developed countries had a chance to get a recent update on the project. What is more important, the younger generation of students (including internationals) could also discover the idea of GROOF and discuss it after the conference session.