ICN Summit 2014
 
CREATING SMARTER SOLUTIONS

On 20-22 May 2014 Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster (now CLEAN) played host to the ninth biannual summit of the International Cleantech Network. Almost 500 participants from 40 countries joined in on the three-day function which included B2B-matchmaking, insights into Danish business opportunities, a conference with workshops on city challenges as well as five seminars on the transverse topics guiding the summit.


This website now allows you to revisit the summit including plenty of presentations for download. Presentations and hundreds of pictures may also be accessed through CLEAN's Slideshare profile and Flickr profile.





Wednesday 21 May - Conference on city challenges

Under the auspices of master of ceremonies Greg Clark, Global Advisor on City Development and Investment, minds from the worlds of public sector, business and academia joined forces to develop holistic solutions to some of the most pressing issues faced by cities today. 

Click here for the full programme and a list of participants. We have also compiled a short overview of all the challenges and recommendations. You will find the overview in the section on city challenges.


- Audience' response to Greg's question: "Who have recently visited Milan?" 


Plenary Hall Thought Leaders

During the plenary sessions, three thought leaders were invited to the rostrum. Each being some of the most influential individuals in their respective fields of expertise, they presented their views on the status and future of the transition to a sustainable society.

To start the day off, from Grantham Research Institute for Climate Change, Principle Research Officer Dimitri Zenghelis laid out the fundamental economics of climate change and the key role of cities in the transition to a sustainable society.



In the afternoon, world-renowned architect Herbert Director of Liveable Cities Lab, Ramboll, received the baton to explain the importance and benefits of integrating the Blue, Green and Social dimensions in city planning in order to obtain a higher degree of  liveability.

Succeeding Dreiseitl, Mikael Colville-Andersen of Copenhagenize stressed the importance of rethinking personal mobility, allowing for a much higher integration of bicyclism. Mikael's bold statement that cities ought to be designed based on desire lines instead of being engineered was received especially well by the listeners and quickly echoed in the #icnsummit2014
social media conversations .


"The ICN conference made for an invaluable and intimate gathering of all the key players in urban design, innovation and development. From Government to academia; innovators to urban planners and designers, the forum acted as a hotbed of creativity, and a hub for disseminating ideas and experiences." 

 - Dimitri Zenghelis


Thematic Tracks

Parallel tracks allowed for in depth discussions on each of the six transverse themes guiding the summit. Moving the more than 400 participants swiftly round the maze of corridors and stairs required planning, but with the guidance of ICN staff, and armed with patience, participants soon found their way.



Optimizing Urban Mobility

Designing Energy Infrastructure
Waste as a Resource
Water Management
Big Data for Smart City Solutions

Creating the Liveable City


City Challenges

During the conference, cities were given the opportunity to pitch a specific challenge in the relevant thematic tracks in order to attract the participants from each field of expertise, hereby ensuring a strong mix of competencies for each challenge.

Working with the challenges posed by the cities, it soon became evident to city representatives and participants alike that the dialogue and process of co-creation with potential partners could lead to economically interesting solutions and new business opportunities.

Participants were able to draw on their vast experience within each of the six transverse themes to produce a range of recommendations for the cities' continued work on the challenges. 

 

"I really appreciated participating in this splendid conference. 
Now we are proceeding with concrete contract and partnership with the ICN cleantech clusters" 

 - Hideo Isozaki
Technical Director
Sakishima-Asia Smart Community Alliance

 

- Participants working on the Copenhagen challenge 


Click the city names below for detailed descriptions of the challenges, or click here for the promised overview of challenges and recommendations.



Hopefully, the new and renewed connections made during the day will lead to exciting new projects. For that purpose, the courtyard was the optimal setting, providing plenty of fresh air and sunlight to boost energy levels and raise spirits high.





Remember, paying a visit to CLEAN's Flickr profile will give you access to hundreds of pictures from the day.

We hope you enjoyed taking part in the ICN Summit 2014 and look forward to meeting you all again another time. Now, if you at later point in time come to work with some of the people you met at the summit, or perhaps even come to work on the solutions for the some of the challenges, we would love to hear about it

Best wishes

Mr. Michael Johansen
CLEAN (Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster)
mij@cleancluster.dk
Ms. Kanval Sheikh
Secretariat of the International Cleantech Network
kas@copcap.com