Merseburg, May 30, 2022 Sustainable management is often equated with doing without. However, Michael Braungart is convinced that the economy of the future should rather be based on the example of a cherry tree, which demonstrates the opposite: "The tree produces blossoms and fruits wastefully," the professor of the Erasmus University Rotterdam points out, "but it is completely part of the natural cycle and useful for all life around it. It provides food for insects and other animals, leaves for humus, oxygen for the atmosphere and much more. "If our economy functioned in the same way, sustainability would not be a question of doing without," says the process engineer and chemist, provoking people to break through thought patterns. In his keynote speech on June 14, the eco-designer and co-inventor of the "cradle-to-cradle" concept will explain to participants at the "BIOPOLYMER - Processing & Moulding" congress how the example of the cherry tree can be brought to life in the plastics industry using practical examples. 

Three main topics and award ceremony
The international conference, launched in 2018 by POLYKUM, a non-profit association for the promotion of polymer development and plastics technology in the Central German Chemistry Triangle, is taking place for the fourth time this year, the second time as an online event. With user-oriented presentations on biologically based and biodegradable plastics, the 2021 event attracted more than 700 registered participants from 42 countries. Participation is free of charge.
In three sessions on June 14, three speakers each will address the topics "Bioeconomy and Raw Materials," "Materials and Additives" and "Application, Recycling and Life Cycle Assessment. In the fourth part of the conference, the winners of this year's competition for the "BIOPOLYMER Innovation Awards" will be honoured. "This time, companies and research institutions from five countries have applied for the awards," says jury chairman and POLYKUM board member Peter Putsch, "including, for the first time, from Latin America."

From India to South America
After India last year, the South American continent is the focus of this year's conference as a partner region. "Thanks to the support of Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), the foreign trade and location marketing agency of the German Federal Ministry of Economics, we have made extremely interesting contacts with associations, companies and trade press in Latin America," says POLYKUM board member Peter Putsch, arousing curiosity about this particular facet of the congress.  
On June 14, Arturo Madero and Esteban Guzman, co-founders of the Association of Bioplastics Producers of Mexico, will report on their experiences with the introduction of bioplastics in their country. Janosch Siepen and Edwin Schuh from the GTAI and a speaker from the Colombian industry association Acoplásticos will provide insights into other particularly interesting markets in Central and South America.
Speakers on June 14 will also come from Canada and Switzerland. Renowned German research institutes such as RWTH Aachen University and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will be represented, as will medium-sized companies and start-ups. Conference participants will have the opportunity to ask questions in a live chat during each presentation. The moderators will pass on the most frequently asked questions to the speakers and they will provide answers directly after the presentation. In addition, at the end of the conference day, interested visitors will have the opportunity to talk in detail with some of the speakers in the "Speaker's Corner".

Sustainable alternatives to petroleum
Martin Bussmann is one of them. In his presentation, the manager at Neste, a company of Finnish origin, will explain how the world market leader for renewable diesel and renewable aviation fuel is also helping its customers in the plastics sector to free themselves from dependence on crude oil and to integrate products into sustainable material cycles.
The 16 presentations, which will be held in English and simultaneously translated into Spanish, promise a wealth of concrete proposals for implementing a plastics economy of the future, as outlined by Michael Braungart in his opening presentation. "However, in order to have an all-round useful and waste-free economy like the cherry tree," predicts the former head of chemistry at Greenpeace, "we will have to reinvent almost every product - not only in the plastics sector."