The 13th Congress of the European Chemical Regions, titled “Sustainable Chemistry for Life – the role of chemistry in the European bioeconomy”, took place in Novara and Milan on 8-9 October 2015.

The ECRN Congress is an annual event organized by the European Chemical Regions Network and its members. In 2015, the event was jointly hosted by the Italian ECRN member regions Novara and Lombardy. The focus of discussions and expert contributions from decision-makers, industry representatives, academics and stakeholders was on bioeconomy and sustainability.

The event was organized in two parts. The first day was held in Novara and the second day in Milan. On the first day, sustainable innovations and technological advancements in the field of biotechnology and bioeconomy were discussed. During the second day, policies and future perspectives were debated. Discussions were also be linked to the broader themes of Expo Milan 2015, “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life”. Thematic discussions and presentations were enriched by a “market of ideas” introducing concrete regional experiences, best practices and projects that illustrate the variety of activities taking place in and across chemical regions in Europe.

The afternoon of the first Congress day (8 October) was dedicated to presenting and exhibiting examples of regional projects and innovative chemical companies and clusters. The Market of Ideas has been organized as an integral part of the ECRN Congress in past years. The Market is an open, interactive session for networking and finding new partners and contacts. It provides regional and industrial actors, SMEs, (inter)regional projects, research institutes, clusters and other organizations an opportunity to showcase their initiatives and success stories and build bridges across the value chain.