The 5th Green Industry Conference will take place from 3-5 October 2018, in Bangkok, Thailand, and is organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the Government of Thailand. 

Held since 2009, the Green Industry Conference is the premier global conference on green industry trends and practices organized every two years by UNIDO and partner organizations. Previous conferences were held in Ulsan, Republic of Korea (2016); Guangzhou, China (2013); Tokyo, Japan (2011); and Manila, Philippines (2009). The aim of the Green Industry Conference is to scale up and mainstream green industry policies, methods, and techniques throughout developing and transition-economy industries. 

One of the key conference features this year is the Exhibition, which will run in parallel with the conference. The Exhibition provides an opportunity for business corporations and SMEs, public organizations, and academic institutions to showcase their knowledge, innovations, and progress on various aspects of inclusive and sustainable industrialization, including tools, technologies, products, experiences and best practices. Such actions support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Circular Economy, and Green Investment.

With the launch of the 2030 Agenda, inclusive and sustainable industrial development has been recognized, together with resilient infrastructure and innovation, as a key element of sustainable development.

Green Industry, as defined by UNIDO, offers a development pathway consisting of two mutually supportive components: a) improving the environmental, social and economic performance of existing industries, and b) creating new competitive industries delivering environmental goods and services.

By showing how Green Industry creates jobs and economic opportunities to diversify the economy, while decreasing resource dependency and pollution, the conference will illustrate how the concept of Green Industry helps countries achieve multiple development objectives, in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Objectives

The 5th Green Industry Conference (GIC) will be held under the title “Green Industry for Sustainable Development” and will aim to help governments; industry leaders and related stakeholders design solutions to advance sustainable development through the greening of industry, as indicated by the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9 of the 2030 Agenda. In order for economies to develop along a sustainable trajectory, it becomes necessary to address economic growth and negative environmental impacts in tandem.

Expected output

As in the previous four conferences, the conference will result in a conference statement, adopted by acclamation by the conference’s participants, which will inform future international engagements on Green Industry, and provide an additional impetus for the promotion of Green Industry policies, practices and products in developing and transition-economy industries around the world.

For more information about the conference, please contact the Conference Coordinator Ampai Harakunarak via email a.harakunarak@unido.org with a copy (CC) to GreenIndustryConference@unido.org.