Circular Innovation at ACHEMA 2021

14 to 18 June 2021 is highlighted with ‘ACHEMA 2021’ in your calendar, isn’t it? The world’s leading show for the process industry in Frankfurt/Main, Germany is your chance to experience current trends and technological innovations live and for real. “We believe in the power of human encounter,” emphasised Dr Björn Mathes, member of the Executive Board at DECHEMA exhibitions. “Exchanging ideas and collaborating in person is indispensable to drive progress in the process industry and thus contribute to the sustainable development of our world.”
A detailed health and safety concept will ensure a safe and yet inspiring trade show experience. For those who are unable to attend physically, interactive digital formats will bring ACHEMA straight to their desks.

Circular Innovation Zone and Start-ups at ACHEMA 2021

The European ‘Green Deal’ is a striking example how comprehensive our efforts need to become to secure a pathway of sustainable development. The ACHEMA community across all industries has been engaging in circular economy topics since long before the term was coined.

• Sustainable chemistry
• Industrial water
• Bioeconomy
• Raw materials
• Energy and climate

are subject matters that resonate throughout the exhibition groups.

Now there is an opportunity to leverage the ACHEMA platform to go beyond. For the first time, there will be a dedicated exhibition, stage and networking area for all aspects of circular economy in the process industry. The Circular Innovation Zone will shine a spotlight on these topics in hall 6.2. Adjacent there will be a dedicated Start-up Area thus we dubbed 6.2 the ‘Innovation Hall’ - a place that will bring people, ideas and technology together in new ways to help inspire new sustainable connections.

Sustainability in the lab?

Just as with the everyday decisions in private life, it’s the small things that every individual lab worker can do that make an impact. Sustainability Goal #12 ‘Responsible consumption and production’ is not easy to execute in the laboratory when it comes to single-use plastic. Researchers at the University of Exeter estimated in 2014 that some 20,500 institutions worldwide involved in biological, medical or agricultural research generate around 5,5 million metric tons of plastic waste.

Reducing plastic in the lab is often limited due to lack of reusable alternatives. Anyone handling hundreds of petri dishes each week will attest that replacing plastic with glass is not an option in this case. Apart from the proverbial work load, using glass dishes costs around 30 times as much as using plastic. Preferring vendors that have zero-waste manufacturing facilities or that minimise packaging when shipping and designing products is the way to go in this case.

Reusing plastic items was off-limits for biological laboratories for the longest time, because sterility is key. However, washing systems for pipette tips have been developed lately and proved to clean and sterilise the tips so thoroughly that they are comparable to new ones.
Recycling may be a routine for lab workers at home; at work, however, recycling bins are few and far between. Now manufacturers and waste management companies start to realise the value of recycling materials from laboratories. Take-back schemes for styrofoam boxes have been in place for some time and now single-use gloves got on the radar of recycling companies.   

ACHEMA will be the place to learn about what big industry players, networks and initiatives do to make the world a more sustainable place and also to get more inspiration for an even more sustainable lab.

More information online