Holland teaches a valuable lesson in sustainable technology

A remarkable environmental debate at Ifest
Absentees always miss the boat. That was certainly true of the environmental debate with Prof. Emeritus Leo Janssen of the technical university of Delft, which took place at the innovation island in hall 3 during Ifest 2000. As a highly-experienced conference participant, the academician was able to fascinate his audience to such an extent that no-one noticed that the time limit had well and truly been exceeded. Moderator Guy Van den Broek of the journal 'De Financieel Economische Tijd' was actually able to lean back and enjoy a great performance of a scientifically very high level.
Industry and governments are gambling on economic growth. Indeed, some countries are achieving growth rates of 6 to 7%. Everywhere, people are striving to increase their wealth, but at the same time we are not facing up to the fact that the pressure on the environment is far too high. "That pressure just has to go down," said Janssen. "We will have to use our natural riches five, perhaps fifty times more efficiently than we are doing today. That means we have to reduce our emissions by 95%. And that is going to be a challenge for all of us."
Must we look for the answer in new technologies? "Certainly," opined Janssen, "but just as much in the structure and culture of our society. Those three things cannot be separated. If today we decide to go over to solar energy we will not only have to get used to a new technology, but also to a new societal structure and a new culture in people's thinking."

Sustainable solutions
Leo Janssen studied chemical technology and worked for some twelve years in industry before the Dutch government appointed him chairman of the steering committee on energy policy. Today he is still director of Sustainable Development and heads various government programmes. Janssen: "In Holland we have learned how you can introduce and manage innovation processes for the purpose of developing sustainable solutions for the problems that will be facing future generations."Today a great deal of research is being done into optimising and improving existing technologies, processes and products. But eventually this will not be enough. "In the end, we will have to opt for real renewal. This is why in Holland we have set up multidisciplinary teams in which governments, knowledge centres and industry work closely together. We don't start out from what is today, but from the needs we will have tomorrow. For example, we are asking ourselves, together with major food producers, how many people will we have to feed over the age of 50? What requirements will foodstuffs have to fulfil? And so we logically come to the question of how we can combine carbon and hydrogen together without damaging the environment. This was how we develop 'Quorn', for example. And that is only one of the first pioneers on the road to the new foodstuffs of the future."

Inspiring examples
"If we want to get an idea today of what will be possible in the future, then the government should foot the bill for research," Janssen decided. "But industry should pay for the implementation of concrete projects. And everything in between is a continuum. In Holland we have succeeded in dividing tasks to best advantage between the government, the scientific institutions and industry."The audience was quick to point out that the VITO in Flanders fulfilled a comparable function, which Janssen immediately agreed with. And it appears that similar initiatives are also being undertaken in Germany. To the question of how it came about that Holland was playing a pioneering role in this field, Janssen answered: "We live with a very large number of people in a small country and are thus more quickly confronted with problems that larger countries still haven't noticed at the moment. And we have a habit of dealing with things immediately." Modesty is a virtue.