Global Cleantech Leaders Convene in Brussels at Cleantech Forum XVII
14/04/2008 09:03
PR Newswire
SAN FRANCISCO, April 14 /PRNewswire/ --
- Keynotes from Virgin Group and Germany's Dr. Hermann Scheer
The Cleantech Group(TM), LLC, founders of the cleantech investment
category, announced today that more than 400 investors, entrepreneurs,
corporate leaders and policymakers from the rapidly developing cleantech
investment marketplace will convene in Brussels, Belgium from 28-30 April
2008 for Cleantech Forum(R) XVII, Europe's leading global investment forum.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080109/AQW116LOGO)
Cleantech Group will also honor the winners of its annual Cleantech
Awards, commending exceptional leadership and actions toward accelerating
cleantech adoption around the world. Germany's Herman Scheer, General
Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy and President of Eurosolar
will receive the Cleantech Pioneer Award.
Stephen Murphy, Group Chief Executive of Virgin and Director of Virgin
Group Holdings Ltd. will be on hand to accept the Cleantech EU Corporation of
the Year Award on behalf of Virgin Group.
"At Virgin we are committed to building a sustainable and responsible
group for the 21st Century. We believe that it is imperative to build
sustainable businesses to help mitigate the impact of climate change on our
planet," said Mr. Murphy. "At a group level, we constantly look for new ideas
to foster and invest in. Last year we launched the Earth Challenge to
encourage research into combating the build-up of Carbon Dioxide and we
established the Virgin Green Fund to invest in a range of cleantech
businesses. Our airlines are focused on the development of alternative fuels
and we will continue to promote research in this and other fields. We are
also working hard on embedding sustainable practices in all our companies. We
are extremely grateful for the recognition of this award and we hope that
this will encourage other companies to accelerate their plans on
sustainability."
At Cleantech Forum XVII, the Cleantech Group will unveil its breaking
report on the European Cleantech Industry, reflections on the 997 million
Euros invested in European cleantech companies over 2007 and drive a roadmap
for 2008 opportunities. A series of high-level keynotes, panel discussions
and exhibits focused on Europe and the Clean Industrial Revolution will
include respected keynote speakers and panelists such as:
-- World Business Council for Sustainable Development, President,
Bjorn Stigson
-- Vattenfall, AB, Head of Climate Policy, Anre Morgren
-- World Council for Renewable Energy, General Chairman, Hermann Scheer
-- Siemens Water, Director of Corporate Technology, Klaus Andre
Additional areas of investment focus include:
-- Financing Cleantech Companies: EU Public Markets. Speakers from London
Stock Exchange, SWX and NYSE Euronext
-- The Future of Road Transport. Speakers from General Electric, Volvo,
Citroen and Porsche
-- Innovation in Industrial Water Treatment: Speakers from Suez, Siemens
Water, Spain's Ministry of Environment, European Commission and
Fraunhofer Institute
-- Developing Renewable Energy Innovation in the Gulf Cooperation Council
Countries: Speakers from Abu Dhabi, Sustainability Excellence Arabia,
Zouk Ventures
Making its European debut is Tesla Motors' Roadster, the world's first
production high performance electric sports car. The Silicon Valley start-up
turned major automaker, will unveil their Tesla Roadster during the forum.
This will mark the first time Tesla has displayed the Roadster in Europe.
"Europe helped lead the clean industrial revolution, providing a roadmap
for increasing innovation, investment generation and policy reform
worldwide," said Nicholas Parker, co-founder and Chairman, Cleantech Group.
"Cleantech Forum XVII, Europe's leading global investment platform, is
bringing industry influencers from all over the world to the epicenter of the
European Union to discuss the changing landscape of this global industry."
About Cleantech Group(TM), LLC
The Cleantech Group, LLC provides insight, opportunities and builds
relationships that catalyze and accelerate market adoption and
commercialization of clean technologies globally. The Cleantech Group founded
the cleantech investment category and through its membership services brings
together investors, executives, thought leaders, policy makers, and
entrepreneurs to facilitate the growth of cleantech globally. Visit
http://www.cleantech.com.
Web site: http://www.cleantech.com
Note to the editors:
Caroline Venza of Antenna Group Public Relations, +1-415-977-1939, caroline@antennagroup.com, for Cleantech Group, LLC ; Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080109/AQW116LOGO , AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org , PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com