Objectives

Sustainable development requires that societies remediate contaminated sites to restore their value to the environment (ecosystems), society and economy. Increasing reuse options of sites to incorporate them back into a city’s fabric and recovery of damaged areas (e.g. mining sites) and its ecosystem services are vital for transformation towards solutions for a sustainable world like envisaged by the World Business Council (Vision 2050 see  www.wbcsd.org) and the European Commission (A resource efficient Europe – flagship initiative under the Europe 2020 strategy  http://ec.europa.eu/resource-efficient-europe/). The Sustainable Remediation Conference 2012 provides a venue for professionals and interested parties from multiple backgrounds to share experiences and perspectives on how contaminated sites can be remediated with a lower environmental footprint, and how their reuse can contribute to a more sustainable development. The event builds on the  GreenRemediation Conference held in Copenhagen November 2009, and subsequent discussions at  ConSoil and through virtual events.

Conference Themes

Policy, Conceptual Framework and Societal Values – visions on how to integrate sustainability and moving towards a better understanding of benefits and impacts in decision making

• Metrics and indicators – identification and application of metrics / indicators to characterise green, eco-efficient or sustainable approaches
• Practical Tools – methodologies and techniques to analyse the social, environmental and economic aspects in an integrated manner
• “Greening” Remediation – how to minimize the environmental footprint of remediation works
• Opportunities from Synergy – land recycling, renewables, integrating at regional scales, optimizing “working with nature”, combined benefit approaches (e.g. heat storage and groundwater remediation)
• Case-studies and eco-efficient technologies – towards increased cost-effectiveness and environmental  improvement

Venue

Vienna (Austria) is one of the cultural centres of Europe, and a bridge between the “old” and “new” Europes. This background, combined with its location and ease of access make it ideally suited to bringing people together to share and transfer knowledge.

Thematic and Project Workshops

Any organisation or project with an interest in sustainable or green land remediation is invited to hold a thematic or project workshop. Please contact the EURODEMO+ secretariat at  http://www.eurodemo.info/general/contact/

Organizing Committee

• Nicola Harries, CL:AIRE (Contaminated Land: Applications in Real Environments, UK)
• Carlos S. Pachon, US EPA (Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation)
• Dietmar Müller, EURODEMOplus (Environment Agency Austria)
• Paul Bardos, r3 environmental technology Ltd (and University of Brighton, UK)
• Walter Wenzel, BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Austria)