How do we shape and grow a green tech sector?

Digital and new technologies could be the key for the European Union to become climate neutral by 2050. Now, it’s Europe’s job to make sure that the green and digital transformation go hand-in-hand and do not work against each other. 

The European Commission has pledged to push forward innovation and digitalisation at the same time as reaching climate neutrality. “Green” and “digital” are linchpins for Europe’s sustainable recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.  The green and the digital transition are now high on the European Parliament’s agenda. 

In a series of roundtable discussions, we’re inviting experts, representatives of NGOs and citizens to discuss questions at the heart of building a green and digital society: how can we use IT to benefit society? How can we advance research and accelerate our climate transition? How can we make sure digitalisation doesn’t hinder our environmental goals. 

After the roundtables, we’ll use your ideas to draft a digital green manifesto, including policy recommendations for how the European Union can increase the use of digital tech and reduce its ecological footprint.

Join us for the first roundtable: “How can we shape and grow a green tech sector?”

When? 28th June 2021, 17:00 to 18:30

We’ll be asking how the EU can reduce the environmental impact of digital technology and still be a world leader for digital innovation and the tech sector. We’ll hear from NGOs working to make the tech sector greener by:

• building sustainable electronic devices

• encouraging us to donate or reuse our old tech

• developing environmentally-friendly software

• fighting for better working conditions in the circular economy

• and getting young people into the repair sector
   

Greens/EFA MEPs David Cormand and Anna Cazzini will be joined by:

• Richard Wouters -  Researcher at Wetenschappelijk Bureau GroenLinks, the think tank of the Dutch Greens

• Claire Downey - Executive at  Community Resources Network Ireland (CRNI)

• Erik Albers - Programme manager for the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) 

• Julija Kekstaite - Social Affairs Policy Officer at RREUSE

French interpretation will be provided. 

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DRAFT PROGRAMME

• Introduction by David Cormand and Anna Cavazzini (10 minutes)

• Presentation by Richard Wouters on how the EU can reduce the overall material and consumption footprint of electronic devices (10 minutes)

• Presentation by Claire Downey on how the EU can ensure that the re-use sector is encouraged and backed by ambitious waste prevention, reuse and preparation for re-use targets in EU and national waste laws (10 minutes)

• Questions from the audience (10 minutes) 

• Presentation by Erik Albers on the role software design plays in the environmental impact of digital technologies (from hardware lifetime to architecture to energy consumption: Open standards, modularity, data sufficiency, re-usability and hardware usage) (10 minutes) 

• Presentation by Julija Kekstaite on how the EU can contribute to scaling-up the development of inclusive jobs, skills and innovative circular business models that respects the highest social and working conditions standards along value chains, while making the repair sector attractive for young people 

• Questions from the audience (10 minutes) 

• Conclusion by MEP David Cormand and Anna Cavazzini (10 minutes)

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