Press release -
Umbilical Design hosts Northern Region Sustainability Roundtable in Sweden, in collaboration with European Space Agency – Coordination Office on Sustainable Development
European Space Agency – Coordination Office on Sustainable Development and Umbilical Design co-organize ESA’s Northern Region Sustainability Roundtable, to be held in Stockholm – Sweden, on November 10th and 11th 2014. Around 40-50 selected guests will attend this unique event, including representatives from national space agencies, ESA, companies of the space and sustainability sector as well as forefront researchers.
Umbilical Design is one of 14 ESA Technology Transfer Brokers. Our business is design for space and extreme environments and transfer of space technology to sustainable products and services that improve society and everyday life. Now Umbilical Design is honoured to be selected as host and co-organizer for the ESA Roundtable. Since 2012 ESA has been organizing these Roundtables, with the concept that each debate should relate to one of the pillars of Sustainable Development: environment, social, economics as well as general issues more related to governance. In 2014 the concept of the Roundtables was extended in order to involve more actors from ESA Member States. This is why after a first regional roundtable in the South in Lisbon, Portugal, the second regional roundtable will be held in the northern region. The focus of the coming two-day meeting will be Space for Sustainability and Sustainability in the Space sector. Sustainability reconciles to commercial interests and can open up new business opportunities. For organizations such as ESA, this awareness is a high-level element in corporate strategies and a tool for further innovation.
“Space actors share the same types of
concerns, challenges and opportunities in the sustainability field. Exchanges
of best practices are key for partnering and cooperating to try and find
pertinent solutions or responses sometimes in an innovative way. We created the
round-table series to build a platform of discussion among stakeholders be they
from the Space area or from other areas because we learn a lot not only from
what we have in common but also from our differences.”
- Nathalie Meusy, Coordination Office
on Sustainable Development, ESA Headquarters.
The
aim of the ESA roundtable meeting is to create an exchange platform amongst
actors in the space sector and to involve other actors with a strong policy and
experience in Sustainable Development in the dialogues. In addition, there is
the goal to involve local companies and actors in the dialogue with
stakeholders and getting insights in local approaches to Sustainable
Development.
“We are glad and honoured to be selected
as host for the Sustainability Roundtable in Sweden, and to co-organize this
important meeting with the ESA Coordination Office on Sustainable Development.
Our goal is to drive Sustainable Development and innovation forward through
Space Technology Transfer.”
- Cecilia Hertz, Managing Director and Founder
Umbilical Design.
For more information, please contact:
Nathalie Meusy; Head of the Coordination Office on Sustainable Development, ESA Headquarters, Paris, France. Nathalie.meusy@esa.int,
Karoline
Marburger, Coordination Office on Sustainable Development, ESA Headquarters,
Paris, France. Karoline.marburger@esa.int.
+
33 1 53 69 77 32
www.esa.int
Cecilia Hertz; Managing Director and Founder, Umbilical Design, Stockholm,
Sweden
cecilia.hertz@umbilicaldesign.se, +46 70 575 46 51
www.umbilicaldesign.se
Related links
Topics
Categories
Regions
Umbilical Design AB was founded in 2001 by industrial designer Cecilia Hertz, and since its inception has worked with NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) on design for the space industry. Umbilical Design has also been successful in showing how design, technology and material from the space industry can be transferred to Swedish industry and society. Umbilical Design is 1 of 14 European companies that the ESA has designated as Space Technology Brokers within their Technology Transfer Network. Umbilical Design’s mission from the ESA is to oversee the transfer of technology from the space sector to Swedish industry with the overarching objective to stimulate business opportunities by exploiting the materials knowledge, methods and approaches of the space sector. www.umbilicaldesign.se
