First global chemical leasing award invites entries

UNIDO and Austrian environment ministry offer $5,000 prizes and honours to promote innovative chemicals management

Companies are invited to enter a global competition for those that have demonstrated, facilitated or promoted the use of chemical leasing launched by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in conjunction with the Austrian Environment Ministry.

Entries are due by 31 December 2009 and the winners will be announced at the ChemCon Europe conference in Prague in March 2010. The contest will judge companies in four categories:

• case studies of companies that have actually implemented chemical leasing projects,

• consultancies that offer chemical leasing advice,

• publications in scientific journals, magazines and books on the subject, and

• public relations activities (articles in newspapers, documentaries, interviews and brochures)

The idea for a global award to encourage companies to engage in chemical leasing projects was first conceived at a conference held by the two organisations in Lake Balaton, Hungary (CW Briefing July/August 2009). It was formally announced at the second International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM2) last summer.

Chemical leasing comes in many different forms (CW Briefing September 2009). The core of the concept being promoted by UNIDO and the Austrian environment ministry is a service model whereby customers pay for the use of chemicals rather than to purchase them as products. As part of this leasing deal, they purchase a service element that ensures that their processes are optimised to use and recover chemicals as efficiently as possible resulting in cost-savings and lower environmental impacts.

According to UNIDO, the award has several goals. It aims to globally enhance the visibility of chemical leasing, to encourage innovative applications of leasing and to acknowledge efforts by actors to disseminate the business model.

The jury for the awards comprises six people:

• Reinhard Joas, managing director of German thinktank BIPRO who has extensively analysed the chemical leasing concept;

• Petra Schwager, coordinator of UNIDO's Global Chemical Leasing Programme

• Heinz Leuenberger, director of environmental management at UNIDO

• Professor Hans Schnitzer, head of the Joanneum Research Institute for Sustainable Technology in Austria

• Professor Christine Jasch, director of the Vienna Institute for Environmental Management and Economics,

• Thomas Jakl, director of the chemicals policy directorate at the Austrian Environment Ministry and chairman of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) Management Board.

• UNIDO Chemical Leasing award
• ChemCon Europe 2010