Bonn • 28. January 2020
The members of the PREVENT steering committee met for the first time on 28 January. In an open exchange, the actors got to know each other and discussed the structure, design and strategic orientation of PREVENT. They are now optimistic about the joint plans for 2020.
On 28 January the BMZ invited to the constituent meeting of the PREVENT Steering Committee. Besides getting to know each other personally, the focus was on the strategic orientation as well as agreements on roles and processes within PREVENT.
The elected representatives brought their perspectives into the discussions in an open and future-oriented manner. Peter Kurth, President of the BDE and representative of the economic group, stressed, for example, that PREVENT had to contribute to bringing the recycling industry more into the focus of international cooperation. Claudia Bunkenborg from the German ReTech Partnership supplemented this position by calling for a common understanding and commitment regarding the responsibility of the various players in the recycling industry.
The members of the steering committee agreed on one central point: in 2020 the focus should be on the implementation of concrete pilot projects in developing and emerging countries. Here, the Lord Mayor of the City of Bonn, Ashok Sridharan, offered to take an example from projects of the City of Bonn on waste avoidance.
As a representative of civil society, Simone Walter from Help e.V. emphasized that it is important to put people at the center of attention. Otmar Deubzer of UNU SCycles and representatives of the scientific community attached particular importance to the fact that the pilot projects should be thought in the long term to ensure that they continue beyond the funding periods.
Andreas Jaron, Head of Division at the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU), said that the PREVENT Waste Alliance did not need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, the implementation of projects should be based on the many existing guidelines such as those of the Basel Convention and should be exchanged with relevant networks.
With this first meeting, the steering committee has now officially taken up its duties. The members agreed that they were optimistic about the joint plans for 2020 and looked forward to cross-sectoral cooperation.
Ingolf Dietrich, Sub-Division Head at BMZ, encouraged the Steering Committee to “respect the different perspectives and make use of this diversity to develop innovative approaches to the global waste problem”.