Green chemistry at the Impact Festival in Offenbach
12.10.2022 – International, innovative and sustainable: anyone strolling through the wide halls of the Fredenhagen site last week was able to talk to predominantly young people at the various stands at the two-day Impact Festival, Europe's largest B2B trade fair for sustainable innovations, on October 5 and 6, 2022. They represented companies with solutions to the most pressing problems of our time, had ideas and were looking for partners or funding. "Leave an Impact" applied to exhibitors and visitors alike. For the second time, the Impact Festival had invited start-ups and innovative companies to Offenbach and offered space for contacts, exchange beyond the stands and various presentations and panels. More than 250 companies attended. For the first time, the teams from the Economic Development Agency (Maria Kamara and Tarek Mazrouh) and Gründerstadt Offenbach (Elisabeth Neumann, Aniki Radde and Dirk Luenzer) were also represented with a stand. The latter has been looking after people with convincing start-up ideas since the early 2000s and helps them to develop and grow with various formats and funding approaches.
"Offenbach is a great location for young, innovative ideas. The Impact Festival is a good fit for our city, and we also offer young start-ups in particular opportunities, for example in the search for suitable premises," explains Mazrouh. After just two days at the festival, he has already held countless discussions and informed interested parties about the funding opportunities available and what is being done for companies in Offenbach. Founders like Britta Zubrod-Nikisch were a perfect match. The physiotherapist opened a zero-waste store in the Senefelder Quartier in spring with the support of the Ground Floor funding program. "We didn't always want to have to travel to Hanau or Frankfurt," says the founder, whose concept was met with an open ear and who felt well advised and supported by the business development agency throughout the entire process. Many visitors now confirm that she is an important avant-garde with her unpackaged store.
"Important topics are discussed at the Impact Festival," says business promoter and innovation officer Kamara, "and it's easy to get into conversation." This is also due to the stands, which are decorated with airy buildings and lots of greenery, but the two did not have much time for a tour of the site.
The two halls of the former Fredenhagen boiler factory are loosely connected in an L-shape by a third hall with a stage and space for around 100 people. At the stands, the friendly "Du" prevails, if English is not spoken immediately anyway. The organizers have divided the festival into seven innovation areas: resource efficiency ("Resource Efficiency"), digitalization ("Sustainable Finance & Data" and "Sustainable & Regulatory Services"), mobility ("Future Mobility & Cities"), ecology ("Agriculture Technology & Food Innovation" and "Clean Technology"), and mostly sustainable and smart solutions for the planet ("Education & Entrepreneurship").
"We sell green chemistry," explains Leipzig-based Christian Römlein, almost provocatively, about his solvent-free solutions, which immediately gets him talking to Mazrouh. After all, Offenbach was once an important location for the chemical industry and there was a lot of manufacturing industry in the city. "Hardly anyone wants to go back to those days, at least in terms of the ecological aspect, so products like these are all the more exciting. There are ideas for cleaning the oceans, avoiding and/or recycling plastic, start-ups with apps for sustainable shopping, safe borrowing and lending, investment offers for water and clean technologies - and all of this is extremely important. After all, the best way to get climate change under control would undoubtedly be technological revolutions. This requires a great openness to technology, clever researchers and courageous entrepreneurs. Then there is even a chance of achieving gains in prosperity. We are therefore delighted that such an important festival is taking place in Offenbach," says Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke, explaining why the Economic Development Agency was commissioned to be active at the festival.
Rethinking the world - let's go Offenbach
The location could hardly have been better chosen. After all, the Fredenhagen industrial wasteland has become a hip event location and the city of Offenbach is also in the process of repositioning itself as an attractive place to live and work after years of structural change. "The Impact Festival is an important building block that focuses on the topics of sustainability and responsibility and at the same time increases the visibility of Offenbach as a location," summarizes Lord Mayor Schwenke. "The organizers were able to welcome over 2,500 guests, who met more than 170 exhibitors and over 100 top-class speakers - this not only proves the relevance of the topic, but also that Offenbach is undoubtedly the right venue. We are not only regarded as a city of short distances, but are also currently setting new trends with creative forges such as the Hochschule für Gestaltung and the development of the Innovation Campus. Bozica Niermann, Head of Economic Development Offenbach, confirms this: "This was a great opportunity for us to showcase our city and what we have to offer companies and start-ups. The challenges we face are enormous, but we as a city are also constantly working to improve in terms of sustainability. This includes greater integration with environmental issues - after all, the economy is hardly conceivable today without ecology."
This is why, for example, Offenbach already adopted a climate protection concept for 2035 in 2020 and is a member of the Climate Alliance, which brings together initiatives, institutions and their goals under one roof and jointly promotes the goals of climate protection and climate adaptation. "All this shows: We have understood," says Schwenke, "and, as the Impact Festival shows, we are not alone with our approaches and ideas."
