At the 14th Bled Strategic Forum, Petrol set out sustainable development opportunities
This year the Centre of Energy Efficient Solutions (CER) took part in the business section of the Bled Strategic Forum, which took place between 2 and 3 September, as an institutional partner. Experienced speakers from a range of fields discussed how the search for green solutions could be accelerated. They included Rok Vodnik, member of the Petrol Management Board and chairman of the CER Board. During the forum, a partnership agreement was signed between the CER and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation to serve as the basis for cooperation in resolving climate-related energy challenges.
With the global environmental crisis now making the front pages of the newspapers on a daily basis, experts at the 14th Bled Strategic Forum held discussions on how to confront the challenges being faced by society today. Experienced speakers from a range of fields discussed how the search for green solutions could be accelerated in transport, construction, infrastructure, the food industry, the economy and policy-making in general.
Rok Vodnik, member of the Petrol Management Board and chairman of the CER Board, had this to say: “Sustainable development is at the centre of the Petrol Group’s mission and business model. As one of the main energy companies in Slovenia and SE Europe, we are leading the way in increasing energy independence, energy efficiency, CO2 savings, the share of renewable sources and sustainable mobility. The fact is that increasing pressure to transform the economy into a greener one is coming from customers, competitors, employees and, indeed, from society as a whole. We are endeavouring to take an active role in helping to formulate new guidelines and trends in commerce, developing and promoting green technologies, and pursuing new disruptive innovations that introduce new market and value-based rules and fundamentally change the dynamics of the market, the way enterprises and industry work, and consumer habits. Our aim is to provide effective and environmentally less onerous solutions capable of ensuring a higher quality of life.”
CER and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation sign a partnership agreement
Conference participants agreed that climate challenges also presented an opportunity for the establishment of new partnerships. In this light, the CER and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation signed a partnership agreement to serve as the basis for cooperation in resolving climate-related energy challenges. It was signed by H.E. Bernard Fautrier, vice-president and CEO of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, Rok Vodnik, chairman of the CER Board, and Gregor Benčina, vice-chairman of the CER Board.
The aim of the agreement is to establish effective cooperation towards the realisation of common objectives, and to develop complementary and synergic activities in the field of sustainable development. Vice-president and CEO of the Foundation, H.E. Bernard Fautrier, had this to say about the agreement: “We must escape from our carbon-based society and move towards a more sustainable way of life by lowering our everyday emission levels. We must become even more aware of the possible solutions that will shape our future.”
One outcome of the signing of the agreement was the formation of a permanent committee for cooperation on international projects to be supported by both organisations. By signing the agreement, the two organisations have undertaken to take an approach to technical, scientific and methodological cooperation that helps bring together or exploit specific expertise and experience in selecting, monitoring and evaluating projects. They will also work together to communicate the content of the projects, design joint communication, capitalisation and knowledge-development tools, and share their experiences at conferences, round tables and symposiums on topics relating to both partners’ areas of interest and activity.