OIA and Innov_ex 09 host eco-innovation conference
The Outdoor Industries Association (OIA) is to be headline sponsor of the 2009 Innovation for Extremes conference (Innov_ex 09), which will take place at Lancaster University Management School (UK) on May 6.
Innov_ex 09 is the seventh conference organised by Mike Parsons and Mary Rose, who both work at the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development based at Lancaster University.
This year, the main theme will be ‘eco-innovation in the context of recession’, reflecting the challenges that companies face in the current economic climate. The conference will re-visit some of the themes covered during the highly acclaimed Innov_ex 08 and explore how the issues are developing as the economy struggles.
Speakers will include: Mike Redwood (technical director of the Leather Futures Research Group, University of Northampton) on ‘Cradle to cradle and the complexities of using leather’; Robert Lomax (Baxenden) on ‘Cotton versus Polyester - behind the myths’; Mike Berners-Lee (Small World Consulting) on Carbon footprinting; Peter Waeber (Bluesign Technologies) on Transparency in the supply chain; Dr Phil Reeves (Econolyst) and Dr Jason Jones (Rapid Prototyping Research Group, De Montfort University) on ‘Rapid manufacturing’.
