RELIANCE project partners from HES SO participated at the Plastics Update Conference 2023 – Beyond Business as Usual, on 14 November 2023 in Fribourg, Switzerland.

The benefits of plastics are numerous and often favored over other materials such as metal, glass, ceramic, paper, and cardboard. However, over the past 70 years, the irresponsible management of plastics products has transformed a once-successful narrative into a widely perceived tragedy. As a result, continuing with Business as Usual is no longer a viable option. A forward-thinking strategy is essential to ensure a sustainable future, and the alternatives require a complex socio-economic paradigm shift in the mindset of all citizens and transdisciplinary actions for companies and involved stakeholders.

The Plastics Update conference endeavors to outline a roadmap spanning generations, focusing on shaping plastics - particularly, polymeric materials - to facilitate and foster the creation of a sustainable society. To this end, the Plastics Update Conference 2023 is bringing together speakers who offer a vision BEYOND Business as Usual, that address various aspects, including the topics about integration of bio-based polymeric materials, digitalization, legislative frameworks, and societal and economic alternatives.

This forward-thinking open system approach embraces multi-generational themes. It includes tackling current challenges, envisioning the future of greening 2.0, and striving for the sustainable integration of human activities within a diverse biosphere.

RELIANCE partners had a role in the organization of the event and presented 2 posters during the conference, entitled “Keratin-based antimicrobial peptides for smart response self-disinfected surfaces – Isolation & Characterization” and “Bio-based antimicrobial peptides for smart response self-disinfected surfaces”, respectively.

RELIANCE posters presented at conferences can be found in the Results section of the website.