Europe`s sustainable transition is placing green technologies at the forefront of that change. The 2015 edition of EE & RE and Smart Cities (11-13 March, Sofia, Bulgaria) promoted the excellence of these solutions and inspired key figures in Bulgaria and SE Europe to implement them in reality.

The 2015 edition of the SE European Exhibitions & Conferences is behind us. The successful combination of products display, good practice examples and presentations of world experience succeeded to attract the attention of numerous international and local experts. The wide range of environmentally-friendly solutions from alternative energy sources, through intelligent management of urban space, to waste treatment technologies, proved once again such events are crucial for the regional market in order to adapt and to mitigate the climate change.
During the three days many feasible ideas were heard and numerous new contacts were created through this networking platform. We do believe the new `green` technologies will certainly change our responsibility and hopefully will transform our economy into a more circular one.

Exhibitions
• 120 exhibitors from 17 countries: Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Israel, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
• 42% of the exhibitors came from abroad.
• 40% of the companies participated for the first time.
• For the 6th year in a row the Austrian Pavilion was realized with the active support of ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA Sofia.
• Italian and Norwegian group participations were carried out for the first time.
• The number of exhibitors in Smart Cities was doubled.
• Reasons for participating in the 2015 edition – `establishment of new contacts`, `new product presentations` and `brand image enhancement`.
• Eye-catching `Made in Bulgaria` innovations: distance street lighting management system, vertical axis wind turbine generator with unique high efficiency, LED illuminators, mobile ticketing service for public transport, `Smart House` software and system, solar thermal system with patented safe-proof sun tracking mechanics and IaaS / SaaS for distributed thermal smart grid.

Exhibitor Profile
• Energy Efficiency in Different Industry Branches; Cogeneration; LED Lighting; Thermal Pumps; Energy Efficient Construction; Isolation; HVAC Systems
• Renewable Energy: Biomass & Bioenergy; Geothermal Energy; Hydro Energy; Wind Energy; Solar Energy: Solar Thermal Energy, Solar PV, BIPV, Invertors, Transformers
• Energy and Resource Recovery
• Energy Storage and Power Supply Systems
• Decentralized Renewable Energy Production
• Energy Plantations of Fast-growing Tree Species

• Waste Collection: Containers, Underground Storage-Tank Systems, Compacting Containers, Cleaning Systems
• Transport Vehicles
• Waste Treatment and Recycling Technologies & Equipment: Balers, Crushers, Presses, Biogas Systems, Extruders, Sorting Installations, Shredders, Separators
• Landfill Management Equipment
• Hazardous Waste & Medical Waste Treatment, Disposal
• Composting Technologies and Equipment
• Waste-to-Energy

• Mobility and Transport: E-Cars, Charging Systems, Intelligent Transport and Parking Systems
• ICT for Smart Cities: HVAC Management Systems, Lighting, Electric Systems and Appliances, Access Control Systems, Video Surveillance, Fire and Security Systems
• Building Management Systems (BMS) and Building Information Modeling (BIM)
• Passive Houses
• Intelligent Street Lightning
• Services: Software, Data, Telephony & CATV
• Energy Management and Smart Grid
• Urban Panning

• Emergency, Rescue & Safety Equipment and Technologies
• Disaster Management & Control

VISITORS
The exhibitions attracted more than 4100 visitors from 37 countries: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Lithuania, Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sultanate of Oman, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, the Netherlands, the U.K. and Ukraine.

Visitor Profile
Agriculture and Forestry;
Architecture, Construction, Real Estate;
Associations & NGOs;
Media;
Automation, Electronics;
Chemical Industry;
Consulting;
Energy Saving;
Engineering & Installation;
Environment and Health;
Financing & Investment;
Food Industry;
Fuels;
Heating and Air Conditioning;
IT & Telecommunication;
Lighting;
Paper and Packaging Industry;
Power Engineering;
Renewable Energy;
State & Municipal Administration;
Tourism;
Transport & Logistics;
University & Institute;
Waste and Water Management, Recycling

Visitors by Region
From Sofia 53%
From the interior of Bulgaria 25%
From abroad 22% (40% from SE Europe)

Visitors by Company Activity
Services 45%
Manufacture 24%
Trade 14%
Export 9%
Import 8%

Visitors by Job Position
Manager 52%
Expert, consultant 34%
Marketing and sales 14%

Purpose of Visit
Contracting 47%

Conferences
52 speakers from 15 countries
35% – from Bulgaria
65% – from abroad

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Waste Management & Recycling
• Recycling of Construction & Demolition Waste (C&DW)
– in cooperation with the European Demolition Association (EDA). Speakers from EDA (Spain), Ministry of Environment and Water, University of Civil Engineering and Geodesy in Bulgaria.
• Towards a Circular Economy
– in cooperation with the European Network of Environmental Professionals (ENEP). Speakers from VDMA Abfall- und Recyclingtechnik (Germany), Romanian Environmental Association (REA), Vlakglas Recycling Nederland, Hitachi Zosen Inova AG (Switzerland), DOOSAN Lentjes GmbH (Germany), BDI - BioEnergy International AG (Austria), Dr. Brüning Engineering UG (Germany) and Bulgarian Industrial Association.
• Plastic Waste Recycling
Speakers from Plastics Recycling Europe, Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Water, PNO Consultants (Austria) and COREPLA Italy.

Energy Efficiency & Renewables
• The Future of District Energy in the EU
– in cooperation with Euroheat & Power, Belgium. Speakers from Euroheat & Power,
Thermaflex Group (Austria), European Investment Bank, Samson (Germany) and IRES Bulgaria.
• Energy Efficiency
– in cooperation with the European Network of Environmental Professionals (ENEP). Speakers from the German Association of Sustainability- and Eco-Management Professionals (VNU), Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Bulgarian Facility Management Association, Chamber of Engineers in the Investment Design.
• Building Isolation Materials.
Speakers from PU Europe, National Technical University of Athens (Greece) and Bulgarian Association for Construction Insulation and Waterproofing.

Smart Cities
Speakers from Architects` Council of Europe, Calypso Networks Association (Croatia), International Battery and Energy Storage Alliance IBESA (Germany), Etra (Spain), Austrian Energy Agency, Covenant of Mayors (Belgium), Energy Agency of
Plovdiv, Telelink (Bulgaria) and Alvarion Technologies (Israel) and CARTIF (Spain).

Emergency, Rescue-, Safety Management and Control
Speakers from International Association of Risk and Crisis Communication (Switzerland), Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, University of Rome (Italy), Association of the Bulgarian Insurers, Air Safety Security
Services (Switzerland), EverGlow GmbH (Germany), University of Tsukuba (Japan), COLSYS s.r.o. (Czech Republic), Olymp (Bulgaria), National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (Bulgaria) and Magazine 8 (Bulgaria).

ATTENDEES
227 participants from 23 countries

PARALLEL EVENTS
• Transparency in Waste Management – Organizer: Bulgarian Association of Municipal Environmental Experts (BAMEE)
• Go Green to Environment 2015 – B2B meetings – Bulgarian Industrial Association – Enterprise Europe Network
• ECOMONDO Presentation – Rimini Fiera

MESSAGES AND CONCLUSIONS FROM THE CONFERENCE
"I welcome the pursuit of the 6th edition of Save the Planet with the participation of international experts, providing the potential for introduction of new models and innovative solutions in the field of construction and demolition waste management and recycling of plastics, as well as the basic steps towards the development of a circular economy. Over the last 5 years, Bulgaria marked a substantial progress in the waste management and recycling sector".
Ivelina Vassileva, Minister of Environment and Water

`I am glad to welcome the participants and the organizers of the 11th Energy Efficiency & Renewables Forum. Energy efficiency is a key priority of the Bulgarian Government – now we are implementing the National Program for Energy efficiency of multi-family residential buildings, which is run throughout the country, covering more than 1.3 million households.`
Lilyana Pavlova, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works

`For a country like Bulgaria, which relies heavily on the import of energy resources, and has yet to make major steps in the process of diversification and development of local energy resources, energy efficiency is an integral part of the national security. I am confident that, thanks to the high activity among local authorities, dozens of Bulgarian cities will use the additional opportunity to improve their energy performance.`
Temenuzhka Petkova, Minister of Energy

`The exhibition was very helpful to demonstrate the sustainable energy landscape in South-East Europe and visitors have appreciated it. We would be happy to cooperate in 2016.`
Kristina Dely, Covenant of Mayors, Belgium

`The event is getting better and better – congrats on this! We would be happy to do another session next year.`
Silke Schlinnertz, Euroheat & Power, Belgium

`Most of our exhibitors at the Austrian Pavilion are satisfied. The companies which intend to develop their business in Bulgaria hope that the country will make steps forward in the new period of EU funding and invest more in fields like environment technologies, waste management, smart cities, etc. No doubt, such event is necessary and also has an influence on the market.`
Ivo Duerr, International Messe Agentur, Austria

"I congratulate you for the wonderful work and excellent results of the SEE Eco Forum and Exhibitions!`
Moldovan Radu, Embassy of Romania in Sofia, Bulgaria

`The Bulgarian market is constantly evolving and challenging. The Smart Cities Conference and Exhibition gave an opportunity for discussion, interactivity and networking between participants and potential future partners encouraging international business and cooperation.`
Ralph Gambetta, Calypso Networks Association, Belgium

`The organization was superb up to the smallest detail. I feel that Israeli companies can find this event a useful platform to showcase their capabilities and innovation in the areas covering sustainable development in all aspects.`
Shabtay Levy, Israel

`There are many opportunities for collaboration with Bulgarian cities and potential partners. We made many contacts during our stay at the exhibition and conferences, and it seems a really interesting potential market.`
Miguel Ángel García, Cartif, Spain

`The event is extremely beneficial to people from the government and administrative authorities! They can not only meet and share new achievements and good practices, but can also get acquainted with many novelties which can be put into practice, to optimize processes and realize new policies.`
Nikolay Sidjimov, Bulgarian Association of Municipal Environmental Experts

`We are satisfied from our participation in the Exhibition in Sofia. We have established some very good contacts.`
Laura Quarteroni, Molinari, Italy

`I believe this platform is extremely effective and beneficial for Bulgaria. Highlyappreciate the participation of arch. Luciano Lazzari, president of the Architects` Council of Europe, who presented the role of architecture in delivering responsible design.`
Nicholas Galabov, Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria

`The organization of the forum was on a high level. Undoubtedly, it is an important business platform for exchanging of good practices in the field of renewable energy and environmental technologies.`
Stefan Kinarev, Chamber of Engineers in the Investment Design

`In general we are quite satisfied with the Exhibition since we are using the event to also meet our existing customers during the 3 days.`
Bo Johansen, Weiss AS, Denmark

`Our participation at the Smart Cities Exhibition was successful and beneficial. It provided valuable information on market trends. Many contacts were established and many visitors expressed interest in our activity.`
Rumen Petkov, ReCluster, Bulgaria

`We expect a positive development of the Bulgarian recycling market, and in my opinion Save the Planet will help to strengthen this trend.`
Julia Wolf, Dr. Brüning Engineering UG, Germany

Via Expo Ltd., www.viaexpo.com