Focus: timelines, funding, strategic dependencies, 2030 targets
Official programme
You want to speak at STEP by Pollutec?
Share your vision on the Main Stage and debate the most pressing challenges in decarbonization and the circular economy.
Main themes
Decarbonisation
Changing production, energy and use in order to reduce climate impact is a major collective challenge for our societies.
Experts and innovative actors will discuss concrete strategies and emerging technologies that allow building a low-carbon economy, efficient and aligned with European climate ambitions, on STEP by Pollutec.
Circular economy
The circular economy is no longer an option, but a necessity.
STEP by Pollutec offers a space for reflection and sharing to explore how reuse, advanced recycling and low-carbon materials can transform our business models, reduce our footprint and create a more resilient and sustainable future.
Regulation
One of the main drivers of investment. CSRD, CS3D, bio-waste, green taxonomy...
There will be many environmental regulations in 2026, and STEP by Pollutec will be one of the opportunities to take stock of them.
Finance
From the investments needed for the ecological transition to support for innovation, financing is at the heart of the transformations underway.
STEP by Pollutec will be presenting a wide range of financing programs and opportunities.
Tuesday 1st of December 2026
10:00: Official Opening – Brune Poirson, Honorary President of STEP by Pollutec, Former Secretary of State & Anne-Manuèle Hébert, Director of STEP by Pollutec
Geopolitics & strategic resource management
10:05 - 10:45:
Cross-Perspectives France – Germany on Europe's decarbonization in times of geopolitical uncertainty
10:50 – 11:20:
KEYNOTE: Circular Economy Act: Ambitions and real impacts on industrial players
11:25 - 12:10:
Industrial Europe facing the resource challenge
Pressure on critical materials and direct business impact
Ecological transition as a sovereignty issue: what are we really talking about?
How to support industrial players to gain sovereignty and competitiveness?
Julie Hollis, Secretary General, Eurogeosurveys
12:15 - 13:00:
KEYNOTE : The Future We Want - Why is Natural Resource Management so Important?
Janez Potočnik, Co-Chair of UNEP Environment International Resource Panel
Building European Industrial Robustness
14:00 – 14:45:
Roundtable discussion: Electrifying European industry: Energy sovereignty and the competitiveness choc - In Partnership with Electrifab
Acceleration: Scaling up decarbonized electricity production to meet the massive surge
Securing: Strengthening the European grid
From Volatility to Resilience: Leveraging smart energy management and flexible demand to secure the continent's industrial robustness
Decarbonizing the Hard-to-Abate: Transforming heavy industries—from steel to chemicals—through the rapid integration of high-voltage technologies
14:50 – 15:35:
Building a European circular supply chain
Planning circular infrastructure across Europe (recycling, reuse, logistics, storage…)
Material segmentation by strategic priority
Standardization & traceability
Scaling up
Dr. Susanne Kadner, Director of CIRCULAR REPUBLIC at UnternehmerTUM
15:30 – 16:15:
Making the transition bankable: De-risking to scale up
Private capital re-allocation
Access to capital for mid-caps and diffuse industries
Risk-adjusted return
Antoni Ballabriga Torreguitart, Global Head of Sustainability Intelligence & Advocacy, BBVA & Chair of the Financing Transition Expert Group, European Banking Federation
16:30 – 17:15
Building a robust industrial model for the next 20 years: Planning for stability and Resilience
The backbone of stability: energy infrastructure as a foundation
Decarbonization in a changing world: re-engineering networks
The sovereignty-circularity nexus: de-risking strategic supply chains
Planning as a lever: the example of civil nuclear industry
Wednesday 2nd of December 2026
Case Studies: Operational Demonstration
10:00 – 10:45 :
High-level crossed perspective: The Energy Pact: Building the infrastructure for European industrial sovereignty
Inspiring case studies of Environmental Symbiosis
10:45 - 12:00:
Block 1 - Territorial Industrial Ecology
Energy pooling: Kalundborg Symbiosis (Denmark): A dozen companies and the municipality share energy and water flows, Bjarke Skaanning, Director, Kalundborg Symbiosis
Local material loops
Multi-stakeholder governance: Mo Industrial Park (Norway): Waste heat recovery for a district heating network, managed by a dedicated infrastructure company, Bjørn Ugedal, CEO, Mo Industrial Park
12:00 – 13:15 :
Block 2 - Heavy Decarbonization for Hard-to-Abate industrie
Green Steel: Decarbonisation of a steel plant in Europe, Maurizio Fusato, Director of the Ecological and Energy Transition Unit, Feralpi Group
Integrated CCS value chain - Carbon-negative cement production site: Rhône Décarbonisation Project, Hervé Lapillonne, Deputy project manager VAIA, VICAT
14:00 – 15:15:
Block 3 - Scaling the Loop: Masterclasses in Large-Scale Circularity
Battery Recycling
Photovoltaic Panels
Textile
15:30– 16:15 :
Closing Keynote