This year the Forum GREEN MIND brought together more than 120 speakers and 650 participants - representatives of government agencies, academic institutions, companies and NGOs from 27 countries: Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, China, Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, India, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, etc.

The project was implemented by the joint efforts of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the all-Ukrainian NGO "Living Planet".

The organizing Committee sincerely thanks for their participation and support the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Committee of Entrepreneurs on Natural Resources of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Union of Environmental Auditors of Ukraine, special partner Metinvest Group, SE "Suntrade" (TM "Oleyna"), general information partners - "First Business" TV channel and "Business Journal" and many other partners.

The Forum program comprises 14 events like plenary sessions, panel discussions and round tables.

The speakers of the Forum are the international, European and national experts, representatives of investment companies, manufacturers, exporters and distributors, business associations and public authorities.

Presidium members (from left to right):
Mr. Gennady Chizhykov, President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Ms. Christine Dorosko, Environment Directorate General of the European Commission
Mr. Ostap Yednak, People's Deputy (MP) of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Environmental Policy and liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster
Ms. Hermine Poppeller, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Austria to Ukraine
Mr. Juha Virtanen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finland to Ukraine
Mr. Alexander Bondar, Dr.Sc., Professor, Rector of the State Environmental Academy of Postgraduate Education and Management of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine

"The Forum for Sustainable Business Development GREEN MIND is an effective platform that becomes a real catalyst for raising environmental awareness for the Ukrainian business and distribution of environmental innovations. The Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has always supported the initiatives for greening the economy. The old business models no longer exist in the new environment. By combining efforts with our partners, we are committed to make sustainable development a daily rate for each company. We believe that the future belongs to "green" economy, and economic growth and environmental responsibility are the interconnected components of the development of the country", said Mr. Gennady Chizhykov, President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mr. Ostap Yednak, People's Deputy (MP) of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Environmental Policy and liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, "The development of society towards "green economy" will require strong will, especially political, understanding of processes and actions. The approved on 4 October the environmental laws "On Environmental Impact Assessment" and "Strategic Environmental Assessment" and "On amendments to some legislative acts of Ukraine regarding the implementation of integrated approaches to water management by basin principle" will harmonize the Ukrainian legislation with the European standards and minimize the possibility of corruption component, which makes them important for businesses. Legal mechanisms will legally defend the right to protect the environment and human health. "

Traditionally, the Forum activities involve diplomats of the countries that successfully apply the principles of sustainable development.

Ms. Hermine Poppeller, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Austria to Ukraine praised the program to modernize the Ukrainian industrial complex, declaring support for possible future investment projects from Austrian financial institutions, "Ukraine can become competitive in the European market. We will definitely help to implement investment projects, but much depends on the situation in Ukraine and Europe."

Mr. Juha Virtanen, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finland to Ukraine, "Finland is assisting Ukraine to implement measures to stimulate economical production and environmental protection. In particular through the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank, Finland supports the development of environmentally friendly production, especially in agriculture. Also, through multilateral fund of sustainable development of Ukraine and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Finland supports the public administration reform in Ukraine, and measures to improve conditions for small and medium businesses, banking, energy and municipal services. Moreover, the Fund of the Eastern European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (E5P) has implemented 16 projects, such as the development of district heating, energy efficiency in Ukraine and others. "

Ms. Christine Dorosko, Environment Directorate-General of the European Commission, in her speech said, "The EU development strategy "Europe 2020" is based on the principles of sustainable development. The issues of energy efficiency, effective use of resources, prevention of pollution are among its priorities. Over the past 20 years the EU Council and the Commission adopted more than 200 directives, decrees and regulations relating to environmental matters. During the implementation of the strategy "Europe 2020" the EU institutions continue to develop and improve European law, combining environmental standards with voluntary instruments characteristic of circular economy model as the basis for sustainable consumption and production. Thus, in recent years, have been updated the acts of law on public procurement (for implementing models of sustainable (green) procurement), environmental monitoring, environmental certification and labeling of goods and services, environmental impact assessment, support energy-saving technologies and technologies of cleaner production and promotion of products with improved environmental performance."

Mr. Bjorn-Eric Lonn, Chair of the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN), program of environmental certification and labeling «Nordic Swan», "Eco-labeling plays an important role in changing the old consumption patterns to more effective sustainable ones. The result of the efforts of the global network of environmental labeling is a consistent increase in market participants that change old habits and take responsibility. Considering the active development of the market of eco-products and services in different countries, regions and globally, for the Ukrainian business open good opportunities to enter foreign markets, positioning themselves as products with improved performance regarding impacts on the environment and human health at all stages of life cycle, which is confirmed by ISO 14024. This system facilitates the mutual recognition of evaluation results of eco-products between national and regional certification systems."

Ms. Xiaodan Zhang, Board member of GEN, Chinese Center for Environmental Certification, in her speech said, "Given the growth in trade between China and Ukraine in recent years, and the initiative of our governments on implementing the principles of "green economy", the environmental labeling programs in our countries develop cooperation in the field of sustainable consumption and production, technical regulations, environmental certification, sustainable (green) public procurement, which was approved by an agreement in 2015. In addition, it has been planned to introduce the Chinese project "Belt and the path of sustainable consumption", supported by Ukraine, which will contribute to overcoming the barriers to green trade and lay a good foundation for the next steps."

Mr. Alexander Bondar, Dr.Sc., Professor, Rector of the State Environmental Academy of Postgraduate Education and Management of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, "Greening economic activity is a decisive vector in the economic aspects of sustainable development. The development of the ideology of "green" economy has become a priority in the system of science and education in Ukraine. Reducing the use of energy-consuming and resource-intensive technologies is possible only with the active development of science and engineering. The introduction of "green" projects in the economy of our country will be an effective tool towards the restoration and conservation of the environment. The cooperation of government agencies Ukraine, business and science in this area will give a powerful impetus to the use of new forms of economic incentives for cleaner production."