Professor Dr. Klaus Töpfer, an internationally acclaimed authority on sustainability issues, visited Finland earlier this week as a guest of Gaia.
In a seminar on sustainable mining (April 29th), organized by the Ministry of Employment and The Economy, professor Töpfer gave a speech that gave perspective to Finland’s efforts in becoming a leading nation in sustainable mining.
Professor Töpfer highlighted that in this ambitious endeavour lies great responsibility: “If a leading cleantech country such as Finland fails, people will start to question the overall outlooks on sustainable mining. If Finland can’t do it … who can?”
According to professor Töpfer a failure might lead to a very serious setback on the ongoing positive trend on various actions towards sustainable mining solutions. However, Professor Töpfer emphasized that only sustainable mining can be profitable in the long run.
Professor Töpfer also gave a presentation in University of Helsinki in a seminar on sustainable development organized by the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation. Professor Töpfer explained the origins and development of concept of sustainability and contemplated the future of sustainable development.
Professor Töpfer is the founding Director and current Executive Director of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS). Previously, he has served as a Minister in Germany on three different occasions. In 2012 he was inducted in the ”Kyoto Earth Hall of Fame”.
More information:
- Pasi Rinne, Chairman of the Board, Gaia Consulting Oy, tel. +41 79 472 6909, email: firstname.lastname@gaia.fi
