Games of Green Transition: Sustainability as an opportunity for economic development in the Ruhr region?

The Ruhr region is facing major upheavals: while economic momentum continues to slow down, a profound transformation is taking place - particularly in traditional industries such as the steel and chemical industries. There is a lack of new impetus and companies in sustainable sectors. The huge brownfield sites that once provided space for the industrial boom play an important role here as breeding grounds for sustainable technologies and circular economic models.

However, this transformation places high strategic and financial demands: Economic development, companies and science must pool resources and jointly develop innovative solutions in order to harmonise ecological and economic interests.

The lecture by Prof. Dr Rasmus C. Beck, Managing Director of Duisburg Business & Innovation GmbH, will focus on new forms of regional governance, alternative financing models and the question of how the Ruhr region can become a pioneer of climate-friendly industry. How can sustainable approaches be embedded in the region's DNA without losing its industrial identity? The lecture will highlight opportunities, challenges and ways to further develop the Ruhr as the greenest industrial region.