The final conference of NonHazCity was held in the end of January in Riga. During those two days exciting discussions about the experiences gained in the project, about project highlights  and about specific chemical action plans on different levels (municipality, businesses) took place. There were a lot of ideas to be shared and thoughts reflected at the end of this successful project.
In terms of raising consumer awareness Pärnu deputy mayor Rainer Aavik commented on one of the panels that activities such as the inhabitants’ campaign are important for creating awareness about chemical pollution.
Concerning approaching chemical issues at strategical level PA Hazards representative Maxi Nachtigall emphasized the need to have spatial planning together with climate change modelling and storm-water issues (which contain chemicals), which can be seen as an opportunity to bridge the sectors and start overcoming the challenges.
Some reflections from the conference were presented by Martin Futter from Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. In the matter of minimizing emissions of hazardous substances four pillars are important– awareness, information, ownership and action. This is important for local authorities to remember when they start acting and implementing the project’s results. International cooperation is the key of success in this project.
To read more about conclusions made during the conference, please see here.
All of the presentations given during the conference are available here.