A place for exchanges and meetings, the event is a business accelerator promoting the networking of all professionals in the sector: prescribers, craftsmen & general construction companies, distributors and traders, public authorities, etc.
The presence of all European and African decision-makers makes the show an event that is also connected internationally. A true unifying meeting for those who are building the carbon-free world of tomorrow, BePositive offers a springboard for innovation. This year it will be organized around 4 exhibition sectors: new energy systems; energy in the building; sustainable building, and wood energy.
8 months before the opening of BePOSITIVE 2021, its director Florence Mompo takes the floor to launch this new edition. The opportunity for her to share her vision of the consequences of the crisis we are experiencing, and the prospects for the energy transition sectors.
Questions to Florence Mompo, director of the show
What is your vision of the unprecedented period we are going through?
Florence Mompo: This health crisis, which is turning into an economic and social crisis, was obviously a shock in its suddenness and the global questioning of our ways of living, of consuming, of working ... The uncertainty it engenders weighs on the recovery economic, and if we are already seeing its immediate consequences: international tensions, recession and rising unemployment, great difficulties for many sectors, there are also positive effects. After a period of deprivation, we are witnessing a recovery in activity and consumption stimulated by massive investment plans. We see common sense commitments around the local, the challenges of the circular economy and reuse, or quite simply the place of the individual in our development. The confinement has highlighted the need to prioritize the health, comfort and well-being of people, for example, in the design of housing and tertiary buildings. Thermal performance, air quality, acoustics, and more fundamentally, layout and furniture, are more than ever elements to be taken into account, such as the link between the physical and the digital. The generalization of teleworking is a glaring example, and it is also one of the major legacies of this period. And then humanly, there is for everyone, a need for exchanges and conviviality which is very strong at the moment!
What are the echoes of the players in the different sectors present at the BePOSITIVE trade fair?
Florence Mompo: It's quite heterogeneous because depending on the sector of activity, the feedbacks are not at all the same. On the part of new energy systems, after the first 2 or 3 weeks of astonishment that we have all experienced, companies quickly reorganized themselves and returned to development prospects. We talk a lot about the energy transition as a major lever for economic recovery, but they need concrete actions and they are waiting for what the Green Deal will give, for example. The feedback I have from a sector like photovoltaics tells me that today there is no slowdown, but that the concerns of the players relate to the coming months due to the shutdown of commercial activity for almost 3 months. And then, as we know, the construction sector is afraid of paying a heavy price for this crisis. All the measures that companies must implement to be able to restart will slow them down to regain the pace of the pre-Covid-19. And to this has been added the postponement of the municipal elections when many companies depend on public procurement… But I want to salute the way in which the leaders and the entrepreneurs have handled the situation. They have once again proved their ability, at the same time, to remain anchored in the reality of the moment, while being hyper agile in making the right decisions in favor of the health of their employees and their company.
"Encourage all sectors to work together"
This situation questions what the city of tomorrow should be. What are the mistakes not to make?
Florence Mompo: What model do we want for tomorrow? This is indeed the real question that we must collectively ask ourselves. And this period gives us the opportunity to imagine it with a different eye, really taking into account people's aspirations. But the risk, given the dynamics of the recovery, is, as in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis, to fall back only on economic factors and finance, to put the environmental dimension in the background, without drawing the lessons of what happened. Whereas, on the contrary, it is up to everyone: political leaders, professional organizations, industrialists, companies, craftsmen, employees, etc., to have the will to come out on top.
What is the place of the energy transition in this new model?
Florence Mompo: It is central! It corresponds to current aspirations. We also feel a gradual, global awareness of issues related to the preservation of the environment, the climate, food and also the waste of energy. This awareness of the population must be encouraged with information and education and, without delay, the economic measures and aid paid to businesses by the public authorities must promote the transformation towards a sustainable and resilient world. All sectors must be encouraged to work together, by dialoguing, developing innovations and disseminating technological solutions that save resources and impact on the environment. The areas of development have been identified: sustainable infrastructure with renewable energies and clean mobility, energy renovation of buildings and the fight against “thermal strainers”, the circular economy and short circuits, as well as responsible digital technology. These will also be the major issues addressed during the 2021 edition of the BePOSITIVE trade fair.
The smart, bio-based materials and employment-training in red threads of the next show
Exactly what is the role of a show like BePOSITIVE?
Florence Mompo: I would first say that trade fairs, professional meetings, congresses, events will have a preponderant role in the economic recovery because they are unique moments that connect companies, organizations, project owners, prescribers, visitors to the sectors, etc. And these actors will have in the months to come a capital need for opportunities to meet. For the energy transition, the BePOSITIVE 2021 exhibition will be a founding meeting during a period, in March, which should see the realization of the conditions for acceleration of this movement. And thanks to our knowledge of the markets and their players, we are working to make it once again a meeting point for all energies: an event that brings together all the players in the building and energy sectors, which promotes their dialogue and their convergence. , which supports their projects and developments, and which drives their innovations. To resume our baseline, may this be an opportunity to jointly build the low-carbon world of tomorrow!
What are the biases of this next edition?
Florence Mompo: We have made smart, bio-based materials and employment-training our red threads. In fact, a real dynamic has been set in motion around digital technology and IOT, which enter the building world directly, with the aim of energy savings and the development of services. Bio-based materials are also gaining in performance. They benefit from a new attractiveness in the construction sector and from the industrialization of their production. And then, as I said, the emergence of a new model through different approaches will impose an evolution of know-how and new professions. There will be cross-cutting lines between certain sectors that are losing momentum and others in full development. This issue places the recruitment and skills development of employees at the heart of business strategies.
"New in 2021, we will play even more on the complementarity between the physical and digital event"
Can you reveal other elements of the BePOSITIVE 2021 program?
Florence Mompo: The main players in new energy systems, sustainable building, energy in buildings and wood energy, will exhibit to present their innovations and solutions in favor of the energy transition. There will be a lot of activities such as conferences, fire camps, prospective studies, all hosted by the big federations. We will also have live demonstrations, training and feedback. But the novelty is that the show will be more interactive. By relying on content, services and products, we will play on the complementarity between the physical event and the digital event. For example, we will offer webinar solutions. And we are also going to deploy, for all of our audiences: exhibitors, visitors and partners, distance intermediation solutions such as networking and business meetings via a mobile app. The opportunity for all participants to be even more visible and to create new opportunities.
8 months before the event, what do the first indicators say?
Florence Mompo: We cannot yet give figures, but the trend is positive. There is great momentum around this event, which is the only French show dedicated exclusively to the challenges and solutions of the energy transition. Internationally, it also enjoys growing notoriety, particularly in Europe, the Maghreb and Africa. Despite the context, all lights are therefore green, partners and companies are already telling us about their enthusiasm at the idea of meeting again!