In 2006, the German Ministry of the Environment (MoE) initiated a national stakeholder dialogue to discuss the introduction of nanotechnologies into products and processes. After more than 15 years of intense discussions among stakeholders from industry, science, authorities and civil society organisations, the MoE ends its patronage of the NanoDialogue with this International Conference on Nanomaterials that is organised in cooperation with the OECD. Nevertheless, the opportunities and risks of nanoscale materials remain a topic that the Federal Environment Ministry will address.
The Conference aims to facilitate an exchange about successes and limitations of governance approaches and sustainable uses of nanomaterials. To this end, we are going to explore how to address the benefits and risks of nanomaterials by discussing examples from all over the world, including legislative approaches, standardisation and stakeholder engagement.
