At the IDB spring session, UNIDO presents main initiatives

At the Industrial Development Board (IDB), which opened this week in Vienna, UNIDO Director-General Kandeh K. Yumkella presented concrete measures – four pillars – that UNIDO devised to offset the negative effects of the so-called “megatrends”:

Green Industry
One important area mentioned is UNIDO's Green Industry initiative, which strongly advocates resource-efficiency and low-carbon industries. The initiative focuses on greening existing industries and making sure new industries are built on green technologies. It is a commitment to reduce, on a continuous basis, the various environmental impacts of processes and products.

Agro-Industries
The promotion of agro-industries is central to UNIDO, as a means of adding value to agricultural production and to ensure that agro-industrial exports meet international quality standards and regulations. On the second day of the IDB, a special session highlighted the importance of promoting agro-industries, and particularly business development services along supply chains. (To download the full presentation)

Energy
Development requires sound environmental and energy policies. Yumkella, who also chairs UN-Energy and heads the Secretary-General’s Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change (AGECC), addressed pressing energy issues at the Board. On the IDB's third day, a special session showcased the close interactions between Energy and Environment, on the examples of UNIDO's POPs activities. (To download full presentations on POPs, please see the sidebar).

Technology
UNIDO's view point on technology, including access to technology, technology transfer, innovation, and capacity building, is that it is vital to develop value chains. Therefore, the practical transfer of technology, industrial competitiveness and the role of intellectual property as a tool for enabling innovation were also part of the IDB's deliberations.

In this context, the address of Francis Gurry, Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), on the first day of the IDB was of particular importance: “WIPO and UNIDO are currently exploring opportunities to formalize and further strengthen their cooperation to leverage their respective expertise in support of sustainable development.”

When discussing technology transfer and the role of intellectual property as a tool for innovation, Gurry also advised to keep in mind the dramatic shift in models of innovation, and specifically, the arrival of open and networked innovation, as well as the rapidly changing geography of technology production. Indeed, intellectual property systems play a key role in facilitating technology transfer by incentivizing investment in innovation, providing a framework for trading intellectual assets, and by establishing market order through marks and brands.

For UNIDO's Member States, the partnership with WIPO will create new opportunities for developing countries to share in innovation. “Our cooperation with the WIPO and others in the public and private sector is testament to the importance in addressing the issues,” Yumkella said.

By Andrea Liebman 

For all official documents and presentations, please click here

For more information on the IDB, the UNIDO-WIPO partnership or general information on UNIDO please write to: communications@unido.org