Sarajevo was yesterday the host of EcoForum 2025 – a gathering that brought together representatives of the academic community, the business sector, and institutions to exchange ideas about sustainable development, environmental protection, and the role of youth in the green transition. The event was organized by the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Sarajevo (UNSA) in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia.
Among the speakers who addressed the participants was Hanadi Dzabic, general director of the company RCB Nanotehnologija, who emphasized that the industrial future increasingly depends on a responsible attitude toward the environment.
Environment ahead of product
“The time when the product was more important than the environment is the past. Time has shown that without environmental protection, there will be no profit. Everything that has a negative impact on nature will in the future become too expensive, and thus unsustainable. Today, nature must be the priority, because without it there is no long-term production or profit. At RCB Nanotehnologija, we recognized this in time and developed technology that returns recovered raw materials, such as carbon black from car tires, back into the industrial chain,” emphasized Dzabic.
She also stressed that this technology is the result of years of cooperation with international scientific institutes and that BiH is home to the first industrial plant of this type in the world.
“Today’s event shows how much science and industry in BiH have started to cooperate – that is our goal,” added Dzabic yesterday, stating that she sees future bearers of sustainability and the green transition precisely among the students in the audience.
Student engagement
The importance of education and the integration of ecology into strategic planning was also addressed by the dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Professor Nusret Dreskovic, emphasizing that EcoForum is part of a broader effort to systematically include ecology in development policies and educational directions.
“We associate this event with Earth Day, but also with a broader initiative to include environmental issues in all domains of development. Our faculty has for years been educating experts in environmental protection, but also in other fields that are important for sustainable development,” said Dreskovic.
He particularly emphasized that cooperation with the economy is heading toward concrete agreements that include the engagement of students and academic staff on projects with real social impact.
Science and business hand in hand
It was precisely this need for a balance between economic activities and the preservation of natural resources that was emphasized by the Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce of FBiH, Mirsad Jasarspahic.
“Our economy must survive in harmony with the environment. Today’s event is an opportunity to show this through examples of companies that operate sustainably. We are especially pleased that Slovenia is a partner of the event – a country that serves as a model of responsible and profitable industry in this region,” said Jasarspahic yesterday.
He added that technology today enables precise monitoring of the impact of production on the environment and that it is a mistake to reject projects without a thorough insight and scientific evaluation.
“Such forums are important because they connect young professionals, scientists, and industry. Only together can we find solutions that enable development while keeping nature protected,” concluded Jasarspahic.
At the end of the event, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and several companies, symbolically sealing the intention to strengthen the connection between the educational and business sectors in the service of a sustainable future.
