Region West Brabant has a strong chemical industry. There is already a lot of knowledge about green chemistry, with a lot of research into sustainable green chemistry taking place. To accelerate the transition to green chemistry, effective knowledge diffusion and reskilling of regional human capital is of great importance. There are a number of obstacles that need to be overcome before there is a green chemical sector. For example, people working in the fossil chemistry and manufacturing industry cannot be directly deployed in sustainable chemistry and biobased raw material extraction. Skills related to fossil raw material extraction do not sufficiently match future competences related to green chemistry, including those for obtaining sustainable raw materials from plant sources such as trees. For this, it is necessary to be (re)educated to work with green raw materials and chemistry. To support the transformation of fossil chemistry into green chemistry in the West Brabant region, Business Centre Treeport sees starting points with their Excellence & Experience Centre called ‘Rootz’. In the autumn of 2023, Rootz, part of the thematic business park Business Centre Treeport in Zundert, will open its doors to entrepreneurs and other stakeholders active within the tree nursery. Rootz is built to accommodate both students, companies, as well as facilitate scholarships and meetings (triple-helix approach). Rootz's goal is to connect and future-proof the tree growing sector. This is done by broadening the scope of the regional tree nursery beyond conventional planting, growing and harvesting of the tree, with sustainable extraction of biobased raw materials. Within Rootz, a training centre for green chemists will be realized, to accelerate the transition to green chemistry within the tree nurseries of the future. The development of relevant reskilling and upskilling programmes related to green biobased chemistry are necessary to achieve Treeport's and the region's sustainable ambitions. The development of a training centre within Rootz is well in line with the region's objectives of training an agile and resilient chemical workforce. As the region is partly dependent on the local chemical industry, it is of social importance to offer workers and jobseekers (young and old) the opportunity to receive appropriate sustainable training and to provide future-proof jobs. This provides a perspective for workers and jobseekers to participate in the climate transition.
