Emmanuel Katrakis has served as Secretary General of the European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC) since September 2014. He is responsible for the continuous development of the Confederation which currently represents, through its Member Federations, more than 5 500 companies across Europe recycling various resource streams (household, commercial & industrial waste, WEEE, ELVs, tyres, textiles).

His policies include raising awareness about the instrumental role played by recycling in sustainable development and fostering recycling-friendly policy measures. Mr Katrakis is a regular speaker at international conferences dealing with recycling and a member of various expert groups set up by the European institutions to support the transition to a more circular economy.

Mr Katrakis graduated in European law from the College of Europe and the University of Paris II Pantheon-Assas. EuRIC is the Confederation representing the interests of European recycling industries at EU level.

Through its various branches covering the vast majority of waste streams, EuRIC brings together national recycling/resource management federations and companies from more than 23 European countries which are active locally and globally. 
EuRIC represents over: 

• 5 500+ companies generating an aggregated annual turnover of about €95 billion, including large companies and SMEs involved in the recycling of and trade in various resource streams;
• 300 000 local jobs which cannot be outsourced to non-EU countries;
• a million tons of waste recycled each year (metals, paper, glass, plastics, WEEE, ELVs, tyres, textiles, etc.). 

By turning waste into resources, recycling is the link which reintroduces recycled materials into value chains again and again. Recyclers play a key role in bridging resource efficiency, climate change policy and industrial transition.

Cliona Howie is the head of circular economy development and transition for EIT Climate-KIC. She has been working as an environmental consultant for over 20 years, starting as an expert in Environmental Impact Assessment and over the years working for both the public and private sectors in areas such as conservation, resource efficiency, industrial ecology and symbiosis, environmental certification and management schemes, the REACH regulation and sustainable industry. Cliona has held important roles such as championing sustainable business in SMEs as the Chair of the Environment Sector Group for the European Commission’s Enterprise Europe Network for several years, as well as sitting on a range of committees and working groups for the European Commission to influence policy and EU funding programmes, including the Circular Economy Expert Finance Group.

Currently, Cliona develops large-scale, deep demonstrations on circular economy transition. She works closely with national and regional governments as well as other stakeholders such as business/industry, research organisations and financial bodies to promote political and economic support from the European Union and its Member States to develop policies in favour of a circular economy by fostering the development of national and regional strategies and tools for cooperation. Cliona advocates for a systemic design and approach for a regenerative, low-carbon, circular transition across multiple levers of change.

Cliona holds other important roles for EIT Climate-KIC in the area of the circular economy. She is a member of the DG RTD Circular Economy Expert Finance Group and the EU Sustainable Finance Group as the circular economy expert from Climate-KIC. Furthermore, she has been named circular economy expert for the COTEC Foundation which brings together the top 100 experts in Spain.

She holds an MSc in Environmental Assessment and Management from Oxford Brookes University in the UK and a BSc in Biological Sciences from Clemson University in the United States.

The Conseil Européen de Remanufacture (European Remanufacturing Council) is based in Brussels and represents multiple business sectors and trade associations that extend the life of products through remanufacture and refurbishment. A steering group made up of five member organisations advises on the annual work programme as we aim to increase sales of remanufactured products in Europe from €30 billion to €100 billion by 2030.

David Fitzsimons became Director of the European Remanufacturing Council in January 2017. He represents the Council at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, with whom he led the “BetterThanNew” project. He is currently a member of the UN working group on product life extension; a member of TC 323 for the forthcoming ISO standard (59000 series) for the circular economy; a member of the advising committee for the PLATE conference, and a member of the World Economic Forum Council for advanced manufacturing and production.

He founded the circular economy consulting firm Oakdene Hollins in 1994 and is now director of the management board.