Alberto Arroyo Schnell is responsible for policy and programmes at the European Regional Office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He has held leading positions on EU environmental policy for the past 15 years. His current focus is working together with the key sectors related to / impacted by / benefiting from biodiversity and nature, aiming to find ways to achieve the environmental targets jointly and to ensure ownership of these targets by all stakeholders. He is Spanish, with a background in Forestry Engineering.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a UK charity which aims to speed up the transition to the circular economy. Since it was set up, the charity has emerged as a global thought leader, putting the circular economy on the agenda of decision makers across business, government and academia.

FEAD is the European Federation representing the European waste management industry. FEAD’s members are national waste management associations covering 19 Member States, Norway and Serbia. They have an approximate 60% share in the household waste market and handle more than 75% of industrial and commercial waste in Europe. Their combined annual turnover is approximately €75 billion. FEAD represents about 3000 companies with activities in all forms of waste management. These companies employ over 320 000 people who operate around 2400 recycling and sorting centres, 1100 composting sites, 260 waste-to-energy plants and 900 controlled landfills. They play an important role in determining the best environmental option for waste management problems.

Sofie works as a policy advisor for the international policy unit at OVAM, the Public Waste Agency of Flanders, which ensures that Flanders deals with waste, materials and soil in a well thought out and environmentally sound manner. Since 1981, OVAM has been developing a balanced mix of economic and regulatory instruments on waste, materials and soil that has made the Region of Flanders one of the frontrunners in Europe in this field.

We are joining forces with our partners in business, civil society, research and government to develop a circular economy, taking a multi-stakeholder participatory approach. Circular Flanders, which was initiated by OVAM, serves as hub, inspiration and matchmaker for the transition to a circular economy in Flanders. We implement measures that go beyond sorting and recycling waste to make a systemic shift from take-make-waste to a new economic model that factors in the scarcity of raw materials and the ecological limits of our planet.

Mercè Boy Roura is coordinator of the Interreg MED Green Growth community and EU project manager at the BETA Technological Center at the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (Spain). She is an environmental scientist with a PhD in Experimental Sciences and Sustainability. She has 10 years' international experience in research and knowledge transfer projects in the field of natural resources and sustainability.

The Interreg MED Green Growth community is a multi-stakeholder network of projects which promotes the green and circular economy in the Mediterranean by enhancing cross-sectoral innovation practices through a regional cooperation approach. Since 2016, the network has consisted of 14 projects connecting 165 partners from 13 countries in the Mediterranean. It structures its work around four focus areas: food systems, eco-innovation, smart cities and waste management. The community supports projects with their communication and capitalisation efforts, thus increasing their impact at policy level and fostering potential transfer and replication of their results in other regions. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) labelled the Green Growth Community in October 2019, acknowledging its potential to advance cooperation in the transition to a green and circular economy in the Mediterranean region.

Andreas Brieger works as Director Sustainable Development for SMEunited. Before, he has been working on climate, energy and economic policy for social partners in Brussels and Germany. He is keen to contributing to a green transition that works for people, planet and SMEs.

SMEunited, formerly known as UEAPME, is the association of crafts and SMEs in Europe with around 70 member organisations from over 30 European countries. SMEunited is a recognised employers’ organisation and European social partner and acts on behalf of crafts and SMEs in European social dialogue and in discussions with the EU institutions. SMEunited represents national cross-sectoral craft and SME federations, European SME branch organisations and associate members. It speaks on behalf of the 22,5 million SMEs in Europe which employ almost 82,4 million people. It is a non-profit seeking and non-partisan organisation.

Ignacio Calleja has a Bachelor's degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Zaragoza, an M. Sc. in Technology and Environmental Management from the University of the Basque Country, an M.Sc. in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Edinburgh, and is a postgraduate in Technology Management at the University of Sevilla.

He joined EIT Rawmaterials in September 2016 as Thematic Officer for Circular Economy and Recycling, leading the Circular Economy strategy and representing EIT RM at different European entities. He is currently involved in coordinating the Cross KIC Circular Economy Action. 

The EIT Circular Economy Community consists of five Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) – namely EIT RawMaterials, EIT Climate-KIC, EIT Food, EIT Manufacturing and EIT Urban Mobility.

The KICs carry out activities that cover the entire innovation chain: training and education programmes, reinforcing the journey from research to market, innovation projects, business incubators and accelerators. Through the KICs, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) strengthens cooperation among businesses (including SMEs), higher education institutions and research organisations, forms dynamic pan-European partnerships, and creates favourable environments in which creative thought processes and innovations can flourish. 

ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability is a global network of more than 1 750 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. Active in over 100 countries, ICLEI influences sustainability policy and drives local action for low emission, nature-based, equitable, resilient and circular development.

Simon Clement joined ICLEI Europe in 2002. As Head of Circular Economy, he is responsible for ICLEI's activities in this field, including managing the European Circular Cities Declaration. For over 20 years he has worked for, and on behalf of, local, regional and national governments in project, policy and strategy development on sustainability issues such as circular economy, procurement, transport and smart cities.

Lieze works as the head of the international policy unit at OVAM, the Public Waste Agency of Flanders, which ensures that Flanders deals with waste, materials and soil in a well thought out and environmentally sound manner. Since 1981, OVAM has been developing a balanced mix of economic and regulatory instruments on waste, materials and soil that has made the Region of Flanders one of the frontrunners in Europe in this field.

We are joining forces with our partners in business, civil society, research and government to develop a circular economy, taking a multi-stakeholder participatory approach. Circular Flanders, which was initiated by OVAM, serves as hub, inspiration and matchmaker for the transition to a circular economy in Flanders. We implement measures that go beyond sorting and recycling waste to make a systemic shift from take-make-waste to a new economic model that factors in the scarcity of raw materials and the ecological limits of our planet.

In her role as Director of Programmes, Hatty leads Circle Economy’s thematic and sector-focused portfolio (textiles, finance and built environment). Having worked for over 14 years in democratic strengthening and sustainable development, Hatty has extensive international experience of working with governments and parliamentary systems to enhance their capacity for effective oversight, scrutiny and representation in the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Hatty is an experienced portfolio manager, delivering a wide range of multi-year, multi-stakeholder international development programmes in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. She has taken the lead on projects as wide ranging as enhancing the representation of women in public life in Pakistan to institutional strengthening in Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis.

Hatty has a background in project management and strategic organisational planning, with strong links across government and multilateral organisations. 

Key objectives at Circle Economy

- Build a comprehensive portfolio of sector + cross-sector programmes; working with government + industry  

- Develop multi-stakeholder projects, across government + industry, to support the circular transition at national level 

- Expand the profile and viability of Circle Economy in the Global South.