In May and June, the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) and Normative held a two-part #EUCircularTalks to discuss the role of carbon emissions in closing the loops in a circular economy and discussed the role played by EU policies and legislation in reducing carbon emissions.

---

28 June, 11:00 - 12:30: EU circular economy policies’ role in reducing carbon emissions

The IPCC’s recent report outlined how rapidly the world is heating up due to human activity and the role that our carbon dioxide emissions are playing in that rise. Paris Agreement-aligned targets require emissions to be cut by half by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050.
During the UN high-level meeting Stockholm +50, governments from around the world are meeting to commemorate the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Environment and celebrate 50 years of global environmental action.

This talk is an associated event of Stockholm +50 and World Environment Day (WED). It discussed the EU's role in reducing carbon emissions and discussed the policy and legislative changes needed in order to do so.

Draft programme

Moderator: Cassandra Julin, Head of Global PR and Communication at Normative

Introduction

• Cillian Lohan, Vice-President, European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

Policy perspective

• Jesus-Maria Alquezar-Sabadie, Socio-economic Analyst at European Commission - on EU circular economy policies and legislation affecting carbon emission accounting
• Alexander Schmidt, Head of Science and Climate Research at Normative - on net zero and the journey - policy and legislation affecting businesses in Europe
• Dr. Zinaida Fadeeva, Team Leader of the Sustainable Consumption and Production Facility (SCP Facility) of the SWITCH-Asia Programme

Business perspective

• Jenny Sandahl, Sustainability Director at Ericsson
• Charles Göbbels, Managing Director at Reprocover 

Additional interventions & panel discussion 

• Julia Breidenstein, Co-Founder and PR Manager at HUMANA Kleidersammlung GmbH 

---

12 May, 11:00 - 12:30: EU Circular Talks: Carbon emission accounting: A direct tool to close the loops in a circular economy

Under the Paris Agreement, governments undertook to limit global warming to 1.5°C and enact the rapid reductions required to achieve this. By 2030, businesses and governments will need to have reduced their emissions by half while by 2050 they will need to have reached net zero. A 2020 CDP report states that 92% of an average company’s emissions originate in the value chain. Establishing a circular economy in which businesses and governments measure their emissions will speed up the process of reaching these climate targets and reduce emissions throughout the value chains.

This talk discussed what reaching net zero means in practice and explored what tools and technologies are available to do so. It highlighted the role of enterprises and their value chains and discussed how every business plays a role in carbon emission reduction.

Programme

Moderator: Cassandra Julin, Head of Global PR and Communication at Normative

Introduction

• John Comer, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
• Kristian Rönn, CEO and Co-founder of Normative

Large enterprise perspective

• Johan Falk, CEO and Co-founder of Exponential Roadmap Initiative

Small and Medium Enterprises perspective

• Stéphane Gartner, Head of Communication, Partnerships and Sustainability at BONPAIN
• Julia Breidenstein, PR Manager at HUMANA Kleidersammlung GmbH
• Pamela Jouven, Director of SME Climate Hub, Tools and resources for SMEs to measure and reduce carbon emissions

Panel discussion / Q&A session