Members of the Coordination group are selected through an open call for expression of interest for a 2.5-year mandate. The second call took place over summer 2020 and the renewed Coordination group was selected in early November 2020. The first meeting of the newly-selected ECESP Coordination Group took place on 18 November in an online format.
At Zero Waste Europe (ZWE), Larissa Copello is the Consumption and Production Campaigner working on upstream solutions for packaging and single-use plastic products, such as waste-free business models and reuse systems.
Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) is the European network of communities, local leaders, experts and change agents working towards the elimination of waste in our society. ZWE advocates for sustainable systems and the redesign of our relationship with resources to accelerate a just transition towards zero waste for the benefit of people and the planet.
ZWE is also part of Rethink Plastic, an alliance of +10 European NGOs working with European policy-makers to design and deliver policy solutions to tackle plastic pollution, in which Larissa Copello follows policy developments on single-use plastic and packaging.
Guido Lena (Italian – 1965) was Director for Environmental Affairs in UEAPME from 1999 to 2008, when he was appointed Director for Sustainable Development, extending his competences to EU energy and climate change policies. His experience covers the challenges and opportunities of sustainability applied to SMEs. In this role, he has represented his organisation in several consultative committees set up by the EU Commission and worked as both sherpa in high-level groups set up by the EU Commission and as expert for the EESC. Due to the recent name change of his organisation, he has been Sustainable Development Director in SMEunited since November 2018.
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 24 million SMEs in Europe which employ almost 95 million people. It is a non-profit seeking and non-partisan organisation.
Dr Sarah Miller is Chief Executive of the Rediscovery Centre, Ireland's National Centre for the Circular Economy. Since 2005, Sarah has overseen the development of the centre as an ecological centre of excellence and an innovation hub for the circular economy in Ireland. Sarah has a keen interest in research and holds a PhD in Environmental Science, a Master’s in Business Administration and an Honours Degree in Biotechnology.
Based in Dublin, but operating on a national basis, the Rediscovery Centre is a creative movement connecting people, ideas and resources to support the circular economy and sustainable, low-carbon living. The centre’s work is built around the three key themes of education, demonstration and advocacy. To support the transition to a circular economy in Ireland, the centre provides training, education and events that inspire active participation and citizen engagement.
The visitor centre demonstrates good practice through social enterprise excellence, a reuse retail collective and onsite circular economy programmes and showcases. Working in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency, the centre also runs the national Circular Economy Academy, a free mentoring and support programme to assist social enterprises and community organisations embrace circularity. In collaboration with the Irish government, regional and city authorities, NGOs, academic institutions and corporate partners, the Rediscovery Centre’s education, research and policy team coordinate action-based programmes which drive change and support the circular economy in Ireland.
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.
Agnieszka Sznyk is the President of the Board at INNOWO, the Institute of Innovation and Responsible Development in Warsaw, Poland. She holds a PhD in Life Sciences and is an expert in the fields of sustainable production and consumption, circular economy and healthcare economics. Agnieszka has been connected with nongovernmental organizations for many years, notably as a founder and manager of the Polish Circular Hotspot and the international educational campaign Circular Week.
Agnieszka serves as an Economy expert at CE Working Group under the National Smart specializations (NSS) appointed by the Steering Committee, which consists of the representatives of the Ministry of Investment and Economic Development, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy in Poland.
She is an author of numerous reports including:
INNOWO (the Institute of Innovation and Responsible Development) is a foundation, non-governmental organization and a THINK-to-DO TANK established to support the development of innovation and implementation of systemic changes for the purpose of sustainable socio-economic progress. Circular economy is the main field of interest and expertise of INNOWO. The organisation supports decision-makers and different stakeholders groups in identifying effective solutions and policy instruments to engage businesses and consumers in achieving a significant and lasting change towards sustainable production and consumption.
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.
Mark Hidson joined ICLEI in 2003. He is a member of ICLEI Europe’s Board of Directors and responsible for ICLEI’s sustainable economy and procurement work. For 25 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 smart cities, circular economy, business and city interaction, procurement, climate change and transport.
Freek van Eijk is CEO of Holland Circular Hotspot (HCH), a private-public platform that facilitates the transition to a circular economy at international level by bringing together government authorities, knowledge institutes and especially businesses. HCH supports knowledge exchange with the aim of stimulating entrepreneurship in the field of the circular economy.
Freek van Eijk is also vice-chair of Circular Biobased Delta, an alliance of Dutch provinces, businesses and knowledge centres pioneering a sustainable circular and biobased economy. He is one of the more senior Dutch experts in the field of waste management and the circular economy. He also serves as Managing Director of Acceleratio.
Previously, Freek van Eijk worked for over a decade as Director of strategy and PA at the multinational SUEZ and as a board member of the Dutch Waste Management Association and the Society and Enterprise Foundation and acted as a Sherpa for the EU Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials.
He has a MSc. Eng. (Delft University of Technology).
Agata Meysner is a youth activist and project officer at Generation Climate Europe (GCE). She holds an LLB in European Law from Maastricht University and is currently pursuing an MSc in Public Policy from University College London specialising in the circular economy and resource efficiency. Ms Meysner previously worked at the European Environmental Bureau, where she focused on the implementation of the SDGs by and in the EU.
Generation Climate Europe is the first coalition of youth-led NGOs at European level pushing for stronger action from the EU on climate and environmental issues. GCE brings together eight of the largest European youth organisations, representing over 460 national organisations in all Member States and over 20 million young Europeans. GCE’s objectives are firstly, to create a united voice to better advocate for the position of young people in European decision-making processes on climate and environmental issues and secondly, to empower young people to become effective climate advocates.
The circular economy is one of the key thematic areas for GCE, encompassing various issues such as textile waste, digitalisation, energy, chemicals, food and water.
EuroCommerce is the principal European organisation representing the retail and wholesale sector. It embraces national associations in 31 countries and 5.4 million companies, both leading global players such as Carrefour, Ikea, Metro and Tesco, and many small businesses. Retail and wholesale provide a link between producers and 500 million European consumers over a billion times a day. It generates 1 in 7 jobs, providing a varied career for 29 million Europeans, many of them young people. It also supports millions of further jobs throughout the supply chain, from small local suppliers to international businesses. EuroCommerce is the recognised European social partner for the retail and wholesale sector.
Isabelle Maurizi is head of Sustainability and Environment at EuroCommerce. She focuses on promoting retailers' and wholesalers' circular economy initiatives such as deploying more sustainable products, ensuring the right waste management infrastructure and empowering consumers.
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.
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:
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.
Arthur ten Wolde is the Executive Director of Ecopreneur.eu, the European Sustainable Business Federation. Ecopreneur represents about 3000 businesses in five Member States, mostly SMEs, which strive to deliver sustainable products and services. Arthur is internationally recognised as a circular economy expert, motivational speaker and (co-)author of several reports and many articles in magazines.
In addition, he is the EU policy expert for MVO Nederland, Trainer Circular Design for CIRCO and Head and Owner of Circular Future. Arthur worked earlier for De Groene Zaak, IMSA and the Dutch Industry Confederation VNO-NCW.
Lieze is 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 serves as hub, inspiration and matchmaker for the transition to a circular economy in Flanders. We take actions that go beyond sorting and recycling waste, to make a systemic shift from take-make-waste to a new economic model that allows for the scarcity of raw materials and the ecological limits of our planet.
Oana Neagu is Director of the General Affairs team at Copa Cogeca. The team covers topics related to the circular and bio-economy, the environment and climate change, research and innovation, food waste, etc. Oana is an agricultural engineer and has a Master’s degree in business administration. She previously worked at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture as a policy officer, in charge of managing market measures. Prior to joining the Commission in 2006, she was the adviser on European integration at the Ministry of Agriculture in Romania, and was involved in preparing Romania’s accession to the European Union.
She is a member of the management committee of the multi-stakeholder platform on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the EU and actively involved in various expert groups on the bioeconomy, forestry and rural development.
Copa and Cogeca are the united voice of farmers and agri-cooperatives in the EU. Together, they ensure that EU agriculture is sustainable, innovative and competitive, guaranteeing food security for half a billion people throughout Europe. Copa represents over 23 million farmers and their families whilst Cogeca represents the interests of 22 000 agricultural cooperatives. They have 66 member organisations from the EU Member States https://copa-cogeca.eu/Menu.aspx Copa and Cogeca is one of the founding members of the European Bioeconomy Alliance - http://www.bioeconomyalliance.eu/
Michal Len is Director of RREUSE. He joined the organisation in 2011. Michal's expertise lies in policy mechanisms aimed at supporting the role of social enterprise in a circular economy, notably in the field of re-use and repair.
REUSE is an international network representing social enterprises active in the field of re-use, repair and recycling. Drawing on the first-hand experience of its members, RREUSE's mission is to ensure that policies, innovative partnerships and the sharing of best practices promote and develop the role of social enterprises in the circular economy. At the heart of RREUSE's vision for Europe are circular activities that foster social value and create locally inclusive jobs whilst supporting vulnerable individuals. RREUSE federates 31 members across 26 European countries and the USA.
Michal has an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics and previously held policy and project management-based roles in the public and private sectors. He is also a member of the EU Commission Expert working group on the social economy and social entrepreneurship (GECES).
François-Michel Lambert is a Member of Parliament, having been elected in the 10th constituency of the Bouches-du-Rhône (Southern France).
He is a member of the Sustainable Development and Country Planning Commission at the National Assembly, and also holds the position of president of the France-Cuba Friendship group at the National Assembly.
He is founding president of the Institute for Circular Economy, a multi-stakeholder association composed of 200 members, companies, communities, NGOs and schools that defines and implements a transformation of our economic model to emerge from a society of waste and move towards the development of an economy focused on the preservation and efficient use of resources. The Institute has become the French reference and the main partner of the public authorities.
Mr Lambert received the Marianne d'Or award for sustainable development for his proactive action to bring about a shift towards a circular economy.
The CSCP is a think and do tank that not only contributes to advancing the sustainable consumption and production (SCP) agenda through its think tank activities, but also implements innovative SCP projects and activities in the field as a do tank.
Michael Kuhndt is the Founder and Executive Director of the CSCP with more than 20 years' experience of international cooperation, development and sustainability.
Michael Kuhndt has managed programmes for many multinational companies, ministries, European and UN organisations in the fields of: strategy development for sustainable supply chains & circular economy, development/set up of a sustainable consumption approach, upscaling of sustainable business models, triple bottom line innovation, sustainable finance and policy strategies based on multiple stakeholders.
At the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), Jean-Pierre is the policy officer responsible for Product Policy and Circular Economy.
The EEB is Europe’s largest network of environmental citizens’ organisations with around 140 organisations in more than 30 countries. Jean-Pierre has a Master's degree in Environmental Policy from Humboldt University Berlin and in Geography from the University of Oxford.
Prior to joining the EEB, Jean-Pierre worked for four years at the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) in Brussels, as part of their Green Economy programme where he specialised in plastics, market-based instruments and economic indicators. At IEEP, he published a number of reports on a range of environmental issues for the European Commission, the European Parliament, UN Environment and the OECD.
Kari Herlevi is a circular economy multitalent. He is currently leading the circular economy area at Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund. There, he is focusing on the transition to a fair and competitive economy that tackles the root causes of biodiversity loss, climate change and overconsumption of resources, by facilitating the development and scaling up of the best circular solutions from Finland and the world. Previously, he worked at Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation, where he was responsible for the Green Growth and Vigo accelerator programmes. Kari also worked in the Tekes Silicon Valley office for a few years, and is particularly interested in new ideas and fast-growing firms in the circular economy, not least on the African continent.
Ladeja Godina Košir, Founder and Executive Director of Circular Change is an internationally renowned expert for circular economy, speaker, (co)author of several CE reports and articles, as well as the co-creator of international circular economy events. Ladeja was the finalist of The Circular Leadership Award 2018 (Davos WEF) and named one of "The #EUwomen4future campaign” featuring extraordinary women active in research, innovation, education, culture and sport by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth in 2020. She is recognised as the regional "engine of circular economy transition". She is the co-author of the first Roadmap towards the Circular Economy and creator and team leader of the annual international Circular Change Conference. National circular economy roadmapping process based on stakeholder engagement is what Ladeja is consulting on to several countries and cities – Serbia, Montenegro, Norway, Israel, Chile…
Ladeja has several international roles: the Chair of the coordination group of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) in Brussels (2018/20), visiting professor at the Doshisha University in Kyoto, Co-leader of the Research Group Circular Economy Systems at the Bertalanfy Center for the Study of Systems Science (BCSSS) in Vienna.
Transdisciplinary systemic approach and holistic view is what Ladeja is implementing as an entrepreneur, communications professional, speaker, moderator, lecturer, mentor and passionate connector. She is empowering a new narrative and circular culture. She is bridging bioeconomy and the circular economy – one of the EU projects she is contributing to is Effective (Horizon 2020 & BBI JU), a multi-company collaboration to produce more sustainable bio-based fibers and plastics for large consumer products by using renewable feedstocks and innovative technologies. She is also chairing the expert group for the BIOeast Foreasight Exercise 2050. Ladeja is working with governments, city authorities, companies, NGO’s, media, universities – empowering true collaboration to enable circular change.
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.
Carsten Wachholz joined the Foundation in 2020 after spending two years working for the European Investment Bank on Corporate Responsibility and another four years working for the European Environmental Bureau on the first EU Circular Economy Action Plan. Carsten leads the Foundation's newly established Brussels-based team supporting the development of circular economy policies at EU and international level (e.g. G20, OECD), in close collaboration with the Foundation's systemic initiatives on plastics, fashion and food.
Philippe Micheaux Naudet is Director for Network and Members Development of ACR+, and as such is responsible for developing activities with ACR+ members, in particular regarding circular economy strategies and governance, as well as public procurement; bringing new members and partners to ACR+ and strengthening the network; and developing and participating in strategic initiatives and partnerships (European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, Urban Agenda Partnership on Circular Economy, etc.).
Philippe is also a Senior Project Manager at ACR+, specialising in the circular economy, waste prevention and recycling. He is in charge of several projects, including the Circular Europe Network on circular economy guidance and capacity building, the ProCirc project on circular procurement, and the FoodRUs project on food waste prevention.
