Information sharing, transparency and collaboration have been widely recognised as essential catalysts for a circular economy. To use one company’s ‘waste’ as ‘food’ for another, stakeholders need to access the right information at the right time. Information sharing often risks a stakeholder’s competitive advantage. Circularise develops an open communication protocol using blockchain technology.
Founded in 2012‚ "Reinwerfen statt Wegwerfen" is a voluntary initiative of Austrian businesses, based on an agreement between Austrian social partners and the Federal Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism to improve the ecological performance of packaging by creating public awareness, preventing and reducing littering and promoting the separate collection and recycling of packaging.
8 billion plastic bags end up in the environment in Europe every year. They have dramatic impacts on the environment, and especially on marine ecosystems, killing every year thousands of marine animals, and affecting no less than 260 different species.
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.
As an adviser for environmental and climate policy, Leon de Graaf particularly follows policies related to the circular economy, trade and climate, low-emission mobility, implementation of the Paris climate agreement (COP21) and the European emission trading system (EU ETS). He is also deputy manager of BusinessEurope's corporate Advisory and Support Group (ASGroup). Prior to joining BusinessEurope, Leon worked at the research consultancy Ecorys, focusing on renewable energy and international development issues, at DG COMP on energy and environmental subsidies in Europe, and at the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) on indirect ETS costs for energy-intensive industries. Leon has a MSc in environmental economics and climate change from the London School of Economics, and a BSc in business economics from the University of Groningen.
Ladeja Godina Košir, Founder and Executive Director of Circular Change, is an internationally renowned expert on the circular economy, speaker, (co)author of several CE reports and articles, and co-creator of international circular economy events. Ladeja was the finalist for the Circular Leadership Award 2018 (Davos WEF) and named in "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 co-author of the first Roadmap towards the Circular Economy and creator and team leader of the annual international Circular Change Conference. Ladeja has consulted on the national circular economy roadmapping process based on stakeholder engagement for several countries and cities (Serbia, Montenegro, Norway, Israel, Chile, etc.).
Ladeja has several international roles: chair of the coordination group of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP) in Brussels (2018/20), visiting professor at Doshisha University in Kyoto and co-leader of the Research Group Circular Economy Systems at the Bertalanfy Center for the Study of Systems Science (BCSSS) in Vienna.
Ladeja takes a transdisciplinary systemic approach and holistic view as an entrepreneur, communications professional, speaker, moderator, lecturer, mentor and passionate connector. She is empowering a new narrative and circular culture. She bridges the bioeconomy and the circular economy; one of the EU projects to which she contributes is Effective (Horizon 2020 & BBI JU), a multi-company collaboration to produce more sustainable, bio-based fibres and plastics for large consumer products using renewable feedstocks and innovative technologies. She also chairs the expert group for the BIOeast Foresight Exercise 2050. Ladeja works with governments, city authorities, companies, NGOs, media and universities, empowering true collaboration to enable circular change.
The Basque Ecodesign HUB is the centre of training activities on Ecodesign and Circular Economy in the Basque Country, resulting from the collaboration of the Basque Government, through Ihobe, with Novia Salcedo Foundation and a number of other Basque socio-economic actors.
Following the business model of a sustainable repair shop, R.U.S.Z is a social business which started back in 1998, as a work integration social enterprise for long-term unemployed persons.
Tourism in the Philippines and Thailand is receiving increasing attention as an excellent development option but with the vulnerability of developing countries to climate change it is inevitable to take the environmental performance of the tourism business into serious consideration.
Cement and Environment Labour Foundation (CEMA Foundation) was created by Oficemen (Spanish Cement Association) and the two largest trade unions operating in the Spanish cement industry, CCOO de Construcción y Servicios and UGT-FICA, Federación de Industria, Construcción y Agro.
Cities of Making addresses the challenge of re-industrialisation in urban areas, where circular economy will have a key role. The project aims at developping a toolkit for policy makers to promote urban manufacturing in a transition economy.
The “Every Can Counts” programme aims to improve recycling by enabling and encouraging people to recycle drinks cans used outside the home (e.g. workplaces, festivals, tourist locations, etc.).
WFO collects and transforms Ocean Plastic by collaborating with fishermen and brands.
The project located in the territory of Thau is an experimental project, carried out by the CPIE* Bassin de Thau with the involvement of different partners, including CIRAD* for scientific coordination. This project aims to develop a new fishing field by experimenting with mule farming and by testing the incorporation of bread from the catering industry into fish pellets.
Stimergy by using a liquid cooling and heat recovery system in server rooms or by decentralising its servers in "digital boilers" located in residential and public buildings recycles heat from data servers to water heating systems. Thanks to its liquid heat recovery system, Stimergy both reduces energy waste of servers and energy needs of water heating systems.
Marketplace Hub maps raw materials markets and industrial synergy networks worldwide by both their locations and what material they trade. It aims to aid interested businesses to find where they could source or sell their materials secondary raw materials.
Best practices, policies, and lessons learned are also included in the interactive web-based platform.
The Guidelines for green start-ups provide an overview of the most relevant areas and issues for green entrepreneurs in order to facilitate the transition towards a climate-friendly economy, by avoiding the irreparable losses involved in unsustainable consumption and production. There is an overview of main barriers, key opportunities and financial instruments available.