4th Circular Change Conference

Start/End date
to
Country
Slovenia
City
Maribor
Description

The fourth International Circular Change Conference entitled Less Talk, More Action. took place on 16 and 17 May in  Maribor, Slovenia.

The international Circular Change Conference has grown into one of the key European events dedicated to circular economy. This year, the ambition of the 4th Circular Change Conference was to move towards “less talk, more action”, inviting participants to explore what is happening “on the ground” in order to identify concrete actions, radical collaborations and scalable success stories.

This year was therefore focused on real business cases from the four priority sectors set out in the Roadmap Towards the Circular Economy in Slovenia – food system, manufacturing industries, mobility, and forest-based value chains, while bringing in the key role of creative industries. Over 400 participants from 20 countries, 50 speakers and over 25 partners and co-organisers have shown that there is real change happening “on the ground”.

The Circular Change Conference is an important circular economy event because it:

  • is listed by the World Economic Forum as one of key circular community engagement events of the year
  • is part of EU Green Week
  • offers inspiring mix of activities: keynotes, workshops, roundtables, exhibitions, art installations, networking, company visits
  • provides opportunities for bilateral meetings
  • introduces new topics for discussion on the national, EU and international levels
  • involves leading international CE organisations and competence networks, such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Circular Hotspot, OECD, SITRA, Circle Economy, etc.

Takeaways from the 4th Circular Change Conference:

  • Although people are thinking globally, change must begin with each individual, at homes and places of work
  • The circular economy is far from being a reality and true impact on the global scale is yet to happen
  • The only true global agreement for sustainable development are the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
  • Businesses are taking sustainability seriously and are tying their business goals to SDGs
  • A new narrative is needed – stories we can identify with, practices we can implement, circular solutions that are appealing and trendy
  • Only the engagement of all stakeholders leads to change. Circular economy platforms and organisations can play a key role in leveraging collaboration and engagement.

The video highlights of the conference are available below.

Coordination Group project partner: Circular Change