Goals and practicalities of a European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform: 
a kick start conference - 9 & 10 March 2017

A more sustainable European economy implies reducing drastically our consumption of resources and the amount of waste we produce. Far from being an exclusively environmental concern, the transition to a circular, more resource-efficient economy is a business opportunity, leading to new markets and new jobs.

In late 2015, the European Commission published its Circular Economy Action Plan, along with a proposed review of the current waste legislation. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) supports an ambitious implementation of this Action Plan, which mentions in particular an in-depth consultation of stakeholders and civil society, including "social partners where changes may have important social implications". In previous opinions concerning the circular economy adopted in December 2014 and April 2016, the EESC made the case for a European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, whose aim would be to facilitate civil society consultation, cooperation between national, regional and sectoral networks and the exchange of expertise, information and best practices.

With a view to taking stock of the Action Plan's implementation, looking at next steps and discussing the goals and practicalities of a European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, the EESC and the European Commission co-organised a conference which took place on 9-10 March 2017 in Brussels and paved the way to the actual establishment of the ECESP. 

PROGRAMME DAY 1 | 9 March 2017 | European Commission | Charlemagne building  

09.15 | Introduction- An inter-institutional endeavour

• A sustainable model for the EU and the world, Frans Timmermans – First Vice President of the European Commission
• Connecting with stakeholders, Georges Dassis – President of the European Economic and Social Committee
• One year of Circular Economy, Presentation of the report – The ambition goes on – Elżbieta Bieńkowska – Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs and Karmenu Vella – Commissioner for the Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

10.00 | Plenary Session I - Keynotes - The Circular Economy in motion 

• What a city can do – Guido Braam – Circular Valley
• What a business can do – Reinhard Schneider – CEO Werner & Mertz
• Moderated panel discussion and debate with the audience

The keynote speakers will be joined by:

• Ladeja Godina Košir, City of Ljubljana, cities and government platform, Circular Change
• Ursula Pachl, Deputy Director-General of Bureau Européen des Unions des Consommateurs (BEUC)
• Peter Schmidt, German Food, Beverages and Catering Union, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee
• Alexandre Affre, Industrial Affairs Director, BusinessEurope

Parallel sessions from 13.00 to 14.30

16.30 | Plenary Session II - Introduction: "A financial endeavor"

• Jyrki Katainen, Vice President of the European Commission
• Markku Markkula, President of the Committee of the Regions and rapporteur on the opinion "Bridging the investment gap"

Moderated panel discussion with:

• Simona Bonafé, Member of the European Parliament: Forward looking legislation to leverage investments
• Constance Kann, Director of EIB: The Circular Economy Finance Support Platform
• Sławomir Mazurek, Undersecretary of State, Ministry of Environment, Poland: Market Based Instruments for the Circular Economy
• Rik Plomp, Head of real assets, JGGM: Investments opportunities in the circular economy
• Michael Steurer, Senior Policy Advisor, Eurochambres

17.45 | Summary-key messages for the next day

• Brendan Burns, President of the European Economic and Social Committee's Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment

PROGRAMME DAY 2 | 10 March 2017 | European Economic and Social Committee | JDE building 

09.00 | Welcome and outline of activities

Luca Jahier, President of Various Interests' Group, European Economic and Social Committee (tbc)
Cillian Lohan, Rapporteur of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Circular Economy Package

09:45 | Interactive workshops

• 09:45-10.30 | Round 1: What should a European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform focus on?
• 10.40-11.30 | Round 2: How do we ensure the Platform is effective?

11.30 | Putting it all together: synthesising the workshop results 

• Ladeja Godina Košir, Executive Director, Circular Change (SI)
• François-Michel Lambert, Chairman, Institute for the Circular Economy (FR)
• Máté Kriza, Chairman, Foundation for the Circular Economy (HU)
• Arthur ten Wolde, Expert, De Groene Zaak/Ecopreneur.eu (NL)

12.45 |  Next steps and formal launch of the Circular Economy Platform

• Brenda King, President of Sustainable Development Observatory, European Economic and Social Committee (tbc)
• Daniel Calleja Crespo, Director-General, Directorate-General for the Environment, European Commission