The ECESP Annual Conference 2026 - A competitive and fair circular Europe: The ambition at the heart of the single market
The European Union is entering a crucial phase in advancing its circular economy agenda. The upcoming Circular Economy Act (CEA) is anticipated to serve as a cornerstone of this framework, enhancing the Single Market for circular products and services while addressing ongoing fragmentation.
The ECESP Annual Conference will provide a high-level platform to discuss the ambitions, scope, and policy direction of the Circular Economy Act, situating it within the broader EU framework, investment needs, and global developments. While the CEA will be central to the discussions, the program will also address related initiatives, such as the EU Bioeconomy Strategy and the implementation challenges that must be overcome to create a competitive and fair circular Single Market.
Designed to facilitate genuine two-way communication, the conference will bring together policymakers, business leaders, financial experts, civil society representatives, youth leaders, and regional stakeholders to exchange experiences, perspectives, and visions. It aims to support evidence-based decision-making, clarify expectations, identify common challenges, and build a shared understanding of the CEA's role in the EU policy landscape. Participants will have opportunities to co-create circular projects, strategies, and narratives that reflect Europe's diversity.
The event will take place over two days with complementary objectives.
- Day one will focus on high-level policy debates about the CEA's political ambitions, its contribution to the Single Market, its global implications, mobilising finance for circularity, and the role of youth in promoting intergenerational fairness.
- Day two will be designated as Stakeholder Day, organised by the ECESP coordination group, featuring sessions on the CEA and the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, as well as five parallel workshops addressing implementation challenges and enabling conditions. These workshops will cover financing mechanisms, societal and social economy aspects, intermediaries and brokers, public procurement, packaging, the role of cities and regions, and critical raw materials, with specific attention to selected value chains.
A systemic perspective will connect these themes as mutually reinforcing components of Europe's circular transition. Practitioners will have the opportunity to showcase solutions in the Networking Village and network throughout the conference.
Register here for in person participation.
Detailed information coming soon - check this webpage for regular updates.
Day 1 — Wednesday 22 April 2026
Welcome
- Moderator: Katrina Sichel
Opening and Keynote address
Speakers:
- Ms Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy (ENV)
- Mr Séamus Boland, President of the European Economic and Social Committee
First Plenary Session - The Circular Economy Act and flanking measures
Embedding circular economy principles in the Single Market: if not now, when? The role of the forthcoming Circular Economy Act
The Circular Economy Act will aim to support the single market for secondary raw materials, increase the supply of high-quality recycled materials and stimulate demand for these materials across the EU.
It aims to respond to the fact that progress towards a circular economy has been slow, with the circularity rate in the EU economy being essentially stagnant over the last 15 years, and that the business case for recycling and secondary raw materials is not strong enough, being dampened by a mixture of regulatory and market failures. In particular, the fragmentation of the Single Market results in avoidable costs and acts as a barrier to achieving higher circularity within the EU.
Objective of this session: to allow the Commission to gather further stakeholders’ views on the forthcoming Circular Economy Act: what is mostly needed, considering underlining problems, objectives and scope. These views will feed into the Commission’s preparation process.
Speakers:
- Mr Eric Mamer, Director-General for Environment (ENV)
- Mr Constantinou Costas, Cyprus Permanent Secretary, Council of the EU
- Mr Pierfrancesco Maran, ENVI Committee Chair
- Mr Enrico Letta, Former Italian PM; author of the report on the Single Market
- Mr Eivind Kallevik, CEO & President of Hydro
- Mr David Fitzsimons, Director of the European Remanufacturing Council; ECESP CG member
Coffee break
Second Plenary Session - The global dimension
Embracing circular economy principles globally: how to strengthen ties with partner regions and learn from each other?
Globally, countries and regions are accelerating their transition towards more resource-efficient and circular models, reflecting a shared recognition that linear systems are no longer viable. Moreover, in a context where geopolitical tensions are intensifying existing vulnerabilities and creating new ones and where competition over scarce natural resources is increasing, circular economy is becoming a key pillar of economic security.
At the same time, international cooperation is expanding, with circular economy increasingly embedded in partnerships and multilateral initiatives. This creates opportunities for alignment, mutual learning, and development of common approaches. The EU is not alone in this effort, but part of a broader global shift, and stronger EU engagement with partner regions is essential to support this global transition and promote economic security and sustainability standards.
Objective of this session: to explore how the Commission can strengthen cooperation with partner regions on circular economy policies and practices, foster mutual learning and better engage in multilateral initiatives. The discussion will examine how the EU can both contribute to and benefit from these partnerships and multilateral initiatives, drawing on diverse experiences and considering how to align approaches, unlock joint opportunities, and support a global transition to a circular economy.
Speakers:
- Mr Valère Moutarlier, Deputy Director-General for European Industry and Decarbonisation (DG GROW)
- Mr MAENG Hak-kyun, Director, Resources Recycling Division, Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment of the Republic of Korea
- Ms Veronika Hunt Šafránková, Head of Brussels Office, UNEP
- Mr Bart Gruyaert, Director of Neo-Eco Ukraine | Vice President Galion-Group
- Mr Joss Blériot, Executive Lead for Policy & Institutions at Ellen MacArthur Foundation; ECESP CG member
Lunch break - change of venue to Jacques Delors
Third Plenary Session - Financing circularity
Financing circular economy needs: how to overcome persistent investment gaps?
While the EU’s circular economy investments increased substantially in recent years, the EU circular economy funding remains low, at about 1% of the EU budget. Similarly, the EIB Group increased its annual circular economy financing by 167% between 2020 and 2024, but this remains a small part of its total investments.
A significant investment gap remains in relation to the EU’s transition to a circular economy by 2040 especially in sectors such as construction, textiles, batteries and vehicles, and in life cycle stages such as circular design end of life phases of the product life cycle, which are crucial for keeping materials in use. Financing barriers persist, hindering markets from growing and achieving scale. Most new investment is expected to come from the private sector.
Objective of the session: to explore how the EU can address investment barriers and improve public funding.
Speakers:
- Ms Claudia Fusco, Director for Compliance, Governance & Support to Member States (DG ENV)
- Mr Andrew Morlet, Chair of UK Government's Circular Economy Taskforce, Circular Economy Lead, Standard Chartered Bank
- Mr Emmanuel Chaponnière, Head of Division at the European Investment Bank
- Ms. Ågren Wikström, member of County Council, Västerbotten Region, Sweden, and CoR EPP representative in the ENVE Commission
- Ms Anna Douglas, Senior Sustainability Adviser at SEB Group
- Mr Andrei Geica,Chief Policy and Impact Officer at Sporos Platform; ECESP CG member
Coffee break
Fourth Plenary Session - The Youth check
Youth perspectives on the forthcoming Circular Economy Act: the floor is yours!
Young people aged 15–29 have a key role to play in making the circular economy a reality: through their daily choices and actions as consumers and as citizens. Moreover, young people will live with the medium and long-term consequences of today’s decisions. In this spirit, this dedicated session provides a structured space for young people to express their views on how the forthcoming Circular economy Act could impact them and what transformational changes most matter to them when creating a more circular economy.
Objective of this session: to allow the Commission to gather the views of youth on the forthcoming Circular Economy Act: what is mostly needed, considering underlining problems, objectives and scope. These views will feed into the Commission’s preparation process.
Speakers:
- Ms Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy (ENV)
- Ms Nicoletta Merlo, EESC Vice-President of the EESC Youth group
- Ms Agata Meysner, Co-Founder and Founding Director at Generation Climate Europe
- Ms Priya Saikumar, Academics for CE; ECESP CG member
- Mr Caillum Hedderman, Board member of the European Youth Forum
Closing remarks
Speakers:
- Ms Ladeja Godina Košir, Founder and Executive Director of Circular Change; Chair of ECESP CG
- Philip Nugent, Director General for EU, International and Maritime Affairs in the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment, Ireland
Networking cocktail
Day 2 — Thursday 23 April 2026
High level opening and first plenary session
High-level opening
Speakers:
- Commission representative (tbc)
- Stoyan Tchoukanov, European Economic and Social Committee, Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment Section President
Plenary session “What role for stakeholders on the circular economy policy agenda for maximum impact”
Speakers:
- Maria Nikolopoulou, European Economic and Social Committee, Sustainable Development Observatory President
- Ladeja Godina Košir, ECESP Chair, Circular Change
- Emmanuelle Maire, European Commission, DG Environment
Coffee break
Breakout Sessions
Breakout session: the bioeconomy strategy
Circular Bioeconomy in Action: Policy Progress, Social Impact and Skills for the Future
Speakers:
- Agnieszka Sznyk, ECESP Co-chair, Innowo
- Agata Kotkowska, European Commission
- Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore, Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU)
- Arnaud Schwartz, European Economic and Social Committee
- Marcin Koziorowski, EcoBean
- Copa-Cogeca representative
Breakout session: the circular economy act
Circular Economy Act: Stakeholder Priorities for Europe’s Circular Transition
Speakers:
- Anders Ladefoged, European Economic and Social Committee
- Ladeja Godina Košir, ECESP Chair, Circular Change
- Claire Downey, The Rediscovery Centre
- Veerle Labeeuw, Circular Flanders
- Generation Climate Europe and Academics for Circular Economy representatives
- Andrei Geica, Sporos
- European Commission, DG Research and Innovation representative
Breakout sessions - reporting back and wrap up
Rapporteurs will present the results and conclusions of the two parallel breakout sessions.
Lunch break
Parallel workshops
The five workshops, organised by ECESP Leadership groups, will focus on implementation aspects of their respective thematics.
Thematic: Circular value chains
Organised by Leadership group 1
Transition Brokers in Circular Value Networks – An Emerging Profession
In this session, transition brokers in circular value networks will be discussed as an emerging profession. After a brief introduction, two invited speakers will present practical cases of transition brokers facilitating the systemic transformation and governance of value networks. In the main part of the session, participants will be encouraged to discuss the role and needs of transition brokers as orchestrators of the transition to a circular economy. The outcome will be a clearer understanding of transition brokers and the identification of necessary institutional support for this emerging role.
Speakers:
- Stoyan Tchoukanov, European Economic and Social Committee, Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment Section President
- Julian Lauten-Weiss, Academics for Circular Economy
- Ladeja Godina Košir, ECESP Chair, Circular Change
- Johanna Suikkanen, Sitra
- Lars Mortensen, European Environment Agency
- Jean Billant, Circul’R
Thematic: The bioeconomy strategy
Organised by Leadership group 2
From Vision to Implementation: Scaling the Circular Bioeconomy Across European Value Chains
The transition to a circular bioeconomy is essential for achieving Europe’s climate neutrality, biodiversity protection, and resource resilience objectives. The LG2 Leadership Group of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform focuses on accelerating the deployment of regenerative and circular solutions across biological value chains, ensuring that bio-based activities operate within planetary boundaries and support the EU climate and nature objectives while strengthening competitiveness and innovation.
Europe already has a growing ecosystem of initiatives, projects, and regional strategies supporting circular bioeconomy solutions. However, significant challenges remain in scaling implementation, connecting stakeholders across sectors, and translating policy ambition into practical tools and market solutions.
This session will focus on concrete pathways to accelerate circular bioeconomy deployment, with particular attention to SMEs, regional ecosystems, and cross-sector collaboration.
Speakers:
- Agnieszka Sznyk, ECESP Co-chair, Innowo
- Arnaud Schwartz, European Economic and Social Committee
- Tobias Nielsen, European Environment Agency
- Marianne Kettunen - EllenMacArthur Foundation
- Christina Fedato, Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP)
- Nora Sophie Griefahn – Cradle2Cradle NGO
- Sidse Jensen, FSC Danmark
- Miha Škrokov, VCG.AI
Thematic: An inclusive circular society
Organised by Leadership group 3
Building an inclusive circular society - new skills, sustainable behaviours, concrete actions
This session will spotlight how the circular economy delivers concrete, everyday benefits for citizens — more affordable services, healthier living environments, and local job opportunities. It will foreground the social dimension of circularity by showing how inclusion-by-design can strengthen participation, fairness and wellbeing alongside environmental gains. It will highlight where circular approaches can specifically improve outcomes for vulnerable groups and reduce inequalities in access to goods, services and opportunities.
By looking at three lighthouse examples from different initiatives and European regions, the panel will explore practical pathways for reskilling and upskilling, creating communities that last, shifting behaviours, and engaging hard-to-reach communities through trusted intermediaries and locally grounded solutions. Each example will focus on impacts for vulnerable groups, with transferable lessons on what works, what barriers persist, and how to scale.
Speakers:
- Jovita Pretzsch, European Economic and Social Committee
- Zuzana Kuberova, Reuse Federace
- Benoit Ruysschaert, city of Hasselt
Thematic: Economic and financing instruments for the circular economy
Organised by Leadership group 4
From Policy to Investment: Operationalising Circular Economy through Economic and Financial Instruments
The Leadership group 4 focuses on one central challenge: translating circular economy from a policy ambition into an economically viable and investable reality.
While the European policy framework has significantly advanced, a persistent gap remains between circular solutions on the ground and their ability to attract and scale capital. Addressing this gap requires a better alignment between economic instruments, financial actors, and real-world business models. This session will showcase concrete, practice-based insights from selected workstream leads, each bringing recent experience from their respective domain (e.g. economic instruments, financing models, capital mobilisation, regulatory frameworks).
The session aims to:
- surface practical bottlenecks and investment barriers,
- identify blind spots in current approaches as well as complementarities between LG Members,
- and gather targeted input from both LG4 members and external stakeholders, particularly (and hopefully) financial actors.
Speakers:
- European Economic and Social Committee representative
- ACR+
- INNOWO
- ENEA
- ICLEI
- Circular Flanders
- Circul’R
- NEXIA Group Holdings
- EEA
- EFRAG
- Anders Ladefoged, European Economic and Social Committee
Thematic: Increasing demand for European circular solutions
Organised by Leadership group 5
Buy Re/Made in Europe: A Buyers’ Perspective on Circularity
The session will focus on advancing the “Buy Re/Made in Europe” theme from buyers' perspective by highlighting the role of circular procurement and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in shaping sustainable markets. It will explore how the upcoming Circular Economy Act can strengthen EPR schemes, encouraging producers to design products with their full lifecycle in mind and motivating buyers to prioritise circular solutions. Focus will be given on how procurement strategies, including lifecycle costing and targeted incentives, can boost demand for sustainable products and foster innovation.
The session will address the new skills buyers need, such as understanding circular criteria, improving digital literacy, facilitating market dialogue, and committing to continuous learning. Through interactive polls and discussion, participants will reflect on challenges and opportunities in applying circular principles.
Moreover, practical case studies from industry and public procurement will illustrate real-world applications, highlighting both progress and barriers
Overall, the session aims to equip buyers with knowledge and tools to drive Europe’s circular economy transition.
Speakers:
- Violeta Jelic, European Economic and Social Committee
- Elizabeth Cazaerck, Public Waste Agency of Flanders
- Cynthia Reynolds, the Circular Economy Coalition
- Bart Vanterwyngen, TVH parts and accessories
- Joanne Rourke, Dublin city
Coffee break
Reporting back from workshops
Rapporteurs will present the results and conclusions from respective workshops.
Closing Plenary
Closing Plenary: "Putting the day in the geopolitical context"
Speakers:
- European Economic and Social Committee, Single Market, Production and Consumption Section Representative (tbc)
- Ladeja Godina Košir, ECESP Chair, Circular Change