World Circular Economy Forum WCEF

Let’s circle back to #WCEF2024! Can you believe it's already been a month since The World Circular Economy Forum 2024? We're still in awe of the amazing event we had.   Here are some highlights: 👥 We had 1,531 participants in Brussels, Belgium. 🌍 Representing 168 countries. 💻 Plus, we had more than 9,800 online views.   The programme this year was jam-packed with 20 sessions, 11 workshops, and 55 accelerator sessions. These provided valuable insights, showcased circular solutions, and sparked important discussions.   We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who attended the forum and shared their knowledge with us. You truly made WCEF2024 a success!   Next stop: Brazil 2025. See you there!   Sitra Circle Economy International Resource Panel (IRP) African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA) Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Ellen MacArthur Foundation European Commission European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform European Investment Bank (EIB) Green Building Council of Australia International Council for Circular Economy ICLEI Europe International Labour Organization Nordic Innovation UN Environment Programme UNDP UNIDO WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development

Oh, the memories! Let’s take a moment to look back at what was discussed at the World Circular Economy Forum 2024. ✨ One of the programme tracks focused on the bioeconomy, with three sessions addressing the topic from unique perspectives. ✔️ Circular Business Solutions for Nature This session featured a pitch competition showcasing business solutions for nature, presenting concrete examples of how business can be conducted differently. We also learned about setting targets for nature. ✔️ Food systems in the circular bioeconomy: lessons from Latin America Latin America, with its diverse ecosystems and agriculture, offers a unique perspective on transitioning food systems to a circular economy using bioeconomic policies and innovations. ✔️ Unveiling bio-based solutions from the Global South This session examined the wealth of innovative bio-based solutions emerging from the Global South, providing insights into eco-design principles and waste-to-resource strategies. If you missed any of these sessions, you can watch the recordings on our website: https://lnkd.in/etaPfF4U Photos by Marian Stănescu for Sitra #circulareconomy #WCEF2024

💡 Interested in learning more about Finnish and Brazilian experiences in the circular economy? If you're in São Paulo this week, don't miss this WCEF Side Event on Friday at Fiesp - Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo, organised together with the Embassy of Finland in Brazil (Embaixada da Finlândia no Brasil) and Business Finland. This is also a great opportunity to tune in to next year's annual forum that will be held in São Paulo, co-hosted by Sitra, ApexBrasil, CNI - Confederação Nacional da Indústria, FIESP and Senai São Paulo. Please note that the event is held mostly in Portuguese and is in-person only. For other upcoming WCEF side events this year, please check our list in comments.

Today marks the ninth anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations's SDG Flag Day. The Sustainable Development Goals set a shared standard for a fairer, safer, and more sustainable planet, ensuring we all work together to achieve common objectives.   The circular economy can contribute to the achievement of all 17 SDGs, a fact highlighted in the latest research paper by Chatham House, "How the Circular Economy Can Revive the Sustainable Development Goals."   At WCEF, the SDGs serve as guidelines for all our sessions—each session must address solutions related to at least one SDG. Unfortunately, the goals are still far from being achieved. Let’s continue working together to drive the circular transformation and achieve the SDGs! 👏 You can read the full research paper here ⬇ https://lnkd.in/dZVY34qU #Circulareconomy #WCEF2024 #WCEF2025 #SDGs African Development Bank Group Circular Change Circle Economy Hanns Seidel Foundation Sitra UNIDO African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) Circular Innovation Lab ApS Japan Bank for International Cooperation WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development World Economic Forum Wyss Academy for Nature European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform Circular Economy Coalition

As the new EU Commission begins to form, it's a great time to explore the new policy brief "A European Circular Single Market for Economic Security and Competitiveness" by Bruegel - Improving economic policy. 📑   Smarter resource use is crucial for achieving the EU's net-zero goals, and the circular economy is an important part of that solution. Transitioning to circularity would contribute not only to environmental benefits but also to other strategically important goals of the EU, including resource autonomy and enhanced competitiveness of European companies. 📈   The current inefficient use of resources is due to disincentives and barriers caused by market and government failures. Therefore, the transition to circular models would require more regulations, shared standards, and investments.   While the EU already has a legislative framework for the circular economy, it needs scaling up in order to achieve the desired benefits.   The policy brief was conducted by Bruegel with financial assistance from Sitra. You can find the full policy brief here: https://lnkd.in/da9WD85i #WCEF2024 #WCEF2025 #circulareconomy

📢 Call for Cases: WCEF2025 co-host Fiesp - Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo is seeking, with CNI - Confederação Nacional da Indústria, the most transformative circular solutions in Latin America and the Caribbean! Participants should showcase circular strategies and practices that drive the circular transition forward in the industrial sector. The curated selection of cases will be published by Fiesp, and some of the selected solutions will also be presented at the World Circular Economy Forum 2025 in São Paulo next May. This call is a fantastic opportunity for YOUR solution to be showcased to an international audience. We look forward to discovering the amazing circular solutions emerging from Latin America! 👏 Read more ⬇ https://lnkd.in/ddtjnrR6 #CircularEconomy #LatinAmerica #WCEF2025 #industry

In the future, almost all products entering the EU market will be required to have a digital product passport. 🛂 The Digital Product Passport (DPP) compiles product data from the entire manufacturing and production chain. This includes information on raw materials, product safety, usage, and recyclability. Ideally, DPPs could help consumers make more sustainable choices. For public authorities, they offer more efficient means to control and transfer data. For businesses, they provide an incentive to develop sustainable and circular business models.💡 To meet the expectations of digital product passports, it's essential to develop them through experimentation. Sitra funded several DPP pilots with Finnish companies across various industries. Learn about their experiences. ⬇ https://lnkd.in/gUarg6se #WCEF2024 #WCEF2025 #circulareconomy

Are you developing a circular economy project in Europe and getting ready for fundraising? CircularInvest is looking for you! CircularInvest helps European circular economy projects become investment-ready by offering support services in: ✅ Advancing the circularity of the solution ✅ Business planning ✅ Fundraising ✅ Legal and regulatory matters The services are provided by INOVA+, META Group, ICLEI, and Circle Economy, all of which are organisations with extensive experience in advancing the circular economy. #CircularInvest is part of the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI). We were happy to have them present their work at #WCEF2024. The open call for projects is open until 13 September. 📆 For more information, visit ➡ https://lnkd.in/e2P45qda Good luck with your projects!👏 #circulareconomy #WCEF2025

Today is Earth Overshoot Day, marking the calendar date when humanity's ecological resource consumption has exceeded what the Earth can regenerate this year. ❌ Having the Overshoot Day so early in the year is a stark reminder that our current consumption patterns are unsustainable, and we need to transform our economy to align with what the Earth can provide. It's a big task, but transitioning to a circular economy is a crucial part of making this leap. It has a direct impact on the amount of resources we use and how we use them. As a community of circular economy professionals, we are committed to enabling that transition and want to thank you for the contributions you make. 💚 We only have one Earth, so let's get to work! 🌎🌍🌏 #theearthovershootday #circulareconomy #wcef2025

Sometimes it's good to take a moment to reflect. ✨ On the final day of WCEF2024, we caught up with three circular economy specialists: Hatty Cooper, Director of Strategy & Impact at Circle Economy; Kari Herlevi, Project Director of Circular Economy at Sitra; and Janez Potocnik Potočnik, Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel (IRP). These three organizations were the masterminds behind this year’s program. We asked them what we accomplished at this year’s forum and why everyone should be excited about WCEF2025 in Brazil. Read what they had to say. ⬇ What are your thoughts looking back and what are you looking forward to at WCEF2025? https://lnkd.in/dC_fc9sz #WCEF2024 #WCEF2025 #circulareconomy