Helsinki, 5 June – The Global Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP) Conference 2017, which was held from 3-5 June 2017, in Helsinki, Finland, successfully concluded today.
The conference, which was organized by UN Environment and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), focused on forging international partnerships to advance sustainability in industry through concepts such as eco-innovation and circular economy.
The first two days of the conference featured Regional Chapter Meetings and the bi-annual Members’ Assembly of the 65-member Global Network for Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECPnet).
During the meetings of its Regional Chapters and its Members’ Assembly, the members of RECPnet worked to identify emerging collaboration opportunities and establish the basis for joint projects at the regional and global levels. Through its Members’ Assembly, the network sought to align its strategy and operational modalities closer to evolving realities, in line with lessons learned from operating the network on a global level for the past seven years. Members of RECPnet also elected new Regional Executives to represent them on the network’s Executive Committee for the next two years.
The conference concluded on the third day with a public segment which featured two panel discussions showcasing successful projects and initiatives by industry leaders and RECP practitioners, and addressed the question of how approaches such as eco-innovation and RECP can be scaled and financed in order to initiate and sustain a circular economy.
Members of RECPnet took the stage alongside representatives of global actors such as H&M, the European Investment Bank, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, to illustrate the viability and potential of circular solutions to the creation of wealth and wellbeing.
The Global RECP Conference dovetailed with the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2017, organized by SITRA – the Finnish Innovation Fund, in collaboration with national and international partners. The WCEF 2017 marked the first time an international conference has been held on the topic of circular economy. Around 1,500 participants joined global policymakers and leading experts in the field of circular economy to present effective circular economy solutions, and discuss the means to – and implications of – a globalization of the concept.
–> UPDATE: The presentations made at the WCEF 2017 are available online. To access them, click on a specific session in the programme, and click on “See presentation” after a given speaker’s name. A summary report of the WCEF 2017 is also available on the website of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).
–> UPDATE: The presentations delivered during the panel discussions in the segment Building Partnerships for Advancing Circular Economy and Eco-innovation Approaches are now available online. Please click on the following links to view the respective presentations:
1st Panel Discussion – Advancing Circular Economy and Eco-innovation in Developing and Transition Economies
From Policy to Action: Eco-innovation Approaches in Developing Countries
Mr. Nguyen Hong Long, Centre for Creativity and Sustainability, Viet Nam
Realizing Business Opportunities through Eco-Innovation: A Step-by-Step Approach
Ms. Daniela Pegosso, DTU
Chemical Leasing: Contribution to Circular Economy and Eco-Innovation
Mr. Reinhard Joas, BiPRO
Scaling Resource Efficiency through Eco-Industrial Parks
Mr. Bharat P. Jain, Gujarat Cleaner Production Centre
2nd Panel Discussion – Building a Global Partnership to advance Circular Economy in Developing and Transition Economies
Circular Economy: Redefining Growth for Long-Term Prosperity
Mr. Jocelyn Bleriot, Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation
Circularity in the Value Chain
Ms. Luisa Book, H&M
Financing the Circular Economy
Mr. Jonas Byström, European Investment Bank
RECPnet is a global network of leading RECP service providers launched by UN Environment and UNIDO dedicated to promoting RECP in developing and transition economies.
More information: www.recpnet.org
Contact: recpnet@unido.org