On 1 and 2 March 2022, our Annual Conference brought together Europe's largest network of stakeholders in the Circular Economy. The focus this year was on the path to a new normal: "sustainable products for sustainable consumption." The French EU Council Presidency plays a key role in advancing the Circular Economy. So we are delighted that the Presidency joined the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Commission to host this flagship stakeholder conference, bringing together leaders from business, public authorities, NGOs, knowledge communities, and other civil society organisations to advance our transition to a Circular Economy.

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• Day 1

   

  09:30 | Introduction to the conference

  • Dame Ellen MacArthur
     

  09:50 | Moderator's opening of the working day

  • Moderator: Jennifer Baker
     

  09:50 | Opening keynotes

  • Keynote from - Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, European Commission
  • Keynote from - Barbara Pompili, Minister for Ecological Transition, France
  • Keynote from - Christa Schweng, President of the European Economic and Social Committee, EESC
     

   Morning session [Setting the scene for the new package: focus on products]
  
  10:30 | Moving to a joint agenda on sustainable products

  Short description: Institutional panel discussion setting the scene for the upcoming Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI) and following implementation, while exchanging on Institutions’ expectations and cooperation ahead.
  Panel:

  • Kestutis Sadauskas, Director, DG ENV
  • Thomas Lesueur, Commissioner General for Sustainable Development, French Ministry for Ecological Transition
  • Delara Burckhardt, MEP, ENVI Committee, S&D
     

  11:35 | Coffee Break

  11:45 | Making sustainable products a reality: experiences and perspectives from key products

  Dynamic panel discussion looking at some SPI’s key product categories: concrete examples/experiences and perspectives on upcoming SPI implementation. Panelists will share their views on concrete opportunities and potential barriers to take into account when moving from strategy to implementing measures.
  Panel:

  • Joaquim Nunes de Almeida, Director, DG GROW
  • Iria Mouzo Lestón, Head of Circularity & Global Sustainability Public Policy Manager at Inditex
  • Lena Pripp-Kovac, Chief Sustainability Officer, Inter IKEA Group
  • Olivier Oger, Vice-president for CSR, institutional relations and human resources, Samsung France
     

  12:45 | Lunch break

  Afternoon session [Setting the scene for the new package: focus on consumers]
  
  13:45 | Keynote speech

  • Keynote speech from - Didier Reynders - European Commissioner for Justice
     

  13:55 | Consumers in the circular economy: new milestones to boost sustainable consumption

  Panel discussion setting the scene for the consumer angle of the next circular economy-related actions. The Consumer Empowerment and Green Claims Initiatives will be discussed, which aim to put sustainable consumers and businesses at the centre of the transition. Panelists will their views on needs and their role in ensuring the deliverables will work at the ground level.
  Panel:

  • Kestutis Sadauskas, Director, DG ENV
  • Christina Toftegaard Nielsen, Danish Consumer Ombudsman
  • Ruben Dekker, Policy Coordinator, Ministry of infrastructure and water management, The Netherlands
  • Andrea Crespi, Vice President for Sustainability, Sistema Moda Italia
     

  14:55 | Coffee break

  15:25 | Parallel session

  • • Scaling up circular economy for ambitious climate objectives
      This session will present how circular economy measures can contribute to ambitious energy and climate objectives and be integrated into national climate plans, such as the National Energy and Climate Plans.
      Panel:

      • CHAIR: Dr. Yolanda Garcia Mezquita, Deputy Head of Unit for Interinstitutional and Member States, Energy policy: Strategy and Coordination, DG ENER
      • Suzanne Dael, Head of Group, Mitigation, Energy and Transport, European Environment Agency
      • Patrícia Fortes, Head of Energy and Climate Research Area at CENSE, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University
      • Emma Sairanen, Finnish Youth delegate for the Convention on Biological Diversity and Project Coordinator, Circular Economy, Sitra
      • Marjana Dermelj, Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, Slovenia
    • Advancing on the plastics agenda: focus on biobased and biodegradable plastics
      The Commission is planning a Communication on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics for July 2022. This discussion will contribute to a better understanding of the issues at stake.
      Panel:

      • CHAIR:Emmanuelle Maire; Head of Unit for Circular Economy, sustainable products and consumption, DG ENV
      • Gregoire David, Biobased product engineer, Agence de la transition écologique
      • Francesco Degli Innocenti, Director Ecological Products and Sustainable Communication, Novamont
      • Michael Carus, Managing Director nova-Institute
    • Boosting the EU market for secondary raw materials/recyclates
      Discussion on measures/tools that directly aim to increase the demand for secondary raw materials, for example mandatory recycled content in products. The Chair will frame such options within the context of current EU policy developments
      Panel:

      • CHAIR: Mattia Pellegrini, Head of Unit From Waste to Resources, DG ENV
      • Emmanuel Katrakis, Secretary General, EURIC
      • Anne Catherine Mauny Founder, Chief Executive GESRI Consult. for Association Record
      • Johannes Weber, European Affairs Manager, Nestlé Europe

  
  16:25 | Closing speech

  16:35 | Online networking

  In the Networking Village, visitors will have acccess to the following ten booths with exhibitors and related content from Circular Economy stakeholders:

  • Three booths on Circular Economy Tools [Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF) & EMAS; Level(s) & Environmental Technology Verification (ETV); EU Ecolabel]
  • French EU Council Presidency 
  • Biodiversity & Climate
  • Going Circular - Going Global
  • Fashion & Food
  • Circular Cities & Innovation 
  • Youth & Circular Networks 
  • Money Makes the World Go Circular 
     

  17:30 | End of Day 1

  • Closing keynote from - Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries
     
  • Reporting from the #EUCircularTalks with - Freek van Eijk, Director at Holland Circular Hotspot and co-Chair of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform's Coordination Group
     
• Day 2

  The second day, hosted by the EESC, will focus on the practical implementation of the current and ongoing circular economy policy framework by employers, trade unions and other civil society organisations.
  Eight participatory workshops on circular topics ranging from circular cities to food waste to procurement and network governance will showcase successes and identify new challenges for the circular transition. In addition to the sector-focused workshops, there will be opportunities to discuss, network and explore examples of how the circular transition happens in practice.

  Interpretation from and into EN, FR during the plenary and marked parallel sessions.
   

  09:30 | Opening plenary (EN-FR) 

  • Jennifer Baker, Moderator
  • Freek van Eijk, Co-Chair, ECESP Coordination Group
  • Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General, DG ENV, European Commission
  • Baptiste Perrissin-Fabert, Executive Director for expertise and programmes, ADEME
  • Cillian Lohan - Vice-President, European Economic and Social Committee
  • Agata Meysner, Board member, Generation Climate Europe

   

  
  10:00 - 12:45 | Parallel Workshops

  All the recordings are available on the separate workshop pages - expand to click.

  • • 1A Food Waste, Food Systems and Bioeconomy (EN-FR)

      
      Circular Value Chains in the Bioeconomy Sector with the Ellen McArthur Foundation, COPA-COGECA, Alchemia Nova,Generation Climate Europe, Paola de Bernardi from the University of Turin, the MED Green Growth community  ➤

    • 1B Cities and Regions

      
      Accelerating system change for a circular transition in cities and regions with ACR+, the European Commission (Research and Innovation),the Committee of the Regions, the European Investment Bank ➤

    • 1C Circular Procurement

      
      ‘From strategy to results’ – how circular procurement can make the change in the energy transition with the European Environmental Bureau, Circular Flanders, Bpost ➤

    • 1D Network Governance and Circular Economy Hubs

      
      The power of network governance for a successful circular transformation - Transition brokers, Circular Economy Hubs & Networks – message from the ground with Circular Change, prof. Jacqueline Cramer, Representatives of the Business sector ➤

      11:15 - 11:30 Coffee break and workshop changeover

    • 2A Textiles: EU Textiles Strategy and Sustainable Product Initiative (EN-FR)

      
      Why do we need a very ambitious textile policy? with the European Commission, the European Environment Agency, the Fair and Sustainable Textiles Coalition, Policy Hub and EuRIC ➤

    • 2B Construction and Infrastructure

      
      Circular opportunities in buildings and infrastructure with Holland Circular Hotspot, ENEA, the German Sustainable Building Council, Rijkswaterstraat, the European Environmental Bureau, SME United, Alchemia Nova, Concular and Turntoo ➤

    • 2C Consumers and skills

      
      Enabling Circular Electronics: Skills for cities, businesses and consumers with the Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP), IRCEM, RREUSE and representatives of the retail and alternative business sectors ➤

    • 2D Economic incentives

      
      EPR Schemes and the European Green Deal: Challenges & Opportunities with Ecopreneur, Circular Regions, EXPRA, the European Commission, EuRIC, Werner & Mertz, the European Environmental Bureau and ECOS ➤

  12:45 | Lunch break and networking village

  • Trashbeatz video impulse 

  In the Networking Village, visitors had access to the following ten booths with exhibitors and related content from Circular Economy stakeholders:

  • Three booths on Circular Economy Tools [Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), Organisation Environmental Footprint (OEF) & EMAS; Level(s) & Environmental Technology Verification (ETV); EU Ecolabel]
  • French EU Council Presidency 
  • Biodiversity & Climate
  • Going Circular - Going Global
  • Fashion & Food
  • Circular Cities & Innovation 
  • Youth & Circular Networks 
  • Money Makes the World Go Circular 

   

  14:30 | Highlights from morning workshops (EN-FR)

  15:00 | Cross-cutting issues in the circular economy: Spotlight on Biodiversity and Climate (EN-FR)

  The session was jointly organised by OVAM, EMF, INEC, IUCN, Sitra and GCE.

  It focussed on the circular economy as a transformative solution to tackle the root causes of global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Circular economy policies offer concrete opportunities and synergies to achieving internationally agreed climate and biodiversity targets. In this session, stakeholders showcased actions already taken and shared their current understanding and views on how to better integrate circular economy strategies and measures into EU climate and biodiversity policies.

  • Emma Sairanen, Sitra, Moderator
  • Luc Alaerts, OVAM, Keynote speech on Climate 
  • Alberto Arroyo Schnell, IUCN, Keynote speech on biodiversity 

   

  15:45 | Circular economy in practice - Making sustainable products for sustainable consumption (EN-FR)

  • Magnus Ericson, CEO of KAVAT
  • Laurent Gilbert, Sustainable Innovation Director at L'Oréal
  • Paola Migliorini, Deputy Head of Unit, DG ENV, European Commission
  • Pavel Misiga, Head of Unit DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
  • Cillian Lohan, Vice-President, European Economic and Social Committee
     

  16:40 | Closing Plenary (EN-FR)

  • Cillian Lohan, Vice-President, European Economic and Social Committee
  • Trashbeatz video finale