Agenda

08:30 – 09:30

Registration

09:30 – 11:30

Session 1 - Keynote Session

Moderator: Kevin Bradley , Managing Director, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Hume Brophy

Karmenu Vella , Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission
Kaspars Gerhards , Minister for Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Latvia
Carole Dieschbourg , Minister for the Environment, Luxembourg
Trisa Thompson , VP, Corporate Responsibility, Dell

11:10 – 11:30

Presentation - The Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Jocelyn Blériot , Executive Officer - Communications & Policy Lead, Ellen MacArthur Foundation

11:35 – 11:50

Morning Coffee Break

11:50 – 13:00

Session 2 - Building the Circular Economy: Innovation, Production & Manufacturing

Business as usual is not an option, if a shift to a circular economic model is to be achieved. Creating an environment where businesses are incentivized to re-think their entire value-chains is, it could be argued, the greatest challenge and at the same time opportunity, the shift to a circular economy faces. Complex global supply chains and materials that pose specific recycling, re-use and remanufacturing problems mean a coordinated international response, both from business and government is required. What are the major challenges facing the business community in supporting greater resource efficiency and the delivery of the circular economy?

Key questions include:

• Where should future EU policy work focus if we are to incentivize SME’s and larger industry alike to engage in the circular economy?
• What policy barriers exist to greater resource efficiency around Europe?
• What sectors are leading the way and how can best practice be exchanged across sectors and value chains?
• To what extent are products being designed for recycling and what innovations are we seeing in the design of products which will further facilitate their re-use and re-manufacture in the future?
• How can research frameworks, such as Horizon 2020, support the shift to a circular economy?
• How far can service-based business models, for instance leasing and sharing, go in supporting the shift to the circular economy?
• What mechanisms exist for global coordination and where can improvements be made?
• How can Europe support the creation of better market conditions for products and services with lower impacts across their life cycle?
• Which industries have already implemented effective remanufacturing schemes and how can this ethos be translated into other sectors?


Moderator: Kurt Vandenberghe , Director for Climate Action and Resource Efficiency, DG RTD, European Commission

Joanna Drake , Director for SMEs and Entrepreneurship, DG GROW, European Commission
Koen Coppenholle , Chief Executive, CEMBUREAU, Speaking on behalf of The Concrete Initiative
Françoise Bonnet , Secretary General, ACR+
Arthur ten Wolde , Manager Public Affairs Circular Economy, De Groene Zaak

13:00 – 14:00

Networking Lunch

14:00 – 14:20

Keynote Speech

Sirpa Pietikäinen MEP , Rapporteur for the Circular Economy, European Parliament

14:20 – 15:40

Session 3: Modernising waste management - Closing the loop in the circular economy

How waste is managed and turned into a resource is central to the principles of the circular economy. The European Commission has set ambitious proposed targets to reduce waste and some industries have embraced the challenge by developing innovative approaches to waste management and closed loop recycling systems. What more needs to be done in Europe to deliver a modern waste management system that focuses on waste reduction, reuse and recycling, ensuring valuable materials are re-introduced back into the economic cycle?

Key questions include:

• How are companies innovating to reclaim valuable elements and compounds from products and waste, such as in the area of urban mining?
• How are companies addressing some of the ethical and environmental questions around waste export to developing countries?
• The European Union has committed to prevent all recyclable materials from being taken to landfill by 2025. What needs to be done to ensure this target is met?
• Why are some countries outperforming others in the area of waste management and prevention?
• Is education, of European citizens, governments and businesses, impacting waste management practices in Europe?
• What impact are emerging industrial clusters, which exchange mutually beneficial by-products in order to prevent them becoming waste, having in the field of waste management?
• What threats do investments in residual waste treatment infrastructure pose and where and how should investments be made?
• To what extent can we expect better waste management to impact on the amount of imported raw materials into the Union?
• How might greater innovation and R&D impact on jobs in the EU?

Moderator: James Stevens , Senior Vice President & Senior Partner, FleishmanHillard

Sirpa Pietikäinen MEP , Rapporteur for the Circular Economy, European Parliament
Kęstutis Sadauskas , Director for Green Economy, DG ENV, European Commission
Piotr Barczak , Policy Officer for Waste, European Environmental Bureau
Hermann Erdmann , CEO, REDISA
Gary Crawford , Vice President - International Affairs, Veolia