St. Gallen, 13 May 2014 The World Resources Forum organises a side session on “Circular Economy – Improving the Management of Natural Resources” at Green Week in Brussels, on Thursday, June 5, 2014, 14:30 – 16:00, with the European Commission.

The concept of the circular economy was discussed during the past four annual conferences in Davos (2009, 2011, 2013) and Beijing (2012). The outcomes of these events have resulted in a booklet on Circular Economy, produced together with SATW, the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences.

Based on this booklet, this session at Green Week will elaborate on the general concept and success factors of Circular Economy. These will be highlighted on the basis of three case countries (China, Germany and Switzerland), which all have different approaches to achieving the same goal of a more sustainable planet.

A number of input speeches will give food for discussion regarding the political opportunities and legal framework that facilitate the implementation of Circular Economy. Furthermore, we will also talk about incentives for business to invest in Circular Economy, and case studies on how to promote sustainable recycling industries.

Speakers (see their profiles here):

• Prof. Dr. Yonglong Lu, Chair and Research Professor, Regional Ecological Risk Assessment & Environmental Management Group, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences (RCEES)
• Dr. Anders Wijkman, Senior Adviser, Stockholm Environment Institute
• Martin Lehmann, World Resources Forum (as representative of SATW)

Moderator: Bas de Leeuw, Managing Director, World Resources Forum

Welcome to the WRF session on Circular Economy at Green Week in Brussels.