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Summary

Thank you to the 250+ delegates who attended this year's conference. A selection of photos is available to view here.

It is now widely agreed that the take-make-consume and dispose (linear) model global economies are based upon is no longer viable when taking into account population growth, resource access and scarcity. First Vice-President Frans Timmermans recently confirmed that the Circular Economy package, will not, in its current guise, form part of the European Commission’s 2015 work programme, the EU executive believing that ambitious revisions are required.

This has given increased energy to the debate around what role the EU should play both within Europe when seeking to encourage investment, innovation and jobs, and globally in setting standards and forging pathways to sustainable economic growth. 

This Forum Europe conference provided a platform for policymakers and stakeholders to reflect on how best to deliver economic growth in a resource limited, environmentally challenged context.

Speakers include

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

Kurt Vandenberghe

Director for Climate Action and Resource Efficiency, DG RTD

European Commission

Trisa Thompson

VP, Corporate Responsibility

Dell

Koen Coppenholle

Chief Executive, CEMBUREAU

Speaking on behalf of The Concrete Initiative

Joanna Drake

Director for SMEs and Entrepreneurship, DG GROW

European Commission

Kęstutis Sadauskas

Director for Green Economy, DG ENV

European Commission

Jocelyn Blériot

Executive Officer - Communications & Policy Lead

Ellen MacArthur Foundation

Françoise Bonnet

Secretary General

ACR+

Further Information

Discussions centred on the following key themes:

• How will the objectives of the Circular Economy be translated into new EU legislative proposals, which will deliver both economic and environmental results?
• Will Europe grasp the opportunity to develop coherent and coordinated responses to the challenges of a resource-limited world?
• How can businesses shift from being “locked-in” to the linear economic model to the circular economy and which sectors are leading the way?
• What does the future hold for international commodities trading within a circular economy? 
• What role can education play at citizen and corporate levels and how can best practice be exchanged?
• How will a circular economy impact on jobs and growth in Europe?

More information, including a full programme and speaker list is available on the agenda page here.  For further details or to discuss, please contact Rose Maloney on rose.maloney@forum-europe.com / +44 (0) 2920 783 070.