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Opportunities and challenges of circular economy

Why Circular Economy Conference?

The conference Opportunities and Challenges of Circular Economy is co-organized by Ecologists Without Borders Association, Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning of Republic Slovenia and Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy of Republic Slovenia.

The industrial era is marked by a linear model: extracting raw materials from nature to disposal when they become waste. Such model completely depends on limited natural resources, with a growing world population as an additional pressure. Therefore the economies in Europe and globally are exposed to operating in an uncertain environment, where the supply and prices of raw materials are becoming increasingly unpredictable. The aim of circular economy is to create a flexible and resilient economy, which will decouple the growth from the consumption of limited natural resources.

European Union responded to those challenges by publishing the Circular Economy Package in July 2014. The new Commission decided to temporarily withdraw the package and upgrade it with a more ambitious proposal by the end of 2015. The action plan will cover the whole value chain, aiming at ‘closing the loop’ of circular economy. In June, the Commission published a Roadmap to Circular Economy and started a public consultation, which has closed at 20. August this year. Meanwhile, some countries, regions and businesses already recognized the opportunities of the model.

The conference aims at answering two key questions for Slovenia: will we actively participate in creating circular economy, or will we only observe; and in case we decide on active participation, how will we manage the transition and what do we need?

Whom is the conference for?

Circular economy requires cooperation among different stakeholders for removing the obstacles they face during their transition towards the new economy model.

Target groups of the conference are: enterprises and SMEs, universities, faculties, students, research institutes and centers, different ministries, R&D centers and institutes, publicly held companies, municipalities, regional development agencies, NGOs, political parties, media.

The event will be announced in Slovenia and on EU level, with the emphasis on south-eastern European countries. Simultaneous Slovenian – English translation will be provided. The conference will be also an excellent opportunity for networking.

How the conference will achieve its aim?

The conference will bring together speakers and participants from several aspects of society: authorities from different levels, enterprises and SMEs, local and regional communities and publicly held companies.

The morning session will present the circular economy model and give an overview of current developments on the EU level. Since the practical cases speak the loudest, three afternoon parallel tracks will be dedicated to the presentation and discussion of best examples from different European countries, focused on businesses, local communities, and food waste as an example of closing the natural loops.

The closing part of the conference will be dedicated to the current situation in Slovenia and discussion among different ministries, business associations and participants, trying to find the answers to the two key questions of the conference.