Future vision for circular economy
Speeding up implementation of the digital circular economy
Transitioning from a linear to a circular economy, where materials and products are restored and reused, will only be achieved by overcoming a number of obstacles. Among these is the complex mix of material transactions which has to be coordinated via good collaboration and connectivity. A challenge to which digitisation holds a vital key.
In the digital circular economy, data is openly shared with due regard to ownership, privacy and accessibility. Data formats and protocols are standardised and interoperable. Users have control over the data generated through their behaviour. Products have digital twins and material passports that optimise their trajectory through the value chain.
Circular companies, which foster their own circular ecosystems, are a good example of how circular economies need to work, being aware that their products contain raw materials they’ll need again in the future. These companies make use of functional electronics in their products, not to make them more flashy, but to make them more sustainable. Circular companies design for longer lifespan and repairability, enabled by use of modular, standardised components.
Circular companies have a data-centric culture and circularity is included in their C-level strategic agenda. Similarly, follow-up and management of sustainability and circular performance is integrated in their ERP systems. They have a 10-year vision for value chain dematerialisation and the introduction of products as a service.
Realising this vision for the economy as a whole requires speeding up of the digitalisation which will facilitate a digital circular economy.
Conference programme
Circular Economy
19 January 2022
Circular Economy
Circular Economy
Accelerating the circular economy: approaches to sustainable waste management
19/01/2022, 14:00 - 15:30 GST (Dubai)
11:00 - 12:30 CET/WAT (Brussels, Nigeria)
12:00 - 13:30 SAST (Cape Town)
05:00 - 06:30 EST (New York)
19:00 - 20:30 KST (Seoul)
18:00 - 19:30 CST (Beijing)
15:30 - 17:00 IST (New Delhi)
07:00 - 08:30 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)
Sustainable waste management (SWM) is an important element within a broader circular economy. While being a systemic approach that helps tackle issues created by a linear consumption society, it also offers more direct solutions to the many problems waste causes through consumption of finite resources.
SWM aims to keep materials in circulation as long as possible, as well as minimise the amount of solid waste going to landfill or incineration. However, in the existing linear economy, waste starts being generated before products are even manufactured. A more in-depth approach to SWM focuses on the entire product lifecycle. New waste management practices are required to effectively deal with existing waste streams, while also reducing the amount of waste in the first place.
In this session, representatives and experts from different organisations around the world will share their views on SWM challenges and impact. They will share inspirational ideas about how specific approaches can impact industry and business, with the aim of accelerating the transition from a linear to a circular economy.
Facilitated by
Presentation

Mishal Amer Mohamed Al Riyamy
be'ah
Section Head-Learning, Development and Conferences
Mishal Amer Al Riyamy is the Section Head of Learning Development and Conferences part of the Strategic Development Sector at Oman Environmental Services Holding Company -be’ah. Under this role, he is responsible in setting out be’ah’s strategic direction in meeting the organization’s training and development needs as well as its participation in regional and international conferences. In addition, he is actively involved in the recommendation of environmental policies governing the waste sector as well as the development of be’ah’s circular strategy. be’ah adheres to a sustainable framework that is derived in principle from the concepts of waste management hierarchy and circular economy.
Al Riyamy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mineral Resources Engineering and is a graduate of the RWTH Aachen. Prior to joining be’ah, he has held several technical, business development and academic roles at different organizations including Schlumberger, Weatherford and The German University of Technology in Oman (GUTech).
Urban waste management in Panama City
Carolina Rojas is the Technical Focal Point & E4C Fellow at the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth, the UNMGCY Carolina is pursuing her B.Sc in Mechanical Engineering and works as a Fellowship Program Coordinator at Engineering for Change and Research & Administrative Assistant at the Fab Lab in Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá.
She has four years of experience working and volunteering in the global development sector and is currently involved in projects that aim to create bridges between people and manufacturing technologies to strengthen the capacity of vulnerable communities in Panama to develop local solutions to waste challenges by creating eco-products and green entrepreneurship initiatives. Her interests in the circular economy led her to co-found Re-inventa, an NGO led by young professionals who are working with local communities in Panama to promote citizen participation in the circular economy through local waste transformation efforts.
Carolina contributes to sustainable development efforts both through engineering and science policy, she serves as Technology Focal Point for the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth, and as Public Policy Liaison for IEEE Entrepreneurship. Her ultimate goal as a professional is to develop projects where access to appropriate technology is considered a catalyst for the socio-economic growth of local communities.
Panel discussion
24 October 2021
Circular Economy ICT
Circular Economy ICT
Integrating local approaches for global sustainable development
24/10/2021, 14:00 - 15:30 GST (Dubai)
12:00 - 13:30 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)
11:00 - 12:30 WAT (Nigeria)
06:00 - 07:30 EDT (New York)
19:00 - 20:30 KST (Seoul)
18:00 - 19:30 CST (Beijing)
15:30 - 17:00 IST (New Delhi)
07:00 - 08:30 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)
The principle of circular economy is being adopted in policy strategies around the world, based on a common understanding. However, the starting points for transitioning to circularity are not consistent, because existing local habits, consumption and production systems vary widely from place to place. The approach and tools developed for facilitating circular business will need to be adapted to local circumstances.
Circular economy naturally focuses on local product value chains. Aspects within various circular economies will therefore differ between regions. But this is no reason not to collaborate. We can learn a lot from each other and develop an overall circular economy together. Collaboration and solidarity are critical to meeting the world’s SDGs. And this will not be possible if markets remain guarded by closed-shop practices.
Digital technologies, however, are not bound by borders. They can connect every corner of the globe, making distance irrelevant. This is why digitalisation is a vital enabler for developing a common route towards sustainable development and sustainable management of materials.
The plenary session brings together international initiatives and programmes that aim to build circular economy expertise.
Welcome and opening remarks

Karl Vrancken
VITO
Research Manager Sustainable Materials
Karl Vrancken is Research Manager Sustainable Materials Management at VITO. He is responsible for the strategic management of VITO’s Materials programme. He also has a part-time position as professor at the University of Antwerp (Department of Bio-engineering), where he teaches sustainable resources management.
Karl has broad experience as a researcher and project manager in projects on sustainability assessment and transition, waste management and treatment, secondary raw materials, best available techniques (BAT) and integrated pollution prevention and control. He has also worked as a Detached National Expert with the European IPPC Bureau in Seville (Spain), where he was the author of the BAT Reference Document for the Foundries sector.
Karl is the initiator and chairman of the European Circular Economy Research Alliance (ECERA) and strategic advisor to the European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials for a Green Economy, a consortium of European organisations working in partnership with the European Environment Agency (EEA). During its start-up phase, he was interim Chief Operations Officer to the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) EIT RawMaterials that was founded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
He is an expert speaker on circular economy in the media and at various national and international conferences.
Statements

Ke Wang
PACE
Knowledge Lead
PACE is a global community of leaders working together to accelerate transition to a circular economy. As Knowledge Lead, Ke oversees PACE’s content development and knowledge management. She led development of the PACE Circular Economy Action Agenda, which integrates insights from over 100 organisations and is designed to be a rallying call for business, government, and civil society. Ke has also been a driving force behind mobilising the PACE community to turn calls-to-action into actual, impactful action.
Prior to joining PACE, Ke accumulated over 10 years’ experience leading interdisciplinary research and innovation teams in both public and private sectors. Her work with these included setting up large European projects such as Horizon2020 CIRCUSOL. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University and an Executive MBA from Rotterdam School of Management.

Lieze Cloots
OVAM / European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP)
Head international policy team
Lieze Cloots is Head of International Policy at OVAM, the Flanders region’s Public Waste Agency, for whom she has organised events such as the WRF’19 on Resources and Circular Economy held in Antwerp. Since 2017 she has been a member of the coordination group for the EU CE Stakeholder platform (ECESP), the European stakeholder network for circular economy that shares good practices, disseminates knowledge and stimulates dialogue and cooperation.
Lieze is the lead expert for Belgium on the European Circular Economy Action Plan. She has over 20 years’ experience in environment and sustainability policymaking and civil society action, at both national and international level. She has represented Belgium in UN negotiations on sustainable development, chemicals, GMOs, the Aarhus Convention and EU waste legislation.
Cloots has been legal advisor to the Belgian Federal Minister of Environment and was policy director for Bond Beter Leefmilieu, the federation of environment NGOs in Flanders. Lieze has also held board member roles for several Belgian and European organisations associated with sustainable development and is a full member of the Club of Rome EU Chapter. She holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven and a master’s in EU law from the Université de Liege.

Susanne Karcher
WRF
Co-Founder and Executive; National Project Coordinator, ACEN
After completing her studies in Chemical Engineering in Germany, Susanne Karcher founded EnviroSense CC (an Environmental Consultancy) in Cape Town in 1999. Her company specialises in planning, development and facilitation of tailor-made governmental, industrial/commercial and residential “Integrated Resource and Waste Management” programmes ultimately geared towards pollution prevention.
Susanne is a qualified RECP (Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production) end-use level trainer with the NCPC and a founding member of the African Circular Economy Network. She also provides voluntary mentoring services as a member of the globally operating Circular Economy Club.
As a one-woman consultancy, and in her former role as the Chair of the Southern African e-Waste Alliance, Susanne specialised in furthering collaborative, safe and inclusive WEEE management at an early point in her career. In 2014 she was appointed as part of a national task team that developed a WEEE Industrial Waste Plan, which was only this year replaced by the formulation and introduction of WEEE EPR-based regulation for South Africa.
Since her first encounter with Empa visiting South Africa (back in 2003), Susanne systematically built and cultivated strong relationships with both Empa and the World Resources Forum in the years that followed. As part of an international round table led by the WRF, she contributed to the development of various signature research publications and projects including the ISO IWA Guidance Principles, the related “Worst to Good Practices” fact sheets and the UNEP “Eco-e Manual: Electronics Supplement”. Susanne also assisted the GIZ with SRI-led training initiatives in Ghana and South Africa.
At the end of 2020, Susanne was appointed by WRF and Empa as the National Coordinator for Phase 2 of the SRI South Africa project (2020-2023).
Debate

Ke Wang
PACE
Knowledge Lead
PACE is a global community of leaders working together to accelerate transition to a circular economy. As Knowledge Lead, Ke oversees PACE’s content development and knowledge management. She led development of the PACE Circular Economy Action Agenda, which integrates insights from over 100 organisations and is designed to be a rallying call for business, government, and civil society. Ke has also been a driving force behind mobilising the PACE community to turn calls-to-action into actual, impactful action.
Prior to joining PACE, Ke accumulated over 10 years’ experience leading interdisciplinary research and innovation teams in both public and private sectors. Her work with these included setting up large European projects such as Horizon2020 CIRCUSOL. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University and an Executive MBA from Rotterdam School of Management.

Lieze Cloots
OVAM / European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP)
Head international policy team
Lieze Cloots is Head of International Policy at OVAM, the Flanders region’s Public Waste Agency, for whom she has organised events such as the WRF’19 on Resources and Circular Economy held in Antwerp. Since 2017 she has been a member of the coordination group for the EU CE Stakeholder platform (ECESP), the European stakeholder network for circular economy that shares good practices, disseminates knowledge and stimulates dialogue and cooperation.
Lieze is the lead expert for Belgium on the European Circular Economy Action Plan. She has over 20 years’ experience in environment and sustainability policymaking and civil society action, at both national and international level. She has represented Belgium in UN negotiations on sustainable development, chemicals, GMOs, the Aarhus Convention and EU waste legislation.
Cloots has been legal advisor to the Belgian Federal Minister of Environment and was policy director for Bond Beter Leefmilieu, the federation of environment NGOs in Flanders. Lieze has also held board member roles for several Belgian and European organisations associated with sustainable development and is a full member of the Club of Rome EU Chapter. She holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven and a master’s in EU law from the Université de Liege.

Susanne Karcher
WRF
Co-Founder and Executive; National Project Coordinator, ACEN
After completing her studies in Chemical Engineering in Germany, Susanne Karcher founded EnviroSense CC (an Environmental Consultancy) in Cape Town in 1999. Her company specialises in planning, development and facilitation of tailor-made governmental, industrial/commercial and residential “Integrated Resource and Waste Management” programmes ultimately geared towards pollution prevention.
Susanne is a qualified RECP (Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production) end-use level trainer with the NCPC and a founding member of the African Circular Economy Network. She also provides voluntary mentoring services as a member of the globally operating Circular Economy Club.
As a one-woman consultancy, and in her former role as the Chair of the Southern African e-Waste Alliance, Susanne specialised in furthering collaborative, safe and inclusive WEEE management at an early point in her career. In 2014 she was appointed as part of a national task team that developed a WEEE Industrial Waste Plan, which was only this year replaced by the formulation and introduction of WEEE EPR-based regulation for South Africa.
Since her first encounter with Empa visiting South Africa (back in 2003), Susanne systematically built and cultivated strong relationships with both Empa and the World Resources Forum in the years that followed. As part of an international round table led by the WRF, she contributed to the development of various signature research publications and projects including the ISO IWA Guidance Principles, the related “Worst to Good Practices” fact sheets and the UNEP “Eco-e Manual: Electronics Supplement”. Susanne also assisted the GIZ with SRI-led training initiatives in Ghana and South Africa.
At the end of 2020, Susanne was appointed by WRF and Empa as the National Coordinator for Phase 2 of the SRI South Africa project (2020-2023).
Conclusions

Karl Vrancken
VITO
Research Manager Sustainable Materials
Karl Vrancken is Research Manager Sustainable Materials Management at VITO. He is responsible for the strategic management of VITO’s Materials programme. He also has a part-time position as professor at the University of Antwerp (Department of Bio-engineering), where he teaches sustainable resources management.
Karl has broad experience as a researcher and project manager in projects on sustainability assessment and transition, waste management and treatment, secondary raw materials, best available techniques (BAT) and integrated pollution prevention and control. He has also worked as a Detached National Expert with the European IPPC Bureau in Seville (Spain), where he was the author of the BAT Reference Document for the Foundries sector.
Karl is the initiator and chairman of the European Circular Economy Research Alliance (ECERA) and strategic advisor to the European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials for a Green Economy, a consortium of European organisations working in partnership with the European Environment Agency (EEA). During its start-up phase, he was interim Chief Operations Officer to the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) EIT RawMaterials that was founded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
He is an expert speaker on circular economy in the media and at various national and international conferences.
25 October 2021
Circular Economy ICT
Circular Economy ICT
Integrating local approaches for global sustainable development
25/10/2021, 11:15 - 12:45 GST (Dubai)
09:15 - 10:45 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)
08:15 - 09:45 WAT (Nigeria)
03:15 - 04:45 EDT (New York)
16:15 - 17:45 KST (Seoul)
15:15 - 16:45 CST (Beijing)
12:45 - 14:15 IST (New Delhi)
04:15 - 05:45 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)
The principle of circular economy is being adopted in policy strategies around the world, based on a common understanding. However, the starting points for transitioning to circularity are not consistent, because existing local habits, consumption and production systems vary widely from place to place. The approach and tools developed for facilitating circular business will need to be adapted to local circumstances.
Circular economy naturally focuses on local product value chains. Aspects within various circular economies will therefore differ between regions. But this is no reason not to collaborate. We can learn a lot from each other and develop an overall circular economy together. Collaboration and solidarity are critical to meeting the world’s SDGs. And this will not be possible if markets remain guarded by closed-shop practices.
Digital technologies, however, are not bound by borders. They can connect every corner of the globe, making distance irrelevant. This is why digitalisation is a vital enabler for developing a common route towards sustainable development and sustainable management of materials.
The plenary session brings together international initiatives and programmes that aim to build circular economy expertise.
Welcome and opening remarks

Karl Vrancken
VITO
Research Manager Sustainable Materials
Karl Vrancken is Research Manager Sustainable Materials Management at VITO. He is responsible for the strategic management of VITO’s Materials programme. He also has a part-time position as professor at the University of Antwerp (Department of Bio-engineering), where he teaches sustainable resources management.
Karl has broad experience as a researcher and project manager in projects on sustainability assessment and transition, waste management and treatment, secondary raw materials, best available techniques (BAT) and integrated pollution prevention and control. He has also worked as a Detached National Expert with the European IPPC Bureau in Seville (Spain), where he was the author of the BAT Reference Document for the Foundries sector.
Karl is the initiator and chairman of the European Circular Economy Research Alliance (ECERA) and strategic advisor to the European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials for a Green Economy, a consortium of European organisations working in partnership with the European Environment Agency (EEA). During its start-up phase, he was interim Chief Operations Officer to the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) EIT RawMaterials that was founded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
He is an expert speaker on circular economy in the media and at various national and international conferences.
Statements

Lieze Cloots
OVAM / European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP)
Head international policy team
Lieze Cloots is Head of International Policy at OVAM, the Flanders region’s Public Waste Agency, for whom she has organised events such as the WRF’19 on Resources and Circular Economy held in Antwerp. Since 2017 she has been a member of the coordination group for the EU CE Stakeholder platform (ECESP), the European stakeholder network for circular economy that shares good practices, disseminates knowledge and stimulates dialogue and cooperation.
Lieze is the lead expert for Belgium on the European Circular Economy Action Plan. She has over 20 years’ experience in environment and sustainability policymaking and civil society action, at both national and international level. She has represented Belgium in UN negotiations on sustainable development, chemicals, GMOs, the Aarhus Convention and EU waste legislation.
Cloots has been legal advisor to the Belgian Federal Minister of Environment and was policy director for Bond Beter Leefmilieu, the federation of environment NGOs in Flanders. Lieze has also held board member roles for several Belgian and European organisations associated with sustainable development and is a full member of the Club of Rome EU Chapter. She holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven and a master’s in EU law from the Université de Liege.

Ke Wang
PACE
Knowledge Lead
PACE is a global community of leaders working together to accelerate transition to a circular economy. As Knowledge Lead, Ke oversees PACE’s content development and knowledge management. She led development of the PACE Circular Economy Action Agenda, which integrates insights from over 100 organisations and is designed to be a rallying call for business, government, and civil society. Ke has also been a driving force behind mobilising the PACE community to turn calls-to-action into actual, impactful action.
Prior to joining PACE, Ke accumulated over 10 years’ experience leading interdisciplinary research and innovation teams in both public and private sectors. Her work with these included setting up large European projects such as Horizon2020 CIRCUSOL. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University and an Executive MBA from Rotterdam School of Management.

Susanne Karcher
WRF
Co-Founder and Executive; National Project Coordinator, ACEN
After completing her studies in Chemical Engineering in Germany, Susanne Karcher founded EnviroSense CC (an Environmental Consultancy) in Cape Town in 1999. Her company specialises in planning, development and facilitation of tailor-made governmental, industrial/commercial and residential “Integrated Resource and Waste Management” programmes ultimately geared towards pollution prevention.
Susanne is a qualified RECP (Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production) end-use level trainer with the NCPC and a founding member of the African Circular Economy Network. She also provides voluntary mentoring services as a member of the globally operating Circular Economy Club.
As a one-woman consultancy, and in her former role as the Chair of the Southern African e-Waste Alliance, Susanne specialised in furthering collaborative, safe and inclusive WEEE management at an early point in her career. In 2014 she was appointed as part of a national task team that developed a WEEE Industrial Waste Plan, which was only this year replaced by the formulation and introduction of WEEE EPR-based regulation for South Africa.
Since her first encounter with Empa visiting South Africa (back in 2003), Susanne systematically built and cultivated strong relationships with both Empa and the World Resources Forum in the years that followed. As part of an international round table led by the WRF, she contributed to the development of various signature research publications and projects including the ISO IWA Guidance Principles, the related “Worst to Good Practices” fact sheets and the UNEP “Eco-e Manual: Electronics Supplement”. Susanne also assisted the GIZ with SRI-led training initiatives in Ghana and South Africa.
At the end of 2020, Susanne was appointed by WRF and Empa as the National Coordinator for Phase 2 of the SRI South Africa project (2020-2023).
Debate

Ke Wang
PACE
Knowledge Lead
PACE is a global community of leaders working together to accelerate transition to a circular economy. As Knowledge Lead, Ke oversees PACE’s content development and knowledge management. She led development of the PACE Circular Economy Action Agenda, which integrates insights from over 100 organisations and is designed to be a rallying call for business, government, and civil society. Ke has also been a driving force behind mobilising the PACE community to turn calls-to-action into actual, impactful action.
Prior to joining PACE, Ke accumulated over 10 years’ experience leading interdisciplinary research and innovation teams in both public and private sectors. Her work with these included setting up large European projects such as Horizon2020 CIRCUSOL. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University and an Executive MBA from Rotterdam School of Management.

Lieze Cloots
OVAM / European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ECESP)
Head international policy team
Lieze Cloots is Head of International Policy at OVAM, the Flanders region’s Public Waste Agency, for whom she has organised events such as the WRF’19 on Resources and Circular Economy held in Antwerp. Since 2017 she has been a member of the coordination group for the EU CE Stakeholder platform (ECESP), the European stakeholder network for circular economy that shares good practices, disseminates knowledge and stimulates dialogue and cooperation.
Lieze is the lead expert for Belgium on the European Circular Economy Action Plan. She has over 20 years’ experience in environment and sustainability policymaking and civil society action, at both national and international level. She has represented Belgium in UN negotiations on sustainable development, chemicals, GMOs, the Aarhus Convention and EU waste legislation.
Cloots has been legal advisor to the Belgian Federal Minister of Environment and was policy director for Bond Beter Leefmilieu, the federation of environment NGOs in Flanders. Lieze has also held board member roles for several Belgian and European organisations associated with sustainable development and is a full member of the Club of Rome EU Chapter. She holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven and a master’s in EU law from the Université de Liege.

Susanne Karcher
WRF
Co-Founder and Executive; National Project Coordinator, ACEN
After completing her studies in Chemical Engineering in Germany, Susanne Karcher founded EnviroSense CC (an Environmental Consultancy) in Cape Town in 1999. Her company specialises in planning, development and facilitation of tailor-made governmental, industrial/commercial and residential “Integrated Resource and Waste Management” programmes ultimately geared towards pollution prevention.
Susanne is a qualified RECP (Resource Efficiency and Cleaner Production) end-use level trainer with the NCPC and a founding member of the African Circular Economy Network. She also provides voluntary mentoring services as a member of the globally operating Circular Economy Club.
As a one-woman consultancy, and in her former role as the Chair of the Southern African e-Waste Alliance, Susanne specialised in furthering collaborative, safe and inclusive WEEE management at an early point in her career. In 2014 she was appointed as part of a national task team that developed a WEEE Industrial Waste Plan, which was only this year replaced by the formulation and introduction of WEEE EPR-based regulation for South Africa.
Since her first encounter with Empa visiting South Africa (back in 2003), Susanne systematically built and cultivated strong relationships with both Empa and the World Resources Forum in the years that followed. As part of an international round table led by the WRF, she contributed to the development of various signature research publications and projects including the ISO IWA Guidance Principles, the related “Worst to Good Practices” fact sheets and the UNEP “Eco-e Manual: Electronics Supplement”. Susanne also assisted the GIZ with SRI-led training initiatives in Ghana and South Africa.
At the end of 2020, Susanne was appointed by WRF and Empa as the National Coordinator for Phase 2 of the SRI South Africa project (2020-2023).
Conclusions

Karl Vrancken
VITO
Research Manager Sustainable Materials
Karl Vrancken is Research Manager Sustainable Materials Management at VITO. He is responsible for the strategic management of VITO’s Materials programme. He also has a part-time position as professor at the University of Antwerp (Department of Bio-engineering), where he teaches sustainable resources management.
Karl has broad experience as a researcher and project manager in projects on sustainability assessment and transition, waste management and treatment, secondary raw materials, best available techniques (BAT) and integrated pollution prevention and control. He has also worked as a Detached National Expert with the European IPPC Bureau in Seville (Spain), where he was the author of the BAT Reference Document for the Foundries sector.
Karl is the initiator and chairman of the European Circular Economy Research Alliance (ECERA) and strategic advisor to the European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials for a Green Economy, a consortium of European organisations working in partnership with the European Environment Agency (EEA). During its start-up phase, he was interim Chief Operations Officer to the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) EIT RawMaterials that was founded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
He is an expert speaker on circular economy in the media and at various national and international conferences.
Circular Economy
Circular Economy
Circular textiles
25/10/2021, 14:00 - 15:30 GST (Dubai)
12:00 - 13:30 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)
11:00 - 12:30 WAT (Nigeria)
06:00 - 07:30 EDT (New York)
19:00 - 20:30 KST (Seoul)
18:00 - 19:30 CST (Beijing)
15:30 - 17:00 IST (New Delhi)
07:00 - 08:30 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)
Textiles is a key product category in the European Circular Economy Action Plan. Although there is a long history of collection and reuse of textiles, the existing system is largely based on international trade and minimisation of costs. Achieving sustainability and circularity will only come through systemic change, which will have to consider all aspects of the SDGs. Flexible electronics embedded within textiles for functional and aesthetic reasons is a rapidly emerging phenomenon. These enable tracking and tracing for materials management, but may also complicate recycling of fibres.
Chaired by

Karl Vrancken
VITO
Research Manager Sustainable Materials
Karl Vrancken is Research Manager Sustainable Materials Management at VITO. He is responsible for the strategic management of VITO’s Materials programme. He also has a part-time position as professor at the University of Antwerp (Department of Bio-engineering), where he teaches sustainable resources management.
Karl has broad experience as a researcher and project manager in projects on sustainability assessment and transition, waste management and treatment, secondary raw materials, best available techniques (BAT) and integrated pollution prevention and control. He has also worked as a Detached National Expert with the European IPPC Bureau in Seville (Spain), where he was the author of the BAT Reference Document for the Foundries sector.
Karl is the initiator and chairman of the European Circular Economy Research Alliance (ECERA) and strategic advisor to the European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials for a Green Economy, a consortium of European organisations working in partnership with the European Environment Agency (EEA). During its start-up phase, he was interim Chief Operations Officer to the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) EIT RawMaterials that was founded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
He is an expert speaker on circular economy in the media and at various national and international conferences.
The SCIRT project: developing a circular value chain in Europe

Tom Duhoux
VITO
Expert Circular Economy
Tom Duhoux has more than 10 years of experience in applying sustainability and circularity principles in businesses. As well as co-founding a sustainability consultancy, he has proven the concept of circular business innovation in the textiles industry by founding the circular denim brand HNST. Prior to embarking on his consultancy work, Tom worked in waste management in Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. Tom is currently a Circular Economy researcher at VITO, involved in various projects to do with circular textiles.
Spinning threads: the potential of agrofood-residues for fully biobased textiles in 2050. First in Asia, then in the world.

Michiel Scheffer
WUR
Programme Manager Sustainable Textiles
Michiel Scheffer is a Doctor in economic geography (Utrecht, 1992). He has worked for the Dutch fashion industry association Modint, been a professor at Saxion in Enschede and held the position of Gelderland Regional Minister for Economy, Education and International Affairs. Dr Scheffer is currently the Programme Manager for Sustainable Textiles at Wageningen University & Research.
Using digital technologies and ecosystems to drive towards a more sustainable textiles and fashion industry

Julie Lietaer
European Spinning Group
Co-CEO
Julie is holds a master’s degree in Financial Management from Vlerick Business School. She has several years of experience as a business consultant at Arthur D Little and business analyst at Barco.
She is active as a board member of the Belgian textile federation Fedustria, Textirama Foundation and various educational institutes in Belgium. Julie’s expertise lies in knowledge of fibres and sustainable yarns, as well as in circular product development projects.
Fiber Traceability

Tobias Herzog
Tailorlux
CEO
Q&A
Circular Economy ICT
Circular Economy ICT
Digital technologies for urban mining
25/10/2021, 15:45 - 17:15 GST (Dubai)
13:45 - 15:15 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)
12:45 - 14:15 WAT (Nigeria)
07:45 - 09:15 EDT (New York)
20:45 - 22:15 KST (Seoul)
19:45 - 21:15 CST (Beijing)
17:15 - 18:45 IST (New Delhi)
08:45 - 10:15 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)
Increasing the circularity of our materials system requires increased recovery of metals from the urban mine. Recycling processes depend on feed materials with a known and constant composition. Extracting these from end-of-life products thereby requires controlled, high-quality processing. This is an area where more effort and automation are needed. Artificial Intelligence has a valuable role to play, as it can be used to characterise and separate complex products and mixed material flows. Novel technologies are entering the market.
Chaired by

Karl Vrancken
VITO
Research Manager Sustainable Materials
Karl Vrancken is Research Manager Sustainable Materials Management at VITO. He is responsible for the strategic management of VITO’s Materials programme. He also has a part-time position as professor at the University of Antwerp (Department of Bio-engineering), where he teaches sustainable resources management.
Karl has broad experience as a researcher and project manager in projects on sustainability assessment and transition, waste management and treatment, secondary raw materials, best available techniques (BAT) and integrated pollution prevention and control. He has also worked as a Detached National Expert with the European IPPC Bureau in Seville (Spain), where he was the author of the BAT Reference Document for the Foundries sector.
Karl is the initiator and chairman of the European Circular Economy Research Alliance (ECERA) and strategic advisor to the European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials for a Green Economy, a consortium of European organisations working in partnership with the European Environment Agency (EEA). During its start-up phase, he was interim Chief Operations Officer to the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) EIT RawMaterials that was founded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
He is an expert speaker on circular economy in the media and at various national and international conferences.
Controlled processing of end-of-life products and goods for high grade recovery

Caroline Craenhals
Belgian Scrap Terminal Group
CEO, Co-owner
Caroline Craenhals was born and raised in the recycling business. Her great grandfather saw there was value in discarded metals and founded Belgian Scrap Terminal. As she grew up, surrounded by heavy machinery, steel and port terminals, her choices in life were always inspired by the family business.
Caroline studied commercial engineering at VUB Solvay Management School and graduated with great distinction with her thesis “Management of automotive shredder residues”. After specialising further, in 2015 she was invited to join a select group of businesswomen from all around the world taking part in “The Women Entrepreneur Program”, an exclusive leadership programme at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Having accumulated years of management experience in the family recycling business’s branches around Western Europe, Caroline is now CEO and co-owner of Belgian Scrap Terminal Group, which supplies the global market with 1.5 million tonnes of valuable and natural resources via the Port of Antwerp.
Under her watch, Belgian Scrap Terminal has evolved from a purely revenue-driven company into a value-driven one, with a genuine passion for recycling.
Caroline strongly believes in an ecosystem where collaboration, smart recycling and urban mining leave nothing to waste.
Machine learning for characterisation of WEEE

Eric Dewaet
Recupel
CEO/COO

Steven Latré
Imec
Director Research Centre
Steven Latré is a professor at the University of Antwerp and a director at the Imec research centre in Belgium. He leads the IDLab Antwerp research group (100+ members), which is performing applied and fundamental research in the area of communication networks and distributed intelligence. His personal research interests are in the domain of low-power machine learning and its application to wireless network optimisation.
AI-based characterisation of streams containing mixed metals

Kris Broos
VITO
Expert Sustainable Materials
Kris Broos graduated as an environmental engineer in 1999 and obtained a PhD in Applied and Biological Sciences in 2003 at the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium). After 5 years of environmental research at CSIRO Land and Water in Australia, Kris moved back to Belgium to work at VITO, the Flemish Institute for Technological Research.
With a track record of more than 35 SCI papers and strong involvement in several large EU projects (H2020, EIT Raw Materials, Interreg), Kris has become an expert on Sustainable Materials Management, particularly in the field of transformation of inorganic waste streams into new resources and products. The recycling of construction and demolition waste, metal slags and industrial waste streams are among his main focus areas.
Kris is currently exploring a new strategic research line on the use of sensor-based technologies and machine learning for the inline characterisation of heterogeneous waste streams.
Distributed Ledger Technology for transparency and accountability in the recycling system

Stan Chen
RecycleGO
CEO & Co-Founder
An eco-entrepreneur, Stan’s passion for sustainability along with 20+ years of experience in the recycling industry has provided the knowledge needed to design and develop ever-innovative solutions for the recycling industry, the economy, and the environment.
Q&A
26 October 2021
Circular Economy ICT
Circular Economy ICT
Paving the twin transition (single) road
26/10/2021, 14:00 - 15:30 GST (Dubai)
12:00 - 13:30 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)
11:00 - 12:30 WAT (Nigeria)
06:00 - 07:30 EDT (New York)
19:00 - 20:30 KST (Seoul)
18:00 - 19:30 CST (Beijing)
15:30 - 17:00 IST (New Delhi)
07:00 - 08:30 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)
Shifting EU industry onto green and digital pathways is now being characterised as a twin transition. A recent study for the European Environmental Agency, conducted by the European Topic Centre on Waste and Materials in a Green Economy, analyses the opportunities Industry 4.0 presents for reducing our production systems’ environmental impact.
With a focus on enabling and sustaining circular economy strategies, the study looked at the ability of digitalisation and Industry 4.0 as a systemic approach.
This session builds on the findings of this study, and speakers will discuss ways of guiding and co-creating a sustainable twin transition.
Chaired by

Holger Berg
Wuppertal Institute
Co-Head Digital Transformation Research Unit
Holger Berg is Co-Head of the Digital Transformation Research Unit and Vice Director of Circular Economy at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. His research interests focus on what digital transformation means to sustainable development, in terms of opportunities and influences, with particular regard to industrial transformation. Berg looks at these topics from the perspective of ecological-business benefits, technological implementation and political design.
Holger Berg is the author of several studies on the connection between digitalisation and sustainability, with a focus on circular economy. In his expert capacity, he supports various national and international organisations and advises governments and the EU on issues related to digital transformation and the circular economy.
Introduction

Holger Berg
Wuppertal Institute
Co-Head Digital Transformation Research Unit
Holger Berg is Co-Head of the Digital Transformation Research Unit and Vice Director of Circular Economy at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy. His research interests focus on what digital transformation means to sustainable development, in terms of opportunities and influences, with particular regard to industrial transformation. Berg looks at these topics from the perspective of ecological-business benefits, technological implementation and political design.
Holger Berg is the author of several studies on the connection between digitalisation and sustainability, with a focus on circular economy. In his expert capacity, he supports various national and international organisations and advises governments and the EU on issues related to digital transformation and the circular economy.
Unlocking the potential of Industry 4.0 to reduce the environmental impact of production

Juan Calero
European Environment Agency
Expert – Industry and the environment
Juan is an expert in industrial pollution and environment at the European Environment Agency (EEA). He leads assessments and policy support activities around the interface between industry and environment, as well as coordinating the monitoring and reporting of industrial emission data, notably the integrated reporting to the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) and the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) reporting requirements.
As part of his role, Juan manages projects to do with the role of consumer electronics in the circular economy and on unlocking Industry 4.0’s potential to reduce the environmental impact of production. Prior to working at the Agency, Juan was a principal consultant and project manager in a consultancy firm, where his work focused on assessing European and UK environmental policy, especially related to industrial emissions, chemicals, and air quality.
The European perspective on the Green Digital Transition

Almut Nagel
European Commission Directorate General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology
Policy Officer
Almut Nagel is currently Seconded National Expert to the European Commission, Directorate General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology, in the unit CNECT.F.1 “Digital Transformation – Coordination of Digital Strategy and Green ICT”. She is policy officer in the field of Green Digital Transformation and works among other things on the European Digital Product Passport and with businesses of the European Green Digital Coalition towards methodologies to measure the net environmental impact of ICT solutions.

Matthias Kuom
European Commission Directorate General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology
Policy Officer
Matthias Kuom is currently Seconded National Expert to the European Commission, Directorate General for Communication Networks, Content and Technology, in the new unit CNECT.A.4 “Digital Transformation of Industrial Ecosystems”. Here he works on topics such as digital platforms for industry and implementation of Digital Innovation Hubs within the Digital Europe Programme. He drives forward the topics of Industry 4.0, Data Spaces as well as business models and innovation strategies in the data economy.
Identity in a circular future

Susanne Guth-Orlowski
Spherity
Chief Innovation and Solution Officer
Susanne is Chief Innovation & Solution Officer at Spherity – a decentralised identity company. Her background is in security technology and she has 20 years hands-on, technical experience in cryptography. After leading technical teams of large German mobile network operators, she moved to more business-related roles, where she drove sales, business development, partnerships and roadmap activities for IT-security services and products.
Today, Susanne consults with companies on how to define IT-Security products & services and bring them to market. She is a strong believer that technology can help the climate goals to be reached and is currently engaged in defining the technical concepts for a digital, decentralised battery product passport to facilitate better recycling and reuse of batteries.
Digital transformation in the steel industry

Khalil Efendiev
CELSA Group
Innovation Manager Industry 4.0
Khalil is a forward-thinking and results-driven professional with eight years of experience in manufacturing environments. He joined CELSA Group’s innovation team in 2017 as Innovation and Service Designer, where current focus areas are Industry 4.0 and Digital Transformation.
Q&A
Top experts
Circular Economy

Mishal Amer Mohamed Al Riyamy
Section Head-Learning, Development and Conferences

Marios Antoniou
Head Interconnection and Mobile Services National Wholesale Market

Andre Dzikus
Chief Urban Basic Services

Daker El-Rabaya
CEO of BEEAH Recycling

Carolina Rojas

Carlos RV Silva Filho
President
Thematic coordinator
Circular Economy

Karl Vrancken
Research Manager Sustainable Materials