With the revised EU Circular Economy Package due to be announced in October, this year’s Circular Economy Connect (CEC) Zone and Theatre at RWM 2015 will address the major shift in attitudes to raw materials and resources that is needed, with practical insight to help develop more sustainable business models.
Show organisers, i2i Events Group in partnership with the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management will provide visitors to RWM at the NEC in Birmingham, from 15-17 September, with an extensive schedule of keynote speakers, panel debates, workshops and case studies.
Building on last year’s successful debut, the event’s Circular Economy Connect Zone, backed by industry partner, SUEZ, will incorporate ground-breaking developments in resource management against the backdrop of current national and international resource management policy and the business landscape.
Mr Karl Falkenberg, Environment Director General of the European Commission, will address delegates with a keynote speech. Mr Falkenberg has played a pivotal role in drafting both the original and revised EU Circular Economy proposals.
Undoubtedly the crucial focus for this year, any new European legislation will impact not only upon the waste and resource management sector, but also on the manufacturing, retail, transport, agricultural and services sectors. Representatives from across these industries will be discussing steps to make the circular economy work.
This year’s programme, supported by key media partner Guardian Sustainable Business and chaired by environmental journalist, Maxine Perella, features companies that have already adopted circular economy principles, helping to inform and inspire the whole supply chain.
Barry Dennis, Chair of RWM said: “Moving to a circular economy requires effort to understand and undertake change and collaboration is key to its success. Content at this year’s RWM is designed to help companies of all sizes understand how they can work towards a closed-loop model and save valuable resources, whilst also helping to build a sustainable economy.”
Key themes that will be addressed include government intervention, global impacts, future orientated design concepts, corporate responsibility and behaviour change. These topics and more will be discussed and debated by a range of experts including Helga Vanthournout of McKinsey & Company; Ed Gillespie of Futerra; eco-designer Oliver Heath; Suez UK CEO, David Palmer-Jones; Viridor CEO, Ian McAulay; Zero Waste Scotland CEO, Iain Gulland and Gin Tidridge, Sustainability Specialist at B&Q.