On 16 June the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to Central Europe invited to a Business Round Table on the topic “Circular Economy: Practical experiences and discussion”. The webinar was held together with the Vienna University for Business & Economics. The panel brought together international private and institutional experts to discuss the potential of circular economy in order to reach a sustainable impact in various sectors. The event and the fruitful Q&A session were held in English via Zoom and is now available on our channel.
The main objective of this online event was to share real experiences in the field of Circular Economy and explain its opportunities and challenges to a wider audience.
The speakers explained their points of view on the topic departing from their different fields of expertise:
· Cañellas Grifoll, Mireia, Head of the Sustainable Development unit, Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda.
· Friedl, Harald, EC Advisory Committee, World Economic Forum.
· Martinuzzi, Andre, Professor and Head of the Institute of Sustainability Management, Vienna University for Business & Economics.
· Yaneva, Elena, Co-founder of Hempstatic.
· Schreiber, Krystyna, Delegate of the Generalitat de Catalunya for Central Europe.
Experts such as Andre Martunizzi, Professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, underlined the urge to change our use of resources, for example for fast fashion: “we wear new pants on average only 3,5 times”. Mireia Cañellas, head of the Sustainable Development unit, said that “Catalonia as a pioneer in Circular Economy will push further goals included in a new roadmap coming this year”. She explained that Catalonia has launched a multitude of public incentives such as training, seminars, grants, competitions, and extensive cooperation with European institutions to move towards this much-desired circular economy.
Elena Yaneva, Co-founder of Hempstatic explained that they offer workshops for students to raise awareness of Circular Economy and said: “To make a change, young people need to be included”. The advisor of Circle Economy, Harald Friedl from the World Economic Forum, suggested an international roadmap and cooperation between countries in order to reach a more sustainable economic model for the future generations.
The event finished with a very fruitful Q & A session between speakers and attendees from all four delegation’s countries as well as Catalonia.
