Webinar: Empowering Knowledge Hubs for Circular Economy Transitions in Asia
Event Type: Webinar
Date & Time: 27 February 2025, at 18:00 – 19:30 (ICT)
Organizing Agencies: EU SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component on Sustainable Consumption and Production and the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP)
Location: Online (Zoom)
Link to Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OY7Qv3x_RAWl5mSuJqmKYg#/registration
Content:
This webinar, the third in the Circular Economy Knowledge Hubs Webinar Series, explores how knowledge hubs can enhance their impact and effectiveness in facilitating circular economy transitions. Co-organized by the EU SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component and the Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP), the webinar focuses on strengthening policy effectiveness, driving private sector participation and innovation, and building robust knowledge ecosystems. The series aims to contribute to a shared understanding of Circular Economy (CE) scope, aims, principles, and practices, utilizing a practical knowledge taxonomy and engaging regional and global circular economy knowledge and stakeholder platforms across Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
The transition to a circular economy is crucial for addressing global challenges, particularly unsustainable resource use and waste disposal, and their impacts on the environment, including climate change and nature. While knowledge platforms hold potential to support circular transitions, they need to further engage in facilitating these shifts. These hubs can play a vital role in fostering collaboration, sparking innovation, and enabling informed decision-making among diverse stakeholders. By bridging knowledge creation, dissemination, and application, they can support impactful CE innovations and effective policies.
Knowledge hubs are well-positioned to connect diverse expertise, including research-based insights, programmatic lessons learned, and practical approaches from industry leaders and SMEs. They can also incorporate participatory, community-driven, tacit, and traditional knowledge, bringing grassroots perspectives into CE dialogues. By synthesizing these streams, these platforms can support CE transitions while aligning expertise with policy priorities, economic needs, and stakeholder dynamics.
To fully realize their potential, knowledge hubs must actively engage with policymakers on policy and framework conditions and with the business sector on scalable circular solutions. Through informed content curation, communication, and advocacy, they can guide governments in developing and refining CE policies and regulatory frameworks. Facilitating best practice exchange and capacity-building initiatives can further empower decision-makers. For businesses, knowledge hubs can showcase good circularity practices and innovative solutions, inspiring broader adoption of the circular economy. They can also connect businesses and entrepreneurs through matchmaking.
Furthermore, knowledge hubs can address foundational challenges in knowledge sharing and utilization. By creating accessible resources and supporting data collection and monitoring frameworks, they can enable stakeholders to track CE progress with harmonized metrics. Integrating research and empirical insights will drive innovation and overcome barriers like data gaps and fragmented collaboration. Digital connections between hubs can ensure access to the latest knowledge and practices.
Agenda:
- 18:00: Welcome remarks and introduction (Zinaida FADEEVA, Team Leader, SWITCH Asia Policy Support Component)
- 18:05: Ice breaker with audience
- 18:10: Panel Discussion I – Knowledge to Policy: the importance of knowledge creation and curation (Moderator: Hannes MAC NULTY, Green Industry Platform Manager – GGKP)
- Kgauta MOKOENA, Chief Director, Chemicals and Waste Policy, Specialist Monitoring Services, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and The Environment, South Africa; Co-chair, African Circular Economy Alliance (ACEA)
- Dr. Venkatachalam ANBUMOZHI, Senior Research Fellow for Innovation, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia
- Chloe POTTINGER-GLASS, Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
- Daniel MAZURÉ, Head of Environment and Climate, UN Global Compact Network Germany
- 18:40: Q&A with the audience
- 18:50: Panel Discussion II – Strengthening Policy Implementation through Knowledge Hubs and Cross-sector Collaboration (Moderator: Rene VAN BERKEL, Circular Economy Expert, SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component)
- Tim FORSLUND, Senior Lead, Sitra International Programmes and EU Circular Economy Resource Centre
- Filipe CAMANO GARCIA, Manager and Lead, Global Circularity Protocol for Business, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
- Thomas THOMAS, Co-convenor, ASEAN Circular Economy Business Alliance (ACEBA); Chairman, ARAIBA Sdn Bhd
- Andrés ROJAS, Finance and Services Manager, CEMPRE Colombia
- Dr. Martin CALISTO FRIANT, Global Value Chains Lead, Circle Economy
- 19:25: Concluding remarks and next steps (Zinaida FADEEVA, Team Leader, SWITCH Asia Policy Support Component)
