Inspiration in Helsinki
Written by Godelieve Cooymans
World Circular Economy Forum Helsinki… What an inspirational event! Proaxxes was present at the WCEF2019 in Helsinki, the third edition of this important and unique global forum, focusing this year on scaling up the circular economy and on taking action!
Perfectly organised by Sitra, the Finnish Fund for a Sustainable Future, in the beautiful Finlandia Hall designed by Alvar Aalto, the WCEF2019 presented a full three-day programme of workshops, lectures, round-table discussions, one-to-one meetings and many side events. Experts from all around the world presented the best practices and solutions in the wide variety of fields that circular economy is focusing on: construction, fashion, plastics, metrics, education, water, agriculture, waste, industry and many more. Circular economy also focuses on many areas of application, including countries, cities, businesses, banks, investment funds, and daily life.
We met and discussed with many people from different sectors and backgrounds, from The Netherlands, UK, Finland, Germany, Scotland, Canada and many more.
One outcome everyone agreed on was that cities are the most appropriate playground for rapidly developing the circular economy. Everyone also decided that Europe should take the lead in prompting awareness towards the circular economy as well as create funds and an action plan for its development.
Cities play a central role as engines of the global economy. Some 54% of the world’s population live in urban areas, and cities account for 85% of global GDP generation. Cities are also aggregators of materials and nutrients, accounting for 75% of natural resource consumption, 50% of global waste production and 60 to 80% of greenhouse gas emissions. We discussed how cities could lead the change towards a circular economy and act as platforms for innovation and business development in the circular economy.
We are diving into the disruptive circular thinking, taking up the challenge of promoting and servicing new circular business models
