The WCEF 2024 – A walk down memory lane or a fast track to a circular future?

It was in 2017 when I decided to focus again on my entrepreneurship, because I am convinced that that was and is where I can contribute the most in my mission to make the circular economy the new normal. I was kindly invited by Sandra Kolodzinskyi from the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO) to this years World Circular Economy Forum WCEF and since it was ‘around the corner’ in Brussel a perfect opportunity to “return” to this gathering of stakeholders from across the globe that also dedicated their professional (and personal) life to make the circular economy happen.

It was great to be at such an event, not being a speaker, not being the organizer, but simply as a circular entrepreneur. Attending again reminded me of the many nice people I have met in my life with a similar purpose. International friends like Ladeja Godina Ko?ir , Karin Huber-Heim Cathrine Barth Beatriz Luz Iain Gulland Martin Charter FRSA Igor Kos Kari Herlevi and many others that are still going strong ever since I met them during the NL circular hotspot campaign in 2016. It was also really fun to be part of a Dutch delegation a find ways to connect with the mission of Route Circulair

Of course, as frontrunners we all think the transition to the logical and inevitable circular economy is going too slow, but not being present at an event such as the WCEF for the last 7 years, I noticed some interesting improvements;

• The group of circular experts is growing. The group of people from the start is still present and very active. The opening words from Janez Potocnik , who as an EU commissioner initiated circular thinking in the EU commission with the launch of the CE package in 2014, reminded us why the circular economy is not just an opportunity to be innovative as a company, but that the shift from waste to resources is an urgent and underestimated topic. Not a new insight for the early birds, but certainly good to underline for the growing group of experts that the main driver should always be that we want to counter the fact that we exceed the planetary boundaries and have to keep pushing on how to decouple welfare growth from more resource use. He ended his presentation with the quote of Mahatma Gandhi. “The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed”
• We understand that this is a global system change, that demands a just transition. There are multiple drivers for a circular economy, access to resources, due to geopolitical shifts, is more prominent in the last couple of years. The WCEF is a global event. Hybrid so that people can join online and since it is organized in Brussel. Yes, there are more Europeans attending compared to attendees from other continents, but luckily the discussions on stage recognizes that we need to alter the supply chain on a global level. The strategic issue of having access to (critical) raw materials can lead to unnecessary protectionism or, even worse, lead to colonial behaviour. We need to be aware that the circular economy should not been seen as a threat by players in the current value chain. Innovating together in a global supply chain should be on an equitable basis.
• The personal level of involvement is growing. Spokespersons of institutions or ministries rely less on scripted answers. Most of the panellist are better informed about the circular economy and have gained personal learnings. i.e. Andrea Liverani of the World bank explaining why and how the ‘Ex’Tax’ philosophy would influence the viability of investments during one of the sessions on the role of finance. Good to see that this growing group of circular nerds builds on top of existing knowledge and lessons learned.

Although I am excited to be here and meet all these wonderful people, some personal expectations were not met:

• Where are the business leaders? With Route Circulair we work on a daily basis with corporates and SME’s where we implement circular changes. Being involved in investments I see many great start-ups, scale-ups and SME’s that are investing themselves in a circular transition. Most discussion on stage are on a high abstract level. Nothing wrong with that, but these discussion would become more vivid and tangible by using real life cases. The circular transition found its way in our daily life and many companies adopted a circular ambition and taking the first steps in implementing i.e. circular design principles, launching circular and biobased alternatives, so why not share the success factors and mistakes that where made and find ways to solve overarching problems.
• A picture says more than 1000 words, a real example says more than a million pictures. So why not highlight more examples on stage and have entrepreneurs explaining the dilemma’s they encounter. Be doing that, we can learn together and use these kind events to solve issues. ?
• Let’s show the world that we are working together on something magical! Yes the climate crises and the extreme loss in biodiversity are extremely serious issues, but let’s not forget that we need a positive vibrant community that attracts other stakeholders. More on a personal level, I directed my energy as an entrepreneur to a meaningful cause and circular economy can really be a powerful route to solve our global environmental challenges, but this commitment needs to be fuelled with positivity, energetic peers and indications that we are making progress.

In general is was good to be at this yearly global reunion and I am thankful to Sitra for facilitating this movement together with Circle Economy and the International Resource Panel (IRP) . Happy to continue on this circular mission and I am looking forward to see where we will be during the WCEF2025

Martijn Lopes Cardozo Marc de Wit Harald Friedl Kelsey Jansen Marieke Begthel-Spijkerboer John Vernooij Friso Pietersen Arnoud Passenier Arnoud Walrecht Bart Volkers Jacqueline Vaessen Arthur ten Wolde Janet de Rooy-Smid