The ‘largest annual environment conference in Europe’, Green Week, will begin tomorrow (3 June) at The Egg Conference Centre, Rue Bara, in Brussels.

Running for three days, Green Week 2014 will centre on the circular economy, resource efficiency and waste, and will see approximately 3000 participants discuss how Europe ‘must move from its current linear economic model towards a more circular one’.

It aims to show that the ‘logical solution’ for Europe in a resource constrained world is a more circular economy where almost nothing is wasted, where the reuse and remanufacturing of products is standard practice, and where sustainability is ‘built into the fabric of society’.

Conference programme

The conference opens with a summit on ‘New Environmentalism’, which will bring together celebrities, activists, entrepreneurs, leaders and film makers to discuss why green thinking has ‘not broken through into the mainstream of social discourse’. Using a TED style format, each speaker will draw on their personal experiences to outline what has worked and what has not worked over the past 40 years, and where they think the environmental movement needs to go from here.

Over the three-day conference, over 100 speakers will outline what can be done to improve resource efficiency, with organisations and companies showcasing best practices at a 40-stand exhibition which runs throughout the three days.

Talks include:

‘Waste targets for a circular economy – how can waste policy and legislation bring us towards meeting the objectives of the 7th EAP and the circular economy?’, 4 June, 09:30 - 11:00

This session will explore different paths that could be used in the transition to a circular economy, drawing on the practical experiences of public authorities and the waste management sector in eliminating landfilling and boosting re-use and recycling. Speakers include Peeter Eek, Director General of the Waste Department at Estonia’s Ministry of the Environment; Peter Kurth; President of FEAD (European Federation of Waste Management & Environmental Services); and Iain Gulland, Director of Zero Waste Scotland.

‘Resource efficiency: how to get investors on board?’, 4 June, 11:30 - 13:00

This session will identify how businesses can get investors to commit to resource efficient practices. Speakers for this session are: Jonas Byström, Senior Engineer for Water and Waste Management at the Projects Directorate in the European Investment Bank; Charles Anderson, Director of UNEP Finance Initiative; and Hendrik Tuch, Senior Portfolio Manager, AEGON Asset Management.

‘Business and resource efficiency’, 5 June, 11:30 - 13:00

This session will show some good practices and their potential for up-scaling from firms participating in the European Resource Efficiency Platform (EREP) and SPIRE (Sustainable Process Industry through Resource and Energy Efficiency), including Veolia, The Dow Chemical Company and Siemens AG.

‘Decoupling in practice: technologies and policies for improved resource productivity’, 5 June, 14:30 - 16:00

The UNEP-hosted International Resource Panel (IRP) will present the latest IRP assessment report, ‘Decoupling in practice’ at this session, exploring the conditions for national economies needed for future prosperity and identifying the barriers which can hold back effective policy change. Speakers will include Karl Falkenberg, Director-General for Environment, European Commission; Proffesor Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel (IRP), Co-President of The Club of Rome, and lead author of the Decoupling II report; and Proffesor Paul Ekins, Director at UCL Institute of Sustainable Resources and Vice-chair of Commissioner Janez Potocnik's group of economists.

Green Week will also host the official launch of the next round of the European Green Capital competition, inviting cities from across Europe to apply for the prestigious European Green Capital title in 2017.

Morten Kabell, Mayor of the Technical and Environmental Administration in Copenhagen (European Green Capital 2014) and Karl Falkenberg, Director-General for the Environment at the European Commission will be participating in the event, adding their support to the award and encouraging cities to apply.

Work by the winners of the Generation Awake 'upcycling' competition for young designers will also be on show during the week. This competition aimed to raise awareness about resource scarcity, the value of waste, and how creative power can be harnessed to solve environmental issues.

‘Switching to a more circular model, cutting waste and turning it into a resource’

Speaking ahead of Green Week, Janez Potočnik, Environment Commissioner for the European Union and one of the speakers at the event, said: "Europe's competitiveness will be determined by its ability to use resources efficiently and there will be no place for waste. We need to move away from our throwaway culture and switch to a more circular model, cutting waste and turning it into a resource. That means innovative products designed to last, to be repaired and to be recycled, and business models to match. New businesses, new jobs, less environmental impact and a better quality of life for all Europeans."

Iain Gulland, Director, Zero Waste Scotland, added: “Zero Waste Scotland is delighted to be take part in such a major international event as Green Week, to have been selected to host an evening event and for myself, to appear in a panel on achieving waste targets in a circular economy.

“We will use these opportunities to promote and share our experience from working in Scotland to develop vitally important resource efficiency and circular economy initiatives. We hope to learn as much as possible from delegates about their experience and thinking, during this period of exciting and fast-paced development in resource efficiency policy.”

Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the EnvironmentRichard Lochhead also commented, saying: “With increasing global demand for resources, and the world population predicted to grow to 10.5 billion by 2075, we all have to do our bit by using our resources more wisely.

“We are making this a big priority in Scotland, with an ambitious programme of actions on resource efficiency and positioning our nation to benefit from a more circular economy.”

Attendance to Green Week events is free and all sessions will be streamed online.

Read more about the events at Green Week.