World’s best circular economy solutions come to Helsinki in 2017

The World Circular Economy Forum 2017 will bring together a large number of world economy reformers. The world is in serious need of solutions concerning how to sustainably create growth and jobs. A pioneering event will offer those solutions in June 2017 in Helsinki, Finland. The agenda features the world’s best circular economy solutions based on the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The event is organised by Sitra together with a large group of global institutions.

Sitra is inviting the future shapers of our well-being to celebrate Finland’s 100th year of independence at the World Circular Economy Forum 2017 in Helsinki. The event (5-6 June 2017) brings together 1,200 international business and NGO leaders, managers, urban experts and government officials.

The focus of the event is on genuinely sustainable and competitive solutions for the circular economy – on solutions that have been created in different parts of the world and in which business and the environment go hand in hand. The circular economy plays an important role in the realisation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Future well-being is built on co-operation, which results from encounters – including those under the Midnight Sun in Finland. Spearheading the circular economy at WCEF2017’s 17 sessions are numerous expert presentations both at the conference as well as during company visits.

”We will also explain how Finland, as the first country in the world, is implementing its national road map of the circular economy – how the whole of society is increasing its competitiveness and benefiting from moving to a new operational model for the economy, a model in which the growth of the economy and well-being are no longer based on the overconsumption of natural resources and fossil fuels,” says Mari Pantsar, the director of resource-wise and carbon-neutral activities at Sitra.

The group of recognised speakers presenting diverse solutions for the circular economy at the World Circular Economy Forum covers a large spectrum of the world’s top experts. Among the participants are Achim Steiner, the former head of the UN’s Environment Programme; Jyrki Katainen, EU Commissioner; Ashok Khosla, Founder and President of Development Alternatives; Janez Potocnik, Co-chair of the UN’s International Resource Panel and Matti Lievonen, Managing director of Neste.

The organisers of the WCEF2017 are Sitra, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in co-operation with the following institutions: European Commission, European Environment Agency (EEA), International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), Koli Forum, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and World Resources Forum (WRF).