Four days exploring the circular economy in the Nordic region
Copenhagen, Denmark, November 23, 2021
Three weeks after COP26, which ended with global agreement to accelerate action on climate this decade, the Nordic Circular Summit 2021 will explore the tremendous circular opportunities the Nordic region has to offer.
“The transition to a circular economy brings hope for substantial sustainable growth in all of the Nordic countries, and is crucial for us in order to deliver on the Glasgow Climate Pact and Paris Agreement,” says Marthe Haugland, Senior Innovation Adviser at Nordic Innovation.
The Nordic Circular Summit, co-hosted by the Nordic Circular Hotspot and Nordic Innovation, is a four-day virtual summit bringing together leaders of society, business and government to discuss opportunities, barriers and promising practices in circular innovation and how to transition the Nordic region into a circular economy. The summit will have a particular focus on youth leadership and culture in partnership with the youth movement ReGeneration 2030 Foundation and the CATALY(C)ST project.
Opportunities for circular value creation
“The Nordic Circular Summit 2021 will be leveraging the diversity, nature knowledge and variations of the Nordic countries and their joint potential for circular value creation,” says Einar Kleppe Holthe, CEO, of Natural State and Managing Partner, of the Nordic Circular Hotspot. “The latter depends on openness and co-operation across value chains in order to succeed. With its access to renewable energy, fairly short distances, good infrastructure, transparent market structure, innovation power and increasing collaboration among governments, academia, business and the region’s more than 27 million citizens, the Nordic’s can become a pioneering region for sustainable growth.”
The summit will offer insights, debates, forecasts, networking opportunities, a virtual exhibition and hands-on workshops on topics such as circular cities and construction, circular ocean solutions, Nordic lifestyle brands, Nordic food and gastronomy, circular finance, food, renewable energy and zero-emission resources, and more.
“This is an important event and I look forward to bringing forward new thoughts and solutions that will help us deliver on the Paris Agreement,” says Paula Lehtomäki, Secretary General, Nordic Council of Ministers, who is among the over 150 confirmed speakers of the Nordic Circular Summit this week.
About the co-hosts
NORDIC CIRCULAR HOTSPOT
Nordic Circular Hotspot is working to propel collaboration, knowledge sharing and investment in circular economy solutions, across regions and countries. We aim to create circular change right here and now, securing a holistic, circular and sustainable Nordic market for the 2020s and beyond. The Nordic Circular Hotspot is currently being run by 10 Managing Partners from Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Finland and The Netherlands. www.nordiccircularhotspot.org.
NORDIC INNOVATION
Nordic Innovation is an organization working under the auspices of the Nordic Council of Ministers. It aims to make the Nordics a pioneering region for sustainable growth and works to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and competitiveness in Nordic business. Nordic Innovation supports the vision for the Nordic region to be the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030 by creating new collaborations within and across ideas, industries and markets for a sustainable future. Read more about Nordic Innovation https://www.nordicinnovation.org/.
ReGeneration 2030 Foundation
ReGeneration 2030 is a movement led by young people in the Nordic and Baltic Sea regions with a vision to make sustainable consumption and production the new norm. Since 2017, ReGeneration 2030 has brought together youth across 18 countries to learn about, voice concerns and mobilise action around SDG 12 to show both the necessity and the benefits of sustainability. By educating youth, fostering new leadership, and building norms around sustainable lifestyles, ReGeneration 2030 provides a platform uniting and strengthening actors who share a vision across borders, generations and sectors of society. https://www.regeneration2030.org
CATALY(C)ST
CATALY(C)ST—Youth Change Makers as Catalysts for a transition to a Sustainable Circular Economy is a joint collaboration between five Nordic technical universities—DTU, NTNU, Aalto University, KTH and EFLA Engineering—that aims to connect students and young professionals to established companies to accelerate their transition towards a Sustainable Circular Business. It brings best practice from the research world, maker communities, youth movements and industry together to create one strong initiative. https://www.skylab.dtu.dk/programmes/cataly-c-st