HLPF:Fostering Partnerships and Inclusive Multilateral Action for SDGs through the Global Circularity Protocol for Business

Name: HLPF:Fostering Partnerships and Inclusive Multilateral Action for SDGs through the Global Circularity Protocol for Business
Start: 2024-07-15

15 July 2024

Overview

Objectives

Speakers

This is a side event during the 2024 High-Level Political Forum.

Date: 15 July 2024 || 15:00 EAT / GMT+3

Virtual: Register here

Overview

Co-hosted by the the One Planet Network (OPN) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) , the session tackles the critical role of the private sector in achieving the SDGs through partnerships and development of inclusive and innovative solutions for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP).

We will shine a light on the ongoing development of the Global Circularity Protocol for Business (GCP), a business-led initiative that embodies SDG 17, exemplifying how a fully engaged private sector can contribute to sustainable, resilient and innovative solutions in alleviating the triple planetary crisis through the circular transition.

The Global Circularity Protocol for Business aims at providing companies with a standard corporate performance accountability system for circularity, resulting in harmonized circularity methodologies and accounting metrics for reporting and disclosing their circularity performance, target-setting, assurance, and communication. It aims to provide policymakers with practical policy levers to address the roadblocks that impede leading companies from scaling and speeding up their circular transition. Paying attention to gender and geographical representation, the session will bring together diverse perspectives to foster a collaborative dialogue and accelerating progress towards a circular economy that benefits both businesses and the environment.

Why is this session important for the 2024 HLPF?

The 2030 Agenda demands a collective effort, mobilizing all stakeholders, including the private sector, to achieve the SDGs. Businesses hold immense power to transform consumption patterns and production processes and the shift towards circular practices. This session provides a platform for key stakeholders to explore how the Global Circularity Protocol for Business can bridge the gap between ideation and action, accelerating progress towards SCP and the SDGs. By promoting a circular economy, businesses can create new economic opportunities, improve resource efficiency, and foster resilience in the face of the triple planetary crisis. In recognition that private sector action can be complemented by policy, the HLPF presents an opportunity to explore an enabling environment for business’ circular transition, as well as opportunities to unblock the barriers to the circular transition

HLPF event

Objectives of the session:

Increase understanding on the benefits of having a Global Circularity Protocol for Business as a way of accelerating just transition towards circular economy.
Bring the voice and participation of the global south in the development of the Global Circularity Protocol for Business
Identify and share obstacles and opportunities for the transition to circularity.
Identify and share good examples of policy interventions that can facilitate an enabling environment for the circular transition. The main outcome of this session will be heightened commitment and collaboration among stakeholders towards accelerating the circular transition, and the development of the GCP for Business

1. Dr. Teresa Domenech Aparisi- Founder Director of the UCL Circular Economy Lab and the UCL Plastic Innovation Hub

Teresa is a lecturer in Industrial Ecology and the Circular Economy and founder director of the UCL Circular Economy Lab and the UCL Plastic Innovation Hub. She has contributed to leading international research in the areas of sustainable industrial development, decarbonisation pathways and the circular economy.

Her expertise covers resource and energy implications of industrial sectors including construction (metals and cement), plastics, textiles and the bio-economy. She has also explored the resource implications (e.g. critical materials reliance) of green mobility (e.g. EV batteries) and renewable technologies. Her work also explores resource flows in cities and sustainable urban transitions.

2. Sonia M. Dias - Waste Specialist at Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO)

A sociologist by training, Sonia refers to herself as a “garbologist” who specializes in solid waste management. She has been active in this field since 1985 in Brazil--long one of the world’s most progressive countries in integrating waste pickers into formal solid waste management systems. Sonia's has focused her work on integrating social aspects into the technical planning of waste collection and recycling. She has promoted social inclusion, gender equity and occupational health in waste forums worldwide.

Sonia's hands-on experience encompasses: work as a public officer at the Municipal Cleansing Agency in Belo Horizonte, Brazil; voluntary work for the NGO INSEA supporting the organization of waste pickers, and social activism for the Waste and Citizenship For and for the Observatory for Inclusive Recycling (ORIS). Before joining WIEGO, she was a consultant of the World Bank's Integrated Solid Waste and Carbon Finance Project and an Eisenhower Fellow for the Common Interest Program on Challenges of Urbanization.

3. Oliver Boachie-Special Advisor to the Minister of Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation in Ghana

Oliver Boachie advises the Minister on issues related to technology and innovation, environment and climate change, and the circular economy.Boachie is a member of the governing board of Ghana’s EPA, member of the technical committee of PACE, member of the technical committee of ACEA, and chairs the technical committee of Ghana’s NPAP. Earlier in his career and prior to his migration back to Ghana, Boachie worked with global technology companies in the United States, including Texas Instruments and IBM.

4. Jacob Rognhaug - VP Public Affairs and Head of Global Engagements at TOMRA

Jacob Rognhaug is dedicated to promoting sorting solutions and recycling concepts that can help maximize resource productivity and build sustainability. Since joining TOMRA in 1998, Jacob Rognhaug has taken various managerial positions across multiple business streams, including product management, sales and marketing, and business development, and overall responsibility for TOMRA’s business and operation in China (from 2015-2020), one of the most strategically important regions in TOMRA Group.

Prior to moving to China, Jacob was an active advocate for promoting recycling and deposit solutions in Norway and in the United States. Thanks to his dedication and persisting effort, Roaf built the world’s first fully-automated waste sorting plant in Norway, and the facility was acknowledged as a pilot by administrations across the world.