30 May to 2 June Nordic Innovation co-hosted the World Circular Economy Forum, together with the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. The theme of this year’s event was circular solutions for nature and the economy. With around 1800 participants on site in Helsinki and more than 6000 participants online from all around the world the event showed that there are good examples and together we can be part of the solution.
Nordic Innovation is committed to promoting sustainable economic growth, and we believe that the circular economy is a key component of this. Therefore, taking part in the forums comeback to the Nordics was a natural choice for the circular business models team at Nordic innovation. After two days of forum and two days of accelerator sessions during WCEF2023, we left Finland with ambitions for future work, but also a sense of seriousness.
Managing Director of the Nordic Innovation, Svein Berg emphasizing the urgency in the situation and the potential in collaboration to find the solutions during his remarks in the opening plenary.
“Nordic Innovation is committed to promoting sustainable economic growth, and we believe that the circular economy is a key component of this. Co-hosting the World Circular Economy Forum in Helsinki, we bring together leading thinkers, innovators, and policymakers from around the world to share best practices and develop concrete solutions for advancing the circular economy. We must use this Forum to make changes happen, I can’t stress enough the urgency for the need for change we stand in front of. “
- Svein Berg
The role of the decision makers and youth
With managing director, Svein Berg, and Jyrki Katainen, president of Sitra, clear message during the opening plenary in mind, it was time to dive into the details in the parallel sessions. During the forum the attendees could take part in sessions focusing on capital and governance, people, renewables, solutions and value chains, finite materials, and energy. Nordic Innovation had key roles in the development and planning of several of the sessions.
Day 1
The first day of the World Circular Economy Forum 2023 focused on nature and youth. Circular solutions can spur economic growth while restoring and saving nature by decreased pollution, stagnate climate change and biodiversity loss. As these are multi-generational problems, there was a high focus on involvement of youth leaders in the crafting of long-term solutions. The panel of young changemakers challenge conventional understanding of the circular economy and explore the changes needed for a just future.
“The audience seemed to resonate with how the panel challenged businesses and the role of governments,” said Hege Louise Guttormsen, Higher Executive Officer “It is important that these young leaders were not simply ‘allowed to speak’, but also given the space to co-create a session to convey their varied perspectives.” Managing Director Svein Berg is of the same opinion, “We need to include younger generations to the circular economy discussions as this transition will define their future. That is why we engaged youth organisations and asked them to actively join the circular economy community at the WCEF2023”.
Day 2
For the second day of the forum the focus was on funding and how investors and decision makers can support companies in the circular transition.
"The decision-makers have a crucial role to play in supporting the companies in transition to circular economy", said Hanna Törmänen, Senior Innovation Adviser at Nordic Innovation. “This can be done by making circular economy a part of the procurement criteria, or as an investment criteria for banks and investors. For the transition to be sped up we need to lower the risks, and this can be done by financer sharing the risk with companies.The motion is shared with Senior Innovation Advisor, Peter Munch-Madsen, who argued for the role of development banks in the sector. “ Development banks can de-risk projects by investing in the earlier and riskier stages. Their actions encourage commercial banks and private investors to follow.”
Munch-Madsen also believe we will see growth in the investments in circular solutions going forward. “The circular economy is moving and growing, and investors will look to pick the winners. Investors understand they need to look for companies who have developed scalable circular solutions.”
Although, leaving WCEF2023 with a positive outlook for the developments to come, there is also feelings of concern and urgency. “The people at the Forum are motivated and encouraged, but there is a feeling of concern regarding the fact that we aren’t where we need to be just yet,” says Guttormsen “but I believe the sense of urgency at WCEF is a good thing. “The movement has grown big enough to achieve momentum,” Munch-Madsen says. “Going forward the circular movement need real debates and hard conversations to grow.”
All sessions from Day 1 + 2 can be rewatched here
Accelerator sessions
The two final days of WCEF2023 was intended for accelerator sessions in Helsinki. Together with Accenture, Smart Prosperity Institute, MERG (Materials Efficiency Research Group), ICMM, Sitra, World Economic Forum and Danish Business Authority and World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Nordic Innovation hosted four events discussing the Nordic Circular Economy Playbook, circularity regulations, sustainable mining and how to leverage innovation in the transition towards a circular economy.
Go to the circular economy playbook here
The Nordic Expo Stand
The Nordic perspectives were also present in the expo hall. Nordic Innovation partnered up with 8 Nordic institutions to create a Nordic pavilion at WCEF. Together with NordForsk, Nordic Energy Research, Nordic Culture Point, Nefco, Nordic Investment Bank, Nordic Development Fund, Nordic Working Group for Circular Economy and Nordic Circular Hotspot we showcased the scale of circular economy solutions in the Nordics. The Pavilion became a busy meeting spot during the Forum and laid the foundation for good conversations with representatives from both Nordic and international institutions.
Background
Nordic Innovation has supported World Circular Economy Forum since 2018, and this is the first time co-hosting the event. The collaboration is a part of Nordic Innovations Circular Business Models program. Next years WCEF2024 will take place in the spring in Brussels. Updates can be followed on LinkedIn and Twitter.
