6th April 2016

Resourcing the Future 2016 looks at what the EU Circular Economy package could mean for the UK

What the Circular Economy  means for the UK waste and resource management industry will be the overarching theme of this year’s Resourcing the Future 2016 conference (14th & 15th June, London), the joint annual event organised by the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), the Environmental Services Association (ESA) and the Resource Association (RA).

“The UK Government has set out its desired option of remaining in Europe and if the referendum result supports this, the EU Circular Economy package will shape our industry for the next decade and more,” says CIWM chief executive Steve Lee. “With important changes being proposed, including higher recycling and landfill diversion targets, new Extended Producer Responsibility scheme requirements, and a stronger focus on biowaste, this event provides a chance to explore what the package means for the UK and how we can work collectively to deliver on its ambitions.”

The two-day programme will open with a Keynote Address from Resource & Environmental Management Minister Rory Stewart, followed by a ‘Question Time’ style debate which poses the big question of whether the forward looking EU Circular Economy Action Plan can really deliver. Chaired by award winning journalists James Murray, Editor of Business Green, the debate is likely to pick up on concerns that it still has too strong a focus on waste and too little on incentivising change higher up the supply chain and stimulating more stable secondary materials markets. Panellists include Dr Kieran Mayers - Head of Environment and Technology Compliance for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Jacob Simonsen - Vice-President of the Municipal Waste Europe, Joan-Marc Simon – Director of Zero Waste Europe, and Ian McAulay, Chief Executive of Viridor.

The rest of the two-day programme will examine the strategic and practical implications for the UK, with sessions focused on what ‘tools’ and incentives will be needed to drive behaviour change and performance. Topics include the future role of Producer Responsibility and EPR in supporting resource efficiency and recycling both at the design end of the chain and at the point of disposal, economic incentives and other potential game changers such as ‘collection consistency’ , and food waste. 

With the conference taking place just one week before the referendum, a lively exchange of views is also expected in the closing debate, which will explore how important EU membership is for UK environmental policy and legislation, what the implications of a ‘Brexit’ might be, and how can the industry prepare itself? With perspectives from Joan Walley, Chair of the Aldersgate Group, David Palmer-Jones, CEO of SUEZ UK and President of FEAD, and Angus Evers,  Partner at law firm King & Wood Mallesons, this session will help delegates to understand what a future outside the EU could mean.

Delegates will also be able to enjoy an even more interactive conference experience this year, with an improved conference ‘app’ through which to network, vote and submit ‘live’ questions during the sessions. 

Find out more about Resourcing the Future 2016 here.

ENDS

Press contacts:

Pat Jennings


CIWM Head of Policy & Communications

Tel: 01604 620426


Mob: 07912 228260


Email: pat.jennings@ciwm.co.uk

Toni Waters 

ESA Communications and Membership Officer


Direct Dial: 0207 591 3206


Press Line: 0207 591 3219


Email: t-waters@esauk.org