Presenting Slovenia’s Roadmap in Madrid: Key lessons from 6 European countries

Representatives of six European countries were invited to Madrid on March 21st  2018 to present how their countries are preparing themselves to make the transition from linear to circular economies.

The local NGO Foundacion pa ra la Economia Circular organised the international event together with the Spanish government in order to hear examples from leading European countries and to present the ambitious new Spanish policy framework for the circular economy to the public. Spain’s far-reaching plan features a variety of actions to be taken by all ministries with millions of euros to be allocated to different circular economy projects.

Niko Korpar from CC presented the case of Slovenia with a focus on the upcoming Roadmap: Towards the Circular Economy in Slovenia. Other international speakers featured Emanuelle Moesch from the French Institu national de l’economie circulaire, Hari Kerlevi from the Finnish national fund SITRA and Herman Huissman, the esteemed waste management expert representing the Dutch government.

5 key lessons from the event:

1. Concrete goals, time frames and monitoring are key for following through

2. Stakeholder engagement is key to ensure a wide sense of ownership

3. National CE strategies are processes and not “just documents”, should constantly be updated and revised

4. National specifics (history, culture) should be taken into account when creating strategies

5. Find where you can make the most impact and focus on delivering results