The EPA Circular Economy conference took place on September 25th in Aviva stadium Dublin. Dr. Aodhan Newsholme, IKC3 lecturer, was delighted to attend and hear from a range of practitioners, politicians and academics on the topic of advancing the circular economy in Ireland.
The Circularity Gap Report, from Circle Economy was launched, which concluded Ireland’s circularity rate currently stands at 2.7 percent and offers suggestions for areas of improvement.
Minister Ossian Smyth, announced a new circular economy strategy will be published by the end of the year, which intends to build off the Circularity gap report which was commissioned by DECC. Importantly, Assistant Secretary at DECC Philip Nugent highlighted the potential role for industrial symbiosis in accelerating CE collaboration going forward. William Neale from the EU commission discussed the range of circular economy activities underway and future directions at the EU level in terms of regulating for a circular economy.
Dr Aodhan Newsholme shared knowledge on the potential to incentivize repair activities in the circular economy during a Q&A session with the expert panel.
In conclusion, it’s clear that cross-sectoral skills and interdisciplinary working will be vital in Ireland’s circular economy transition in the coming years. IKC3 will be supporting the circular economy transition through education, research and stakeholder engagement.
