Language: English
Welcome speech:
Milan Chromík, Confederation of Industry and Transport
Dagmar Plevačová – Vice-President , NorCham
Michala Hergetová - moderator
Panelists:
Sustainability vs Circular Economy
Jana Bábiková, CIRAA
It is a change in the whole system of production and consumption we need to undergo. Everything from product design to the material we are using. We have to produce things that can be reused and use material that can be recycled. The circularity could solve the problem of material shortages we are just facing, but the actual share of circularity in the world is only 9 %.
Denmark: The green transition and circular economy
Charlotte Gjedde, State of Green (DEN)
Conscious consumption combined with a high recycling rate – these two factors together can make an enormous contribution to the resources revolution that we need for a sustainable future. Norwegian company Tomra, which in the 1970s came up with the first machine to take back empty bottles, is now aiming to collect and recycle 40% of all post-consumer plastic packaging worldwide by 2030. However, if success is to come, each of us needs to take on a sense of personal responsibility.
Packaging in Circular Economy. Are consumers ready for a change?
Anna Sapota, TOMRA (NOR)
Conscious consumption combined with a high recycling rate – these two factors together can make an enormous contribution to the resources revolution that we need for a sustainable future. Norwegian company Tomra, which in the 1970s came up with the first machine to take back empty bottles, is now aiming to collect and recycle 40% of all post-consumer plastic packaging worldwide by 2030. However, if success is to come, each of us needs to take on a sense of personal responsibility.
PRODUCTION
Turning production waste into a by-product through innovative recycling technologies.
George Karra’a, LAVARIS
A “by-product” is an output which does not constitute “waste” but which has a low value, relative to the main product or co-products. Our goal should be to improve the characteristics of by-products in order to increase their value. At the same time, we should use innovative solutions to achieve minimum waste from production, as well as from the recycling process itself. That is what a Czech company, Lavaris, is doing in Syria and Palestine, where it uses construction debris to create new building material. A very similar principle applies to the rubber sector.
DISTRIBUTION
Coke – Sustainability
Lukáš Zapletal, Coca-Cola Hellenic
Everything being produced should be turned into a new resource – that is Coca-Cola’s path to sustainability. And that goal is the same, whether we are talking about water or packaging. We should think of each package – regardless of where it comes from – as something that has value and life beyond its initial use. So, if something can be recycled, it should be recycled.
CONSUMPTION
Sustainable Fashion Is Not Enough Anymore
Mikuláš Hurta, NILMORE
Sustainable is not enough – we have to be able to create a closed-loop: no waste, no new material. That is philosophy of a Czech start-up, Nilmore, which has invented a fully recyclable fibre for fashion production. Customers want change but don’t want to reduce their consumption – that creates a business opportunity for innovative solutions.
