Circular Economy and Emerging Technologies

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00:00 Good morning,

00:01 good evening.

00:02 Good afternoon,

00:03 everybody,

00:04 and welcome to today's session.

00:07 On

00:08 the circular economy and emerging technologies.

00:11 I would like to welcome everyone

00:13 to this is the 4th session of the circular economy learning series,

00:17 and it's focused on emerging technologies,

00:19 a topic very close to my heart.

00:22 We now have well over 1000 registered participants in the series

00:28 that look to explore the role of the private sector

00:31 in competitive sectors,

00:32 scaling up the transition to a circular economy across

00:37 key industries and markets

00:39 such as digital businesses,

00:41 industrial zones,

00:42 manufacturing,

00:43 tourism,

00:44 among others.

00:46 We send the support to our partners,

00:48 the CIIP,

00:49 SMAP,

00:50 and the Korean World Bank Group Partnership Facility.

00:54 And in this 4th session we will explore the role

00:56 of emerging technologies as enablers of the circular economy,

01:00 as well as policy and regulatory measures

01:03 and economic incentives to support this transition.

01:07 And also leverage

01:09 in the context of COVID-19 recovery

01:12 as a transformative strategy on how policymakers can

01:15 pave the way towards such a future.

01:19 Today we have an excellent lineup of speakers from both the private

01:22 sector and the public sector who will be reflecting on these topics.

01:26 Just to highlight that for this to work,

01:28 we will need like close cooperation among both the co-public and private sectors.

01:32 I'm very happy to have participation on both.

01:36 Emerging technologies and their convergence are having

01:39 transformational effects across global value chains.

01:43 These ranges of innovations across the digital,

01:45 physical,

01:46 and biological technologies play a crucial

01:49 role in enabling circular business models

01:52 by increasing the efficiencies and reducing wastage,

01:55 increasing information transparency.

01:58 Enabling the move away traditional business

02:01 materials designed for a linear system and

02:03 really making it in a way that can be reused and remanufactured,

02:07 driving innovation by,

02:09 by,

02:09 by allowing new entrants into the markets,

02:11 and now that's even more important in the context of COVID recovery.

02:16 Among the many examples of technology applications

02:19 being used across the circular value chain,

02:21 we are seeing big data and artificial intelligence for redesigning manufacturing

02:26 processes to be more efficient and flexible using insights from analytics.

02:31 Digital sharing economy platforms offering products

02:33 as a service for urban mobility,

02:35 home and rental sharing.

02:38 The IoT and Internet of Things,

02:40 which enables new marketplaces for connecting

02:42 buyers and sellers of manufacturing services,

02:45 raw materials and products toward building global supply chains,

02:49 bio-based materials supplying new forms of sustainable packing,

02:52 and bioenergy as a means to reuse

02:55 problematic materials that have lower market value.

02:59 The use of digital technologies and digitalization will not

03:02 automatically lead to greater sustainability nor greater competitiveness.

03:07 There are associated risks

03:08 and rebound effects to be considered,

03:11 and we need to be balancing the trade-off of both.

03:14 However,

03:15 if adequately designed and steered,

03:17 then data,

03:18 digitally enabled solutions,

03:20 and Industry 4.0 could certainly boost the transition to a circular economy.

03:26 Measures will need to be aligned with climate action and the

03:28 wider sustainability agenda and naturally be supported by single market tools,

03:33 the industrial,

03:34 the industrial policy agenda,

03:35 research and development and social and of course,

03:38 competition and consumer policy.

03:41 I'm also today very,

03:42 and this comes very timely,

03:44 because I'm really pleased to announce today the call

03:46 for competitive proposals for the disruptive technologies for development,

03:50 what we call in the bank DT4D 2.0 challenge,

03:54 that awards grants and support to pilot disruptive

03:58 technology solutions in World Bank Group projects.

04:01 I,

04:01 I,

04:01 I wanted to er to indicate this today,

04:04 I think because maybe

04:06 through the conversations today we will have great ideas on how to do that

04:10 and encourage um bank colleagues to actually look into this

04:14 challenge to see how we can really in practice,

04:17 er operate,

04:19 operationalize the use of emerging technologies taking both

04:22 into account the opportunities and the risk and then to actually look at

04:26 the impactful solutions for our client countries in the context of COVID.

04:30 I really hope er we enjoy the session

04:34 and thank you for joining us today.

04:36 Attila,

04:36 over to you.

04:40 Thank you very much,

04:40 Martha.

04:41 Uh,

04:42 most delighted to,

04:43 uh,

04:43 be moderating this session today

04:46 and even more so delighted to introduce our keynote speaker today,

04:50 Wesley Spindler,

04:51 who is Business strategy and sustainability director at Accenture

04:55 and co-author of the Circular Economy Handbook.

04:58 Wesley.

05:01 Thank you so much,

05:02 Attila,

05:03 and thank you everyone for having me today.

05:06 It's great to be here to kick off this event with a bit of an

05:10 overarching view of the role that disruptive

05:13 technology has to play in the circular economy

05:15 before we get into the panel and discussion.

05:19 So I will just spend a few minutes,

05:21 uh,

05:21 taking you through that view and hopefully

05:24 fueling a lot of good,

05:25 uh,

05:25 inspiration

05:26 and questions through,

05:28 throughout the rest of the presentations.

05:30 So,

05:31 firstly,

05:31 to really understand

05:33 why is technology important in the,

05:35 in the role of circular economy,

05:37 I wanted to spend a moment covering off the foundations.

05:40 How can we tap into the value of circular economy

05:43 and transform waste from a challenge to an

05:46 opportunity when we're looking across the value chain.

05:49 So we at Accenture,

05:51 um,

05:51 we've actually defined what we refer to as 5 business models that

05:55 cut across the whole value chain from design to end of use

05:58 and act as a framework for transformation.

06:01 So I'll just touch on each of these

06:03 as it will come back when I talk about,

06:04 um,

06:05 the technology view.

06:06 So the first is looking at circular inputs,

06:09 how do you use renewable sources or bio-based materials

06:12 or man-made materials that are recycled or highly recyclable

06:16 as an input into your value chain.

06:18 Uh,

06:19 a good example of this is to bring to life is

06:22 Burrio,

06:22 which is a company that protects,

06:24 uh,

06:25 local marine flora and fauna in Chile by actually recycling abandoned

06:29 fishing nets and using them as inputs into

06:32 products such as baseball caps with their partner

06:35 Patagonia.

06:36 So it's thinking about recycled inputs

06:38 into a new products.

06:41 There are then 3 business models that you can see on the right-hand side of the slide

06:46 that cut across the full product life cycle.

06:49 The first is product as a service,

06:51 so that's where the,

06:53 the business retains ownership of a product and sells

06:55 the benefits through a service or subscription model.

06:58 We then have product use extension.

07:00 It's about extending product use through design considerations,

07:03 repairs,

07:04 or resale,

07:05 for example.

07:06 Uh,

07:07 next,

07:07 we have sharing platforms.

07:09 So sharing platforms is about increasing the utilization

07:12 rate of products and assets through shared ownership,

07:15 access,

07:15 and usage.

07:16 Uh,

07:17 an example I love here is Hello Tractor,

07:20 uh,

07:20 a company based out of,

07:22 of Africa.

07:22 They have a smart tractor sharing platform that connects

07:26 tractor owners with farmers.

07:27 The system links SMS messages,

07:30 requests with software.

07:31 That then identifies nearby tractors with the required usability

07:36 and functionality,

07:37 and provides real-time information of the

07:39 condition of tractor parts,

07:40 which ultimately increases the usability

07:43 life cycle.

07:45 And then finally,

07:46 at the tail end of the value chain,

07:47 we have resource recovery.

07:49 So that's about using the embedded materials or energy at the

07:52 end of use of a product and recovering through collection,

07:55 aggregation and processing.

07:58 So that's not on technologies per se,

08:00 but just to set the scene on what

08:02 are some of the models that,

08:04 that technology needs to enable.

08:06 If we can please move to the next slide.

08:09 And through our analysis of over 1500 case

08:12 studies at Accenture in the circular economy space,

08:16 we actually found that companies are embracing these circular business models,

08:21 but to varying degrees of impact.

08:23 So we therefore identify 5 enablers that we really feel

08:26 are critical to the success of all business models.

08:29 Uh,

08:30 and that value chain transformation that I talked about.

08:33 So design,

08:34 looking at how you design a product or a service or how you

08:38 bring it back into the system,

08:39 so looking at things like reverse logistics.

08:42 But of all those five enablers,

08:43 we really do believe that disruptive technology is

08:47 the most important enabler in accelerating,

08:50 accelerating the move to circular

08:53 and making it economically attractive.

08:56 We can move to the next slide,

08:57 please.

08:58 And

08:59 I've recently co-authored a book on the circular economy,

09:02 uh,

09:02 titled The Circular Economy Handbook.

09:05 And in the book,

09:06 what we do is we actually detail 27,

09:09 that you can see here on the screen,

09:10 27 of the most instrumental technologies,

09:13 uh,

09:14 in their ability to enable circular,

09:16 circularity across 3 different categories.

09:19 So when we think about tech

09:21 We think about digital,

09:22 so things such as IOT,

09:24 AI and machine learning,

09:25 but also physical technologies,

09:28 so things such as robotics and 3D printing,

09:30 and also biological

09:32 technologies.

09:33 So things such as bio-based materials and bioenergy,

09:37 and I'm sure a lot of our upcoming speakers and panelists

09:39 are going to mention some really interesting examples of this.

09:44 And if we could move to the next slide,

09:46 we also found that disruptive technologies when used in combination

09:51 are even more powerful.

09:53 So I love to call out quite a lot of examples in this space,

09:56 but

09:57 I want to,

09:58 uh,

09:58 highlight a few which really illustrate

10:01 in these inherently circular companies who just

10:03 deploy the combinatorial power of disruptive technologies in an innovative way.

10:09 Ah,

10:09 the first one to mention is AeroFarms,

10:11 which is an urban farming company in the US.

10:15 They actually use the combinatorial power of aeroponics,

10:18 which is a biological technology,

10:20 and predictive analytics,

10:22 which is a digital technology to improve agricultural productivity,

10:26 and the results are really,

10:27 really impressive.

10:28 Ah,

10:29 their methods require 95% less water than traditional methods,

10:33 and they're 390 times more productive than traditional agriculture.

10:37 So really interesting.

10:39 The next,

10:40 also on the food theme is Winnow,

10:42 that you can see on the middle of the slide here.

10:44 They have a cloud enabled food waste system

10:47 that uses machine vision and data analytics

10:50 to connect commercial kitchens to cloud software

10:54 that allows users to record and analyze exactly what's being put in the bin,

10:58 and by users I mean chefs.

11:00 And using this

11:02 computer vision,

11:02 the system harvests large volume of food waste images,

11:06 which are used to train a predictive model.

11:09 Ah,

11:09 and these artificial intelligence tools help chefs run more profitable

11:13 and sustainable kitchens by cutting food waste in half,

11:16 and for some customers,

11:17 it delivers a 10% ROI return on investment in the first year.

11:22 Really,

11:22 really fascinating.

11:24 And final one here is Banyan Nation,

11:26 which is a technology-driven plastics recycling platform in India,

11:30 which uses cloud,

11:32 ah,

11:32 and big data analytics

11:34 within the informal sector to collect post-consumer plastics and then

11:38 applying cleaning technology to restore the plastics to near virgin quality.

11:43 And to date,

11:43 ah,

11:43 just an example of one stat,

11:45 they recycled over 500 tons of plastics and

11:48 diverted over 1000 tons of plastic from landfill.

11:52 So those are 3 really good examples of how you can

11:55 use the combinatorial power of technology to drive impressive results.

12:00 And if we can move to the next slide as well,

12:03 ah,

12:03 I want to call out,

12:04 there's also some more

12:06 emerging and accelerating technologies on the horizon that we

12:09 really believe will support circular economy even further.

12:13 So things such as,

12:14 as digital twins and food tech.

12:16 Ah,

12:17 I love the digital twin example.

12:18 We're seeing this more and more across industries and manufacturing.

12:22 Uh,

12:23 water company

12:24 Xylem,

12:25 for example,

12:25 they've developed a digital twin in the city of South Bend,

12:28 Indiana,

12:30 uh,

12:30 in their sewer system and use AI to analyze and optimize stormwater surges

12:36 to avoid combined sewer overflows and polluting local waterways.

12:40 This has prevented more than 1 billion gallons

12:43 of storm and sewage water from entering the river

12:46 and helped the city reduce its construction budget by over $500 million.

12:52 Uh,

12:52 so quite a different example now.

12:54 Appeal Sciences,

12:55 really interesting.

12:57 They use,

12:57 uh,

12:58 plant-based,

12:59 based extract derived from discarded agricultural products

13:02 to actually create

13:04 invisible tasteless coating that extends the shelf life.

13:07 Fresh products by about 5 times for some product varieties.

13:11 And it's a really great innovation that could be

13:14 a game changer,

13:15 and that's a great example of,

13:16 of food technology.

13:17 A lot of other cool examples here,

13:19 but I won't go through them in the interest of time.

13:24 So finally,

13:25 just to cover off in a couple of minutes,

13:28 that's all really interesting,

13:30 right?

13:30 To see some of these great examples and

13:33 all these disruptive technologies,

13:34 but what needs to be done in order to make this change in this shift across business?

13:39 And

13:40 these innovations and these innovators have an important role to play,

13:44 but effective,

13:46 uh,

13:46 circularity and,

13:47 and technology implementation really does require

13:50 widespread systematic change,

13:52 and this requires

13:54 industry leaders and pioneers to take responsibility for driving action.

13:59 So we feel that,

14:01 that leaders and pioneers really need to embrace technology and

14:04 have a role in driving this holistic and systematic transformation.

14:08 In order to scale and impact some of these really interesting innovations,

14:13 uh,

14:14 and they can do this through things such as

14:16 looking at the circular imperatives around addressing resource efficiency.

14:20 Uh,

14:21 across the value chain and within your own businesses.

14:25 And in doing so,

14:26 they can really lead the way,

14:27 enable innovation,

14:29 agility,

14:30 and collaboration,

14:31 which is needed to foster that wider,

14:33 uh,

14:34 value chain

14:35 synergy,

14:36 also unlock targeted investments and influence smart policies,

14:40 which will lead us towards a circular.

14:44 Really important that

14:46 we don't just look at this as,

14:47 uh,

14:48 an individual task of,

14:49 of,

14:50 uh,

14:51 single organizations or single people,

14:53 but actually,

14:54 this concept needs these circular disruptive technologies

14:58 really need to be scaled across industry

15:01 and amongst industries for real impact.

15:04 So that's just a quick whistle-stop tour.

15:07 I will now hand back over to Attila for,

15:10 for the rest of the session,

15:11 and I look forward to hearing more from the panel

15:14 on the applications of technologies to enable circular business models.

15:18 Thank you.

15:20 Thank you very much for the,

15:21 uh,

15:21 brilliant presentation.

15:23 Um,

15:24 it's

15:24 provided by Wesley just now,

15:26 we find 5 types of uh circular business

15:28 models mapped across the value chain that focus on

15:31 both production and consumption.

15:34 One of the 5 key enablers to capture the

15:36 potential of these circular business models are disruptive technologies,

15:40 which enable the smart use of resources and create new opportunities.

15:44 Today in this first panel,

15:46 we will learn of private sector use cases leveraging digital,

15:50 physical,

15:50 and biological technologies.

15:53 We will now move through a quick round of introductions with 5

15:56 tech pioneers

15:57 on how they apply technologies to enable circularity.

16:01 And thank you very much,

16:02 Attila.

16:03 Um,

16:04 and as you can see on our slide here,

16:06 I mean,

16:06 our ambitions are high.

16:08 We believe that the circular economy is important

16:11 and we believe that it should be accelerated.

16:16 And I can see with all aspects of our society,

16:18 then the best accelerator is digitization.

16:21 I mean digitization would be fundamental in

16:23 the realization of the circular economy.

16:26 What we also know is that a

16:28 shared digital infrastructure will accelerate this digitization,

16:32 which means it's basically going to accelerate the accelerator.

16:35 Most obvious examples we've seen is the internet,

16:39 Apple App Store,

16:40 and a little longer back,

16:42 also the telephone network.

16:44 So it is our ambition

16:46 to realize this is the backbone for the circular economy.

16:50 We want it to be a global public good

16:52 that must be politically,

16:54 commercially,

16:54 and competitively neutral.

16:57 And as the circular economy is a value chain exercise,

17:00 it's not an individual business challenges like

17:02 the typical is within a linear economy.

17:05 Inability by design is critical.

17:10 The open software platform

17:12 must be governed

17:14 as a global public good.

17:17 We will develop a toolbox with reusable digital

17:20 components to pawn the power of the crowds,

17:21 which means that anyone across the globe

17:24 can build applications on top

17:26 and make them available on the application registry

17:29 just like you make a mobile app available on Apple's App Store.

17:34 The required investment to participate

17:36 is insignificant.

17:38 It allows the small and medium enterprises and emerging

17:42 markets to efficiently participate in the circular economy.

17:46 Basically,

17:47 I would say that a digital backbone is the only way

17:50 to accelerate the realization of the

17:52 circular economy for small and medium enterprises

17:55 and

17:56 the emerging markets.

17:59 The governance structure

18:01 will be similar to the internet,

18:03 so no one person,

18:05 company,

18:06 organization,

18:06 or government controls the circular economy.

18:09 And as I mentioned previously,

18:11 many companies have a myriad

18:13 of other downstream business partners,

18:15 which means that interability by design is

18:17 critical for an efficient circular economy.

18:20 Building digital 1 to 1 connections is just not possible.

18:27 The circular economy internet has 4 horizontal layers and 1 vertical layer.

18:32 The blue cloud layer ensures immediate global availability.

18:37 The green component layer is the toolbox where we realize

18:40 reusable digital circular economy business models.

18:44 As we do not expect,

18:45 we have all the answers.

18:46 The components are understandable for industries and regions.

18:50 The yellow application layer supports the power of the crowd,

18:53 where innovators can use our reusable components to build their own applications.

18:57 These applications are made available in an

18:59 app store-like registry that is placed in the

19:01 in the horizontal interopability layer

19:04 together with other components needed for interopability by design.

19:10 I'm sorry,

19:10 this is a little bit busy slides,

19:12 but you're not expecting to see it all,

19:14 but it's basically some examples of what

19:16 can go into the circular economy internet.

19:20 We have the green boxes

19:22 in the bottom,

19:22 the example of reusable digital components

19:25 supporting different circular economy business models.

19:28 For example,

19:28 we have the circular material passport and material pool

19:32 that facilitates a circular material system where

19:34 materials are reused in their existing quality

19:37 by enabling a good business case for everyone involved.

19:40 The red boxes on top are examples of extensions made by industries and regions,

19:45 for example,

19:46 the maritime sector's extensions to the circular material passport.

19:50 And on top

19:51 you'll find the XT applications that allow companies to differentiate themselves

19:56 and innovate to innovate while building on a shared stable digital foundation.

20:03 A quick example again,

20:04 perhaps a little bit basic,

20:05 but it sort of give you an idea about how

20:10 some of the circular economy business model works.

20:13 So we have the

20:14 the uh uh

20:17 The value chain of uh white good or simple value chain of a white good,

20:22 uh,

20:22 and

20:23 we illustrate here the uh how we're going to use the

20:26 circular material pool and the circular material passport for white goods.

20:31 The interurability by design ensures that you can dynamically integrate the

20:34 material description for any of your suppliers and also your subcontractors,

20:39 subcontractors,

20:40 etc.

20:42 Uh,

20:43 the generic circle material pool,

20:46 it provides a complete overview of current and future

20:49 availability of materials that are currently in use.

20:52 And basically having a global interoperable

20:54 material pool means that municipalities,

20:57 regions

20:58 and countries

20:59 can almost turn their entire stock of in-use materials into a competitive assets.

21:07 Thank you.

21:08 That was all my short introduction about what

21:10 we're doing with the social electronic internet.

21:14 Thank you very much,

21:15 Henrik,

21:15 and uh we will have a Q and A panel at the end.

21:19 Uh,

21:20 as our next presenter,

21:22 um,

21:23 I'd like to welcome,

21:24 uh,

21:24 Danny Goh,

21:25 CEO of Nexus Frontier,

21:26 an AI company

21:28 representing also Professor Mark Esposito,

21:31 who,

21:32 uh,

21:32 was not able to,

21:33 to,

21:34 uh,

21:34 make it at this time.

21:36 Uh,

21:36 it's a last-minute,

21:37 uh,

21:38 situation arose.

21:39 Danny,

21:39 the floor is yours.

21:41 Thank you,

21:41 Atila.

21:42 Can you see my screen?

21:45 Brill.

21:46 Yes,

21:47 very well.

21:48 Thank you.

21:49 We are a team of AI researchers spreading across Asia,

21:53 uh,

21:53 and Europe

21:54 to make data machine usable,

21:56 helping organizations to move fast and efficient through the data that change

22:01 so that

22:02 humans can interact less

22:03 and can serve their clients smarter at a near real-time processing.

22:08 At the core of our belief,

22:09 we believe that the business value change

22:12 lies on the connection between the data in each department,

22:17 and the disconnectivity between the data is the one that is causing

22:22 the disruption and the interruptions

22:25 to the business processes today.

22:27 And we believe by

22:29 having

22:30 AI to utilize AI to

22:32 Identify,

22:33 to extract,

22:34 and to be able to streamline the data in this value chain,

22:39 we'll be able to release the repetitive task of

22:42 human beings and able to make it done by machines

22:45 so that

22:46 the data can actually serve across the business value chain

22:51 in a near real-time process.

22:53 At the same time,

22:54 we'll actually allow the businesses,

22:56 or so-called experts in the business.

22:59 To actually

23:01 serve the consumer demand

23:03 in the near real time and allow them to actually take

23:06 consumer feedback into

23:09 the consideration when they design the new process,

23:12 hence creating

23:13 a circular

23:15 business process

23:16 along the business value chain.

23:20 And the core of our belief is basically a framework called

23:25 expert in the loop,

23:26 and the core of it is simply to make

23:29 AI system to assist humans' repetitive tasks,

23:33 whereas to allow humans

23:34 to concentrate on correcting the small errors or the

23:38 difficult errors,

23:39 complicated errors,

23:41 so that

23:42 human beings can actually,

23:44 or the experts can actually take the feedback

23:46 to reinforce the system continuously.

23:49 Which allows the loop to be scalable

23:52 and to be transparent along the process.

23:55 And

23:56 to go into a bit more details,

23:58 it is a framework that

24:00 we believe how to actually utilize the data to allow the expert

24:04 to lead the transformation process on an ongoing basis.

24:08 If you look at

24:10 the left part of the process.

24:13 When AI can actually capture data,

24:16 whether it's text,

24:17 voice,

24:18 graphics,

24:18 videos

24:19 in a near real-time basis and able to turn it into

24:23 usable

24:24 data format,

24:25 we can actually allow the experts,

24:27 the business experts,

24:28 whether it's an engineer or doctors or

24:31 or

24:33 Lawyers

24:34 or any experts to actually focus their time

24:38 on a more important task to lead to change,

24:41 whereas to allow the business process

24:44 to

24:45 process it in a much more seamless way

24:49 and to allow a much more efficient delivery.

24:52 And when

24:53 you have more time,

24:54 when expert has more time to focus

24:57 on the complicated issues,

24:59 you'll actually

25:01 That they'll actually be able to lead

25:03 the process of the transformation because they

25:06 are the ones who does the job on a daily basis and they know what

25:10 is actually needed.

25:12 At the same time,

25:13 we'll actually be able to design

25:15 to engage the consumer in this loop

25:18 so that we can actually gather their feedback and reinforce the AI

25:23 to provide a circular

25:25 improvement and expansion towards the,

25:28 the,

25:29 the business process.

25:31 And there are a few great examples in the case of healthcare industries,

25:36 finance industries,

25:38 government sectors

25:39 where

25:40 they will actually be able to capture

25:43 the data in a much more seamless process

25:45 and able to bring this

25:47 into a

25:48 much livelihood expansions and scalable process.

25:52 I'm going to stop over here um to

25:55 pass on to the next,

25:57 uh,

25:57 speaker and I'll explain

25:59 the details and examples you later.

26:02 Thank you.

26:04 Thank you very much,

26:05 Danny.

26:05 Our next speaker is uh Natania Horowitz,

26:08 CEO of AMP Robotics.

26:24 Improve the economics of the recycling

26:28 uh

26:28 process.

26:30 Um,

26:30 I myself have a background in robotics and AI and around 2014 saw that

26:34 many of these tools could solve some of

26:36 the central challenges around the manual labor being used

26:39 to sort out all these different commodity streams.

26:42 Um,

26:42 our central products are the sorting robots that can be

26:45 installed with practically no retrofit into existing recycling facilities,

26:49 um,

26:49 and helps them,

26:50 uh,

26:50 automate,

26:51 deal with,

26:52 uh,

26:53 the safety issues around this manual sorting,

26:55 uh,

26:55 issues around COVID,

26:56 uh,

26:56 these days,

26:57 and also improve the quality of these commodity streams.

27:00 Uh,

27:00 we have these systems deployed in Europe,

27:02 uh,

27:02 North America,

27:03 and Japan.

27:07 The real power behind the technology is actually in the artificial intelligence,

27:11 uh,

27:11 which allows us to identify all of these different commodities

27:15 at sort of an arbitrary level of specificity.

27:18 We can even identify these objects at the SKU level

27:21 or by brand.

27:22 Uh,

27:23 we connect that vision system to this robotic sorter,

27:28 uh,

27:28 but although the robots may seem like the most interesting piece,

27:31 they're actually off the shelf robots already commonly used in manufacturing.

27:35 It's really the inability to identify material,

27:38 even though it may be smashed,

27:39 folded,

27:39 or dirty,

27:40 that's prevented these

27:41 robots from being used in the past,

27:43 uh,

27:43 excuse me.

27:44 Um,

27:45 these systems are connected to one another and able to learn over time,

27:48 uh,

27:48 improving the quality of the entire fleet,

27:50 um,

27:51 and there's over 100 of these robots,

27:53 uh,

27:54 sold all over the world.

27:57 Um,

27:57 to give you a sense of what this identification problem looks like,

28:00 uh,

28:00 we're looking at,

28:01 uh,

28:01 different resins of plastic,

28:03 uh,

28:03 different,

28:04 uh,

28:04 types of metal,

28:05 uh,

28:05 different types of paper,

28:06 um,

28:07 very specific items,

28:08 things like,

28:09 uh,

28:09 coffee cups,

28:10 uh,

28:11 those little coffee pods,

28:12 um,

28:12 and our robots all around the world are sorting out these different materials.

28:16 Um,

28:17 so I think we play in this

28:18 part of the value chain that's really around the reverse logistics,

28:21 uh,

28:21 and the ability to separate out these commodities from the waste stream.

28:25 Um,

28:25 and um I'll,

28:26 I'll stop there.

28:27 I'm very much looking forward to the discussion and,

28:29 and glad to be here.

28:33 Thank you very much for talking with great stuff.

28:35 Our next speaker is Matthew Silver,

28:37 CEO of Cambrian

28:38 Innovation.

29:01 All right.

29:01 Can you guys,

29:02 uh,

29:03 hope you can see that.

29:04 Um,

29:05 thanks very much.

29:06 I appreciate the opportunity to be here.

29:08 And uh thanks everyone for being on the line.

29:10 Uh,

29:11 at Cambrian,

29:12 uh,

29:12 we're an environmental biotechnology company with a

29:14 focus on reusing water and recovering energy

29:18 from wastewater streams.

29:20 Um,

29:20 so we're in the business of processing fundamental resources,

29:23 and I wanted to first motivate the discussion.

29:26 Uh,

29:27 with a quick example of,

29:29 of our focus.

29:29 Um,

29:30 you know,

29:30 I think a lot of folks know that,

29:31 that environmentally,

29:33 um,

29:33 some of these major sectors,

29:34 uh,

29:35 like automotive or energy are a major source of CO2 pollution.

29:39 The industrial sector,

29:40 industrial manufacturing

29:42 is a huge part of the problem as well,

29:44 uh,

29:44 uses about 20% of the water,

29:46 uh,

29:46 globally.

29:47 Um,

29:48 produces about 22% of the CO2 globally.

29:52 Um,

29:52 and by concentration of water pollution,

29:55 it's about 70% depending on how you analyze it,

29:57 and there's literally hundreds of thousands of plants out there.

30:00 And so,

30:01 um,

30:01 the flip side of that is that there's,

30:04 uh,

30:04 value

30:05 in the wastewater streams that's being produced by industrial manufacturing.

30:09 And so if you can recover that resource and use it on site,

30:11 you've got a significant opportunity.

30:14 Um,

30:14 a lot of people have looked at

30:16 this opportunity in the past.

30:17 And it's something,

30:18 um,

30:18 you know,

30:18 folks have talked about in the context of

30:20 what used to be called industrial ecology,

30:22 what's now called

30:23 circular economy.

30:24 Um,

30:25 there are certain challenges to making that work,

30:27 um,

30:28 um,

30:29 effectively,

30:29 and,

30:30 and fundamentally,

30:31 you know,

30:31 we're,

30:31 we're in,

30:32 uh,

30:32 we're commercial business and

30:34 Uh,

30:34 at the end of the day,

30:35 we understand that our customers are going to adopt

30:37 our technology if the product that we're making,

30:39 in this case,

30:40 clean water and clean energy is better,

30:42 uh,

30:42 than what they can get through substitutes.

30:44 And,

30:44 uh,

30:45 that means in this case,

30:46 um,

30:46 fundamentally,

30:47 the dollar per kilowatt-hour

30:49 that we generate.

30:50 Or the dollar per gallon that we sell back.

30:53 Um,

30:53 to date,

30:54 that's been a challenge and,

30:55 uh,

30:55 there's a couple of reasons for that.

30:57 Um,

30:58 one is that,

30:59 uh,

31:00 there's not a lot of cost-effective solutions.

31:01 That's the technical component.

31:03 Um,

31:03 you need a system that can be,

31:05 uh,

31:05 uh,

31:06 distributed

31:07 and installed

31:08 and operated reliably at a high efficiency.

31:11 Um,

31:12 there's a lack of competence in on-site operations.

31:14 So even if you have a technology,

31:16 processing technology like this,

31:18 um,

31:18 you don't always have the competence

31:20 at the manufacturing facility to operate,

31:22 uh,

31:23 a processing,

31:24 uh,

31:24 system that is fundamentally different than the core process,

31:27 um,

31:27 of the manufacturing.

31:28 Um,

31:29 and then you've got,

31:30 uh,

31:30 regulatory infrastructure and incentives that tend to favor centralized

31:34 solutions.

31:35 Um,

31:35 and finally,

31:36 there's the,

31:37 the cost of the substitute.

31:38 And so,

31:39 uh,

31:40 you know,

31:40 as,

31:41 as the cost of energy or the,

31:42 the,

31:43 uh,

31:43 the availability of water,

31:45 uh,

31:46 uh,

31:46 changes,

31:46 that's going to impact the relative advantage of adopting

31:49 a circular approach to a waste stream like this.

31:53 Uh,

31:53 our solution at Cambrian is to put together a couple of pieces to make,

31:56 uh,

31:57 cheaper water,

31:58 uh,

31:58 and cheaper energy,

31:59 um,

32:00 that also happens to be more sustainable.

32:02 Um,

32:02 we've got a portfolio of biological treatment processes.

32:07 Um,

32:07 that enable very high efficiency recovery

32:10 of biogas,

32:12 uh,

32:12 and clean water,

32:13 uh,

32:14 from wastewater streams.

32:15 We've got,

32:16 uh,

32:16 uh,

32:16 a number of sensors

32:18 and information generated by the biological system itself,

32:21 which can

32:22 lead to intelligent operations,

32:23 which decreases downtime and decreases the labor needed to operate the plants.

32:27 And finally,

32:28 we've got a,

32:28 a design approach to the plant,

32:30 which is simple

32:31 and modular and expandable leading to,

32:34 uh,

32:34 a very low-cost initial installation.

32:37 Um,

32:37 our business model is to make these available to folks

32:40 as a,

32:41 uh,

32:41 product,

32:42 but also as a service.

32:44 And so,

32:45 uh,

32:45 to address that core competency issue,

32:48 um,

32:48 we're able to finance,

32:49 install,

32:49 operate these systems similar to a power purchase agreement,

32:52 uh,

32:53 in the solar industry.

32:55 Um,

32:56 the impact of a system like this can be quite substantial.

32:58 First of all,

32:59 we're already operating

33:00 systems that are,

33:02 that can produce water

33:04 at an all-in cost that's a fraction

33:06 of,

33:07 uh,

33:07 even the United States' current,

33:09 um,

33:10 total cost of water on average.

33:11 It's going to depend on On each plant.

33:14 Um,

33:14 but we're,

33:14 we're,

33:15 uh,

33:15 uh,

33:15 driving down costs pretty significantly.

33:18 Um,

33:18 we've already,

33:19 uh,

33:19 generated or,

33:20 or saved over 2,

33:21 treated or saved over 2 billion gallons of water,

33:24 and,

33:24 uh,

33:25 we've avoided over 1.5 gigawatt hours of energy,

33:28 and that's due to a combination of factors,

33:30 um,

33:31 associated with the advances of our technology as

33:33 well as the distributed model for water processing.

33:35 So I'll leave it at that.

33:36 I'll look forward to the questions.

33:40 Super.

33:40 Thank you very much,

33:41 Matthew.

33:41 Very informative indeed.

33:43 As our final tech speaker,

33:44 I'd like to invite to the screen,

33:46 uh,

33:47 Carson Gerhardt.

33:52 So,

33:52 I hope this works.

34:02 I trust you can see my screen.

34:03 So,

34:03 uh,

34:04 Marta,

34:04 Wesley,

34:05 Attila,

34:05 thank you very much for having me on this,

34:07 uh,

34:07 panel,

34:08 uh,

34:08 talking about Circular Valley,

34:10 a hotspot for circular economy.

34:12 Um,

34:13 it would be preaching to the converted if I not told you why we need to do this.

34:16 So there is 100 billion tons of,

34:18 uh,

34:18 emissions out there into air,

34:21 water,

34:21 and land.

34:23 Uh,

34:23 and,

34:24 uh,

34:24 it has been accepted very widely by many stakeholder groups,

34:28 um,

34:28 in society as the most,

34:30 uh,

34:30 pressing problem that we have worldwide.

34:33 And there,

34:33 there are good discussions about CO2,

34:35 but not so much about the other,

34:36 um,

34:37 emission streams.

34:38 And interestingly,

34:40 there is not a circular valley,

34:42 that is a spot

34:43 where all the enthusiasts about the topic come together.

34:46 We have a Silicon Valley that is for platform economy,

34:48 we have Boston and San Francisco which are doing,

34:51 uh,

34:51 biotechnology,

34:52 London is.

34:53 Tech,

34:53 uh,

34:53 Berlin is e-commerce,

34:54 Tel Aviv is cybertech,

34:55 but there is no one

34:57 circular valley where corporates and,

34:59 uh,

34:59 startups and science

35:01 all come together.

35:02 And that is why we set out to look for a place,

35:05 uh,

35:05 that could be a circular valley.

35:07 And we found it in the

35:09 Rhineruh area in,

35:10 uh,

35:11 Central,

35:12 uh,

35:12 Europe,

35:12 um.

35:13 It is,

35:13 it is the area around Dusseldorf and Cologne in Germany.

35:16 It's a metropolitan area of around about 10 million people,

35:19 but the size is not what particularly matters.

35:21 It is 5 very unique arguments which only come together here.

35:25 And number one is,

35:27 you have access to companies in desperate need of solutions from all industries.

35:31 Uh,

35:32 secondly,

35:32 there is already a whole bunch of companies who are

35:35 doing very well in circular economies.

35:38 Uh,

35:38 number 3,

35:39 very important argument from my point of view,

35:41 it is the richest,

35:42 and most attractive science landscape in circularity that

35:46 you can find between Sydney and San Francisco.

35:49 Um,

35:49 besides that,

35:50 if you want to attract global talent,

35:51 you have to be cosmopolitan and open.

35:53 The region definitely is that.

35:55 And,

35:56 um,

35:56 the 5th argument which is very important for investors from the east,

36:00 it is a region that has a history.

36:02 Now,

36:03 uh,

36:03 very quickly,

36:03 going into the details,

36:05 argument number 1,

36:06 access to companies.

36:07 There is over 300 companies headquartered from the producing industries,

36:12 and that is ranging from A like

36:14 uh automotive to,

36:15 to that,

36:16 and you have

36:17 all industries,

36:18 all value chain steps except for extraction.

36:21 And it is the very big companies

36:23 like uh Henkel or Thusen Krupp or Evonik,

36:26 and then it is mid-sized companies like Forberg and Weyland,

36:29 and then it goes down to

36:30 100,

36:30 200,

36:31 300 million companies,

36:32 but they are selling their products all over the world.

36:35 So we have all industries and all value chain steps represented here.

36:38 It's not a de-industrialized area because obviously in order to close cycles,

36:43 to,

36:43 to set up a circular economy,

36:45 you need stuff.

36:46 Uh,

36:47 second argument,

36:48 there is a bunch of companies who are very active

36:51 in the area of circularity,

36:52 for example,

36:53 Europe's largest

36:54 recycler,

36:55 €15

36:56 billion company,

36:57 uh,

36:57 Ramondes is headquartered there or the collection system Ga Pun.

37:01 It was the first collection system worldwide established,

37:04 um,

37:05 some 30 years ago,

37:06 plus there is,

37:07 um,

37:07 additional

37:08 circular companies from all industries

37:10 who already reached out

37:11 to developing countries all over the world.

37:14 Argument number 3,

37:15 I spoke about that

37:16 is the scientific landscape.

37:18 You have over 2 dozen universities,

37:21 institutes,

37:22 world-renowned institutes

37:23 that very much focused on production technologies

37:26 and recycling.

37:27 So this is the largest density of universities

37:31 you can find anywhere in the world because,

37:33 uh,

37:33 when we speak about this region,

37:35 it is a region

37:36 where it can reach any point in less than 2 hours.

37:38 So,

37:39 uh,

37:39 from the,

37:40 um,

37:41 Uh,

37:41 uh,

37:41 from,

37:41 from the center,

37:43 uh,

37:43 to the outskirts of that,

37:44 of that circle,

37:45 it is,

37:46 it is less,

37:46 it is less than an hour.

37:48 Um,

37:49 argument number 4,

37:50 obviously,

37:51 if you want to attract global talent from Colombia,

37:53 from Senegal,

37:54 from Australia,

37:54 you need to be very open and welcoming.

37:56 This region is it.

37:58 Dusseldorf has been a bridge point to Europe for many,

38:01 many years,

38:01 starting in the 1950s.

38:03 So it's,

38:03 um,

38:04 now 150,

38:06 uh,

38:06 nationalities that you can find in that area.

38:08 So from wherever you come,

38:10 you will feel welcome here,

38:12 and,

38:12 uh,

38:13 you will,

38:13 you will definitely like it.

38:15 The 5th argument,

38:16 I mentioned,

38:17 this is the birthplace of industrialization.

38:20 The 1st and the 2nd

38:21 industrial revolution on the European continent started here.

38:25 Um,

38:25 if I say continent,

38:26 that's because on the British island,

38:28 Manchester was a little bit earlier,

38:30 but as we all know,

38:31 all know,

38:31 um,

38:32 Uh,

38:33 the British island is now deindustrialized,

38:35 so you won't find a similar place there.

38:37 It was water

38:38 and coal

38:39 that were the basis of the 1st and 2nd industrial revolution.

38:42 So if you wish,

38:43 the genie was let off the bottle here,

38:45 the genie of the

38:46 linear economy,

38:47 and now it can be captured

38:49 again.

38:50 How do we want to go about this?

38:52 Uh,

38:52 setting up the circular valley will first of all mean establishing a

38:56 network node for sharing knowledge and

38:57 content that is very much Wikipedia-like and

39:00 Uh,

39:00 we are in,

39:01 uh,

39:01 close,

39:01 uh,

39:02 discussions and collaboration with,

39:03 um,

39:03 Henrik

39:04 and the circular internet because that is exactly what we need.

39:07 And then there are 3 additional pillars.

39:09 One is the circular economy accelerator as a place

39:12 where economy,

39:13 science,

39:14 and startups can collaborate,

39:15 and then there are two additional pillars.

39:17 One is,

39:18 uh,

39:18 public relations because,

39:20 um,

39:20 the idea of Circularity needs to be brought out to the people,

39:24 um,

39:24 preferably by the means of art,

39:26 we would say here.

39:27 And the other pillar is policy recommendation because

39:30 lying directly on the axis between Berlin and Brussels

39:33 as the two epicenters

39:35 of circularity,

39:36 uh,

39:36 circular valley is ideally situated,

39:39 and it's even more close to,

39:40 to Brussels

39:41 than to,

39:41 than to Berlin.

39:43 Where will it actually all start?

39:45 It will start in this old refurbished gas tank.

39:48 Uh,

39:48 it has been a rotting monument until 2 years ago,

39:51 then was refurbished.

39:52 There is a

39:53 house inside,

39:54 a 4-story building,

39:55 and on top of that,

39:56 you have the largest 360-degree projection screen

39:59 in Europe and that is the ideal,

40:01 most iconic place that you can imagine

40:04 and most authentic place for pigeon,

40:06 um,

40:06 of the circular economy.

40:08 And with that,

40:09 I thank you and hand it back to Attila.

40:12 Thank you,

40:13 Garten,

40:13 very much indeed.

40:14 That's,

40:14 it's a really great initiative to bring together

40:18 circular technologists.

40:19 I mean,

40:20 today on the panel,

40:20 we have 45 of you uh

40:24 with a tech background,

40:25 but it's really brilliant to think that there will now be a home for hundreds,

40:29 maybe thousands of circular technologists who

40:31 will be connecting with other businesses.

40:34 As solution providers,

40:35 but who will also be connecting with,

40:37 with the local,

40:38 national,

40:39 and

40:40 global governments to,

40:41 to spread and accelerate the trans this,

40:43 to spread the ideas of technology enabling circularity

40:47 with the ultimate goal of,

40:49 of

40:50 transitioning our linear model to a uh circular model.

40:54 Going,

40:55 going back to,

40:56 uh,

40:57 to Henrik,

40:58 uh,

40:59 what are the main applications of existing digital platforms for a circular

41:03 economy and which sectors do you see the growing demand for,

41:06 in particular,

41:07 uh,

41:07 if you can give an example on,

41:09 on the developing economies or emerging markets.

41:14 Yeah,

41:14 but,

41:14 but there,

41:15 there's a couple of areas where,

41:17 where,

41:18 where,

41:18 where we see,

41:19 uh,

41:19 digital platforms coming up,

41:20 I mean,

41:20 I mean,

41:21 um.

41:22 Lesley mentioned some some business models and I see

41:25 the most obvious is the is the sharing economy,

41:28 uh,

41:28 where we definitely have seen a lot of uh

41:31 big players.

41:32 I mean,

41:32 Uber,

41:33 Airbnb is the most obvious one,

41:35 but also a few others.

41:37 Um,

41:38 but,

41:38 but,

41:38 but in general,

41:40 when,

41:41 when we go beyond this sharing platform of those big digital giants,

41:45 um,

41:45 I think that's the challenges about actually getting a business out of it.

41:50 For the big garden tools,

41:51 etc.

41:52 um,

41:52 and I don't know about the tractors that Westy was mentioning,

41:55 um,

41:56 but,

41:56 but,

41:56 but that is,

41:58 at least we've seen some,

41:58 as I said,

41:59 we've seen some success in the sharing,

42:01 but it's still difficult to kick it off at levels other than the car sharing stuff,

42:06 um.

42:08 Other areas mean tracking is another example that is often

42:15 called to be a circular economy application.

42:18 I'm not sure that that in itself is sufficient for the circular economy.

42:22 Of course,

42:23 you need to do some tracking of the materials,

42:24 but I don't think that is

42:26 that's necessarily sufficient.

42:29 Um

42:31 Where we also,

42:32 that was one of my example of the material pool,

42:35 the circle material passport.

42:37 This is also where we see some

42:40 activities regarding

42:44 the circular economy,

42:45 meaning where the material passport is really a

42:47 description about what is in the product,

42:49 let's say washing machines,

42:51 for example,

42:51 but also how it's going to be

42:53 disassembled.

42:54 I mean how are you going to repair it and how do you make it up,

42:57 keep it up to date during this 20 years.

43:00 Uh,

43:00 lifetime

43:02 Um

43:03 We've seen some examples of of of of of of platforms trying to to to to

43:11 Yeah,

43:12 enabling this functionality of the er material passport.

43:15 Um,

43:16 the biggest challenges I see there is something like the security,

43:20 for example,

43:22 there is obvious confidential information about what goes into washing machine,

43:26 emergency,

43:27 what goes into their car,

43:28 etc.

43:29 and not everyone is,

43:31 and most companies is obvious not willing to share that information.

43:34 This is also why we are

43:36 on the circular economy.

43:37 The internet is focused very much on that it is

43:39 the data owner that controls who has access to it.

43:43 Another challenge we also

43:45 see is that there is a price tag,

43:47 I mean,

43:49 I mean,

43:50 I've seen the

43:51 uh that that

43:53 that price takes up to,

43:54 for example,

43:54 €100 for for certain material passport,

43:58 and that is for obvious reasons,

43:59 not

44:00 not possible,

44:02 not realistic.

44:03 Um we are talking about,

44:05 I said in my presentation that we're focusing on

44:08 making this one affordable,

44:09 so

44:11 something like an area of $0.3

44:15 is probably more realistic.

44:18 Um

44:21 Yeah,

44:26 I don't know.

44:26 Yeah,

44:27 anything more.

44:28 Yeah,

44:28 I know,

44:29 that's,

44:29 that's,

44:29 that's very good.

44:30 Thank you.

44:31 Uh,

44:31 thank you,

44:31 Henrik,

44:32 and I'm sure we'll have some questions from the audience as well,

44:34 which we'll try,

44:35 try to capture towards the end.

44:37 Uh,

44:38 Danny,

44:39 question to you in the context of,

44:40 uh,

44:41 digitization across supply chains,

44:43 uh,

44:43 what are existing applications of AI in boosting industry competitiveness

44:47 and circularity?

44:49 Uh,

44:49 which sectors do you see the growing demand for?

44:53 Um,

44:54 at the moment,

44:55 there are several sectors that

44:57 have,

44:57 uh,

44:58 higher ROI

44:59 such as healthcare,

45:01 uh,

45:01 finance industries,

45:02 or even government services.

45:04 Uh,

45:05 that

45:06 has

45:07 started to

45:08 apply some of these AI technologies to basically

45:11 boosting the competitiveness in

45:14 the ability to

45:16 finish the transaction in a much faster.

45:18 For example,

45:19 facial recognition in

45:21 finance

45:23 industries.

45:23 Several fintech has already started to apply the technology,

45:26 but So to see a lot more

45:28 financial industries to apply these technologies in

45:32 the due diligence in the onboarding process

45:35 where it allows them to

45:37 add on an additional layer of security

45:41 to verify rather than just using a human beings

45:44 to identify whether is this person the same as

45:47 the one on their

45:48 ID.

45:49 Um,

45:50 I,

45:50 I can also see a lot of,

45:53 uh,

45:53 these technologies are currently applying on the healthcare

45:57 industry,

45:57 especially during the last couple of months,

46:00 where the need of

46:01 collaboration

46:03 between different healthcare institutions,

46:05 trying to collaborate,

46:07 trying to share the information,

46:09 trying to create something new to collaborate

46:11 is the world's largest ever collaboration

46:14 in the days that we can see.

46:16 And um

46:18 the,

46:18 the,

46:19 the,

46:19 the traditional way of information sharing and the ability to

46:24 extract and understand the context of this

46:28 information,

46:28 for example,

46:29 patient's report,

46:30 for example,

46:32 requests for uh,

46:34 information or,

46:34 you know,

46:34 diagnosis of the patients,

46:36 these

46:38 clusters that is,

46:39 that has been preventing the information sharing across,

46:42 across the platform,

46:44 across digital healthcare trusts

46:46 has always been the bottleneck.

46:49 And by having the ability to extract and understand the data,

46:54 such as chatbot application,

46:56 uh,

46:57 you know,

46:57 digital onboarding applications,

47:00 and digital information sharing.

47:02 The,

47:03 the

47:04 hospital trusts are able to share this information and able to complete

47:09 that transaction in a much faster way,

47:11 and

47:12 the,

47:12 the beauty of it is not only ends with the ability to share,

47:16 but it's the ability to harvest the new data that has previously

47:21 been difficult to gather,

47:23 for example,

47:24 facial recognition or,

47:26 you know,

47:26 for example,

47:27 involving the patients to actually

47:29 involve,

47:30 engage them in the,

47:32 in the process,

47:33 allowing them to share

47:34 additional information,

47:36 allowing them to share

47:37 what they

47:39 Uh,

47:40 for example,

47:40 their,

47:40 their

47:41 symptoms are,

47:43 and these will allow the designers of the system or doctors

47:46 in this case to be able to take that into consideration

47:50 in a much faster way.

47:51 Same thing applies to financial industries,

47:54 you know,

47:54 facial recognition or even text recognition is actually

47:58 adding on top of a layer of compliance

48:01 as well as solving

48:03 that

48:04 issues in real time

48:06 and same goes to.

48:07 The

48:08 government services as well.

48:09 I mean,

48:10 we can see,

48:11 especially in today's context,

48:12 for example,

48:13 I believe that people still remember Brexit in today's,

48:16 it's coming up.

48:18 Um,

48:19 all this change of border regulations of this change of import and export

48:23 regulations,

48:24 the producing of necessarily new new documents,

48:28 new,

48:29 um,

48:29 you know,

48:29 certificates and all these things,

48:31 it's no longer able to cope by the whole system.

48:36 And simply this is what we are seeing

48:39 that a lot of demand are actually coming from these sectors that

48:42 not only we require the hardware

48:45 to put into this.

48:47 scalable solution that can take into

48:50 users' feedback,

48:51 uh,

48:52 and that can expand and scale in real-time,

48:55 but also the core of it,

48:57 like many panelists have mentioned just now,

48:59 is actually the ability to understand

49:02 and the ability to harvest the new data that we can

49:06 work across and we can scale together

49:08 with the growing demand.

49:12 Very thorough answer indeed,

49:14 Danny.

49:14 Thank you so much.

49:15 It's a,

49:15 it's a complex question and,

49:17 and uh

49:18 a complex answer,

49:19 but uh thank you.

49:21 Um,

49:23 Natania,

49:25 uh Matthew,

49:26 and,

49:26 and Danny,

49:27 please also chime in if you think.

49:29 Could you tell us about any use cases in developing countries and,

49:33 and what are the key challenges of deployment,

49:35 be it internal or external,

49:37 and perhaps some steps being taken to build a lasting and

49:40 resilient business among among some of the challenges being faced.

49:47 Sure,

49:47 I can,

49:48 or I can jump in.

49:50 Um,

49:51 so I,

49:51 I think,

49:52 uh,

49:53 You know,

49:53 again,

49:53 what we're doing is,

49:54 is,

49:55 uh,

49:56 in the area of distributed resource processing.

49:59 Um,

50:00 and,

50:00 uh,

50:01 the,

50:01 um,

50:01 the opportunities,

50:03 uh,

50:03 frankly,

50:03 in developing countries are significantly higher than

50:05 they are in the developed countries because

50:07 in the developed countries,

50:08 you're,

50:09 you're,

50:09 uh,

50:10 competing against,

50:11 uh,

50:11 an established centralized

50:13 Uh,

50:14 processing systems.

50:14 So,

50:15 you know,

50:15 in the United States,

50:16 by way of example,

50:17 there's,

50:18 uh,

50:18 you know,

50:18 central utilities for electricity and for,

50:21 for water,

50:22 um,

50:22 and ultimately,

50:23 we've got to put in place systems that,

50:25 um,

50:25 can compete against those,

50:27 um,

50:27 directly.

50:28 Um,

50:29 whereas in the developing world,

50:31 uh,

50:31 there's still an opportunity to shape policy and to shape

50:34 Um,

50:35 sort of incentives to,

50:36 um,

50:37 if not favor distributed,

50:38 at least putting it on an even playing field with centralized,

50:42 uh,

50:42 methods of generating

50:44 some of these fundamental resources.

50:45 So,

50:46 at a high level,

50:47 um,

50:48 similar to how,

50:49 uh,

50:50 solar is accelerating and how cell phones have enabled the leap.

50:54 Um,

50:54 in the,

50:54 in the developing world,

50:56 um,

50:57 for,

50:57 for infrastructure,

50:58 um,

50:58 there's an opportunity to do that for distributed

51:01 processing and then some specific use cases,

51:03 um,

51:04 uh,

51:04 would be,

51:05 you know,

51:05 we've got a plant,

51:06 uh,

51:06 operating in,

51:07 uh,

51:07 in Malaysia,

51:08 um,

51:09 uh,

51:09 uh,

51:10 not entirely of,

51:11 of developing in a

51:13 country across,

51:14 across the board,

51:14 but in some Cases,

51:15 it,

51:15 it is,

51:16 and,

51:16 um,

51:16 in some ways it is.

51:17 Um,

51:18 and,

51:18 uh,

51:19 uh,

51:19 you know,

51:19 the challenges with,

51:20 with operating,

51:22 um,

51:22 in that kind of environment for a company like ours as a,

51:24 as a growing sort of a growth company

51:26 is finding the right partners locally,

51:29 um,

51:29 is understanding how to do some of the,

51:32 um,

51:32 non-core activities like balance,

51:34 what we call balance of plants.

51:36 Uh,

51:36 design and installation,

51:38 the things around our plant that need to be done correctly,

51:41 uh,

51:41 construction,

51:42 um,

51:42 and then just navigating the local permitting and regulatory environment,

51:46 which is often,

51:47 uh,

51:47 different,

51:48 um,

51:48 along multiple levels and even in,

51:50 you know,

51:50 developed countries,

51:51 it's highly localized.

51:52 So,

51:52 um,

51:53 so it's a question of know-how and knowledge and finding the right partners.

51:56 Um,

51:57 the use cases and the economics are,

51:59 are,

51:59 can be,

51:59 can be,

52:00 uh,

52:00 tremendous.

52:01 Um,

52:01 so,

52:02 so there's a lot of opportunity there.

52:05 Thank you,

52:05 Matthew.

52:05 Very,

52:07 um,

52:07 but Tanya,

52:08 from your point of view

52:09 and,

52:10 and keeping in mind that,

52:11 you know,

52:11 with the bank,

52:12 the idea is that there's a lot of opportunity in emerging economies,

52:15 uh,

52:15 indeed,

52:16 it,

52:16 it,

52:17 so any specific use cases on,

52:19 on how,

52:20 you know,

52:20 these technologies or these business models could be leveraged there and,

52:24 and even brought to scale at,

52:26 at speed.

52:28 Yeah,

52:28 absolutely,

52:29 at least for us here at Amprobiotics when it comes to

52:31 sort of the physical um diversion of materials from the landfill,

52:34 there's a very similar opportunity

52:37 where you don't have as much infrastructure that's really

52:39 been built up around uh landfills and incineration the way

52:42 you do here in the uh in the United States and then in other parts of the Western world.

52:47 Um,

52:47 and so it actually presents a really meaningful opportunity.

52:50 Um,

52:51 so the goal of our technology is to reduce the cost

52:53 of recycling and by doing that align incentives behind extracting,

52:57 uh,

52:57 these different commodities and diverting them from landfills.

53:00 So we get quite excited about

53:02 sort of uh kind of um

53:04 leapfrogging over this phase in developing countries and going directly

53:07 to recycling a lot of these rapidly urbanizing population centers.

53:12 Um,

53:12 the challenges for for us end up being around,

53:14 uh,

53:14 not necessarily the recycling facilities themselves,

53:17 um.

53:18 But really around some of the other infrastructure that

53:20 we assume is there uh for our existing customers

53:24 here in the US which is uh the existing

53:25 of collection resources and then the existence of off-take

53:29 uh for the materials that we're able to separate out where a lot of those

53:33 uh may not exist in

53:34 in developing nations um

53:36 and the challenge with our business uh

53:38 is that if you have to transport the materials too far,

53:40 it's very easy to erode away the value.

53:42 So,

53:42 um,

53:43 we do think that there is a big opportunity

53:45 where you're meaningfully using a lot of the same technology and then

53:48 you just sort of have to

53:49 balance that with the rest of the circular economy,

53:52 uh,

53:52 value chain.

53:53 Um,

53:55 yeah.

53:59 Fantastic.

53:59 And I don't know,

54:00 Danny,

54:00 if you want to add a minute or two from,

54:02 from,

54:02 uh,

54:02 from AI point of view,

54:04 you know.

54:05 Um,

54:06 our experience has been slightly,

54:08 uh,

54:08 different again,

54:09 as a disruptive technology,

54:11 uh,

54:11 it is new everywhere.

54:13 So the fundamental infrastructure requirement is,

54:16 uh,

54:17 rather the same whether in a developed or developing countries,

54:20 but a,

54:21 a,

54:21 a,

54:21 a good facilitation for us is actually in

54:24 some of the developing countries like for example,

54:26 Italy,

54:27 um,

54:27 the,

54:28 the regulator,

54:30 uh,

54:30 or the government's approach are rather more welcoming and opening.

54:34 And

54:35 to involve us into designing

54:38 and creating the basic framework

54:40 that allows us to apply the technologies.

54:42 We've been working with a few financial banks across the region

54:46 and

54:48 the functionality.

54:49 Of the financial regulators

54:51 are rather very centralized compared to

54:55 what we see in the developed countries where

54:57 the

54:59 stock market and the regulators are rather so that you can actually have

55:06 a governing bodies to work.

55:09 Rather in developing countries,

55:11 these

55:12 newly built

55:13 infrastructure are rather combined as one so that

55:17 it actually facilitates us to move across.

55:19 Now obviously these,

55:21 uh,

55:22 you know,

55:22 in another case of developing countries,

55:25 um,

55:26 for example,

55:26 in some of the countries that we see in South Asia,

55:29 in Southeast Asia,

55:30 it's rather even more difficult,

55:32 so it rather comes in.

55:34 Uh,

55:35 how ready the country is,

55:36 how ready the regulator is willing to adopt this technology,

55:40 and if they're willing to open,

55:41 it's rather

55:43 much more easier than the developed countries

55:45 where we have to integrate with the existing

55:47 rules and regulations,

55:49 but

55:50 otherwise it is actually,

55:52 uh,

55:52 you know,

55:53 much more.

55:53 Easy.

55:54 As you can see,

55:54 the internet speed in,

55:56 for example,

55:57 the internet speed in Dubai is a lot faster than

56:00 right here in the UK because simply

56:02 you just need to apply,

56:03 you know,

56:03 the cable,

56:04 or the latest cable

56:05 or the newest cable in the country rather than

56:08 we have to slowly

56:09 upgrade the cables from space to space.

56:14 Yeah,

56:15 very good point,

56:15 uh,

56:16 uh,

56:16 Danny,

56:16 like legacy systems and the roles of,

56:18 of,

56:18 uh,

56:19 of governments and regulators.

56:21 Um,

56:22 speaking of which,

56:23 uh,

56:23 Carson,

56:24 uh,

56:24 uh,

56:24 uh,

56:25 you represent one of the biggest global,

56:27 uh,

56:28 organizations,

56:29 Carney,

56:29 when it comes to the application of these technologies,

56:33 what role do you envision for government?

56:35 And again,

56:35 it's been mentioned by,

56:37 by some of our colleagues here already.

56:39 But

56:39 what is the role that you

56:41 particularly envision for governments,

56:42 especially in emerging markets in terms of optimizing the business ecosystem,

56:46 in other words,

56:47 enabling

56:48 circular business models,

56:50 uh,

56:51 empowered by technology to,

56:52 to,

56:52 to thrive.

56:55 A good,

56:55 good question,

56:55 Attila.

56:56 So when I think of governments,

56:57 my,

56:58 my,

56:58 my first thought is,

56:59 uh,

56:59 provide,

57:00 provide security.

57:01 So

57:01 because if you talk to the Veolia or the

57:03 Remondes or the Waste Management in the US today,

57:06 why they don't want to expand,

57:09 uh,

57:09 it is,

57:09 it is simply for lack,

57:10 for lack of security,

57:12 investment security and,

57:13 uh,

57:13 personal security also,

57:15 um,

57:15 in those regions.

57:17 I mean,

57:17 obviously if you're looking to the developing countries,

57:20 um,

57:20 there,

57:20 there is an informal sector,

57:22 um,

57:22 on the small.

57:23 scale,

57:24 that is doing all the reuse and,

57:26 and,

57:26 and recycle very often under conditions that you don't want to have.

57:29 Um,

57:30 and here,

57:30 um,

57:30 it,

57:31 it would be the task of the government,

57:33 um,

57:33 to,

57:33 um,

57:34 to enforce,

57:35 to,

57:35 to,

57:35 to,

57:36 to promote uh better technologies,

57:38 um,

57:38 in the recycle,

57:39 the hardcore recycling process as such because

57:42 all the

57:43 collection and sorting that is uh pretty well taken care of simply by the fact

57:47 that you have very cheap labor there,

57:49 but you don't want to have the detrimental

57:51 Um,

57:52 effects on,

57:52 on the health,

57:53 um,

57:53 in the,

57:54 in the later

57:55 stages.

57:55 So,

57:56 um,

57:56 task in that,

57:57 in that small informal sector of the governments would be to enable the inflow of,

58:02 um,

58:03 of technology.

58:04 And then you have the other,

58:05 the more organized,

58:07 uh,

58:07 gray,

58:07 gray sector,

58:09 um,

58:09 that is,

58:10 is very often,

58:11 uh,

58:11 simply characterized by corruption and that is,

58:13 uh,

58:14 Um,

58:14 that,

58:15 that,

58:15 that is a stumbling block,

58:16 uh,

58:16 to larger,

58:17 um,

58:18 companies entering those markets

58:20 and that it primarily would be,

58:22 um,

58:23 to,

58:23 to,

58:23 to provide security of all,

58:25 in,

58:25 in all shapes and forms.

58:27 Um,

58:28 to,

58:29 to,

58:29 to bring in,

58:30 to bring in the already existing technologies

58:32 that,

58:33 that,

58:33 that are all there and,

58:34 uh,

58:34 our panel

58:35 shows exactly,

58:36 um,

58:36 that,

58:36 that we have it all,

58:37 but we need to get it,

58:39 uh,

58:39 to the very point of application.

58:45 Super.

58:46 Thank you.

58:46 Thank you very much,

58:47 Carsten.

58:48 So,

58:48 as you might have uh noticed audience,

58:50 we,

58:51 we,

58:51 we've tried to go into very specific examples on technology,

58:54 then

58:55 come back out a little bit and look at policy and,

58:57 and,

58:58 and ecosystem uh enablers,

59:00 but as this is a tech panel,

59:02 I think uh we should come back a little bit uh to the specifics.

59:06 Um,

59:07 Matthew,

59:08 you founded the Cambrian

59:10 uh Innovation

59:11 out of MIT in 2007.

59:14 Uh,

59:14 you've been doing a great job helping industrial producers capture

59:17 clean energy and clean water from wastewater streams as,

59:19 as described,

59:21 uh,

59:21 and really impressively

59:23 treating 2 billion gallons of wastewater and

59:25 generating 1.5 gigawatt hours of energy.

59:28 This

59:29 scaled up would be incredibly powerful,

59:31 um,

59:31 whether you do it or UN competitors,

59:34 but

59:34 I guess hopefully both.

59:36 Um,

59:37 the

59:38 Big questions to you and these are the

59:40 business questions perhaps about your main clients.

59:42 How,

59:43 how do you shift to consumer behavior towards reuse of product,

59:47 i.e. the water,

59:48 right?

59:48 Uh,

59:49 which messages stick and which don't?

59:50 What are,

59:51 what are the incentives for,

59:52 for companies to,

59:54 uh,

59:54 to,

59:55 to work with you?

59:56 Yeah,

59:57 well,

59:57 uh,

59:57 our,

59:57 uh,

59:58 thank,

59:58 thank you for that,

59:59 Attila.

59:59 I appreciate it.

1:00:00 And,

1:00:00 uh,

1:00:01 uh,

1:00:02 the,

1:00:02 um,

1:00:03 you know,

1:00:03 at a high level,

1:00:04 our customers are,

1:00:05 are

1:00:06 currently,

1:00:06 um,

1:00:07 uh,

1:00:07 food and beverage manufacturers,

1:00:09 uh,

1:00:09 uh,

1:00:10 um,

1:00:10 resorts,

1:00:11 residences,

1:00:13 um,

1:00:13 and,

1:00:13 uh,

1:00:14 and those kinds of companies.

1:00:16 Um,

1:00:17 and

1:00:17 many of them are selling consumer products.

1:00:20 And uh their sources of input to their process,

1:00:24 particularly if it's going to go into a product.

1:00:26 So if it's,

1:00:26 you know,

1:00:27 if you're making beer and you're producing and,

1:00:28 and you're using water,

1:00:30 it is very important to them,

1:00:31 and it's in fact part of the brand.

1:00:33 Um,

1:00:33 and so,

1:00:34 uh,

1:00:35 many of these kinds of companies have,

1:00:37 have rightly been a little bit,

1:00:38 um,

1:00:39 uh,

1:00:40 uh,

1:00:40 focused on or concerned with the quality of the inputs that they're using and,

1:00:43 and hesitant to take up novel

1:00:45 approaches to that.

1:00:46 Um,

1:00:47 we are seeing,

1:00:48 um,

1:00:49 a,

1:00:49 a,

1:00:49 a shift in that,

1:00:50 a pretty significant shift in that,

1:00:52 and,

1:00:52 and there's a couple of things to be

1:00:54 said there.

1:00:55 Um,

1:00:55 the first is that a lot of these major companies,

1:00:58 um,

1:00:58 have seen the writing on the wall when it comes to things like water scarcity.

1:01:02 Um,

1:01:02 in certain regions and in places where you have certain plants,

1:01:05 uh,

1:01:05 and they've already put in place,

1:01:07 um,

1:01:07 targets

1:01:08 to cut

1:01:09 their water to product ratio

1:01:11 across the board,

1:01:12 and they've been working on that over a period of years.

1:01:14 Um,

1:01:15 they're hitting

1:01:15 the edge of what can be done with just efficiency,

1:01:18 which means using less.

1:01:19 The plant itself.

1:01:21 And the only step they can take to go further at this point is to reuse water.

1:01:25 So there's a strategic imperative to start to do this.

1:01:28 Um,

1:01:28 and the first step there is to find out

1:01:31 where they can apply it within their

1:01:33 processes that doesn't necessarily have impact,

1:01:35 uh,

1:01:36 contact with consumer products,

1:01:38 per se.

1:01:39 Um,

1:01:39 and,

1:01:39 uh,

1:01:40 and there are very simple things that can be done there.

1:01:42 It's not rocket science.

1:01:42 There's things like washing floors,

1:01:44 cooling towers,

1:01:45 uh,

1:01:46 irrigating lawns,

1:01:47 things like that.

1:01:47 So there's,

1:01:48 there's a tier of reuse.

1:01:50 Um,

1:01:50 that can be for the,

1:01:51 from the water perspective,

1:01:52 or even from the electricity perspective,

1:01:54 that can be the non-core

1:01:55 sort of assets and targets.

1:01:56 And then,

1:01:57 then on the consumer side,

1:01:58 more specifically to your point,

1:01:59 um,

1:02:00 uh,

1:02:01 you actually see that a lot of

1:02:03 consumers would like to be

1:02:06 purchasing from a company that has

1:02:07 a significantly positive environmental impact or,

1:02:10 and we,

1:02:11 we'll have some customers now

1:02:13 who will put our,

1:02:13 our

1:02:14 Go on their,

1:02:15 um,

1:02:15 on their packaging,

1:02:16 for example,

1:02:17 um,

1:02:17 as an example of what they're doing for,

1:02:20 uh,

1:02:20 for the environment.

1:02:21 Um,

1:02:21 and,

1:02:22 um,

1:02:22 we've done some events where we've,

1:02:23 um,

1:02:24 uh,

1:02:24 used our water

1:02:25 that we've produced and put it head to head with,

1:02:27 with,

1:02:28 uh,

1:02:28 utility-based water,

1:02:29 and,

1:02:30 and shown that it can be,

1:02:31 um,

1:02:31 you know,

1:02:31 certainly as clean and as effective and as reliable.

1:02:34 So I think there's a shift with consumers,

1:02:36 um,

1:02:36 as well,

1:02:37 and it's just going to be a step,

1:02:38 uh,

1:02:38 towards getting there.

1:02:41 Thank you very much,

1:02:42 uh,

1:02:42 uh,

1:02:42 Matthew.

1:02:43 Uh,

1:02:43 Mutania,

1:02:44 same question to you,

1:02:45 uh,

1:02:46 you know,

1:02:46 what is,

1:02:48 what are the incentives for,

1:02:49 for recycling facilities,

1:02:50 for example,

1:02:51 or other,

1:02:52 other clients that use your products?

1:02:55 Yeah,

1:02:56 there,

1:02:56 there's a key number that we really focus on,

1:02:58 which is the sort of embodied value of a ton

1:03:00 of material that will go through a recycling facility.

1:03:04 This exists in a commodity market,

1:03:05 so it shifts,

1:03:06 um,

1:03:06 you know,

1:03:06 can shift week to week or quarter to quarter,

1:03:08 but

1:03:09 roughly a ton of material will be worth,

1:03:10 um,

1:03:11 about $80 per ton.

1:03:13 Um,

1:03:13 unfortunately,

1:03:14 the cost of running a conventional recycling facility ends up being about $90 a ton,

1:03:18 so they're,

1:03:19 you know,

1:03:19 barely breaking even,

1:03:21 they may even be underwater on the core unit economics

1:03:24 of the sorting process compared to the commodity value.

1:03:27 Um,

1:03:27 they do have other sources of revenue,

1:03:28 something called tip fees,

1:03:29 but basically a fee for accepting material at the

1:03:31 facility and that that'll make up the gap if,

1:03:33 if their unit economics are negative.

1:03:35 Um,

1:03:36 but a lot of this is driven by a,

1:03:37 a heavy reliance on manual labor,

1:03:39 so.

1:03:40 Um,

1:03:40 really it's,

1:03:41 it's,

1:03:41 uh,

1:03:41 fairly straightforward for the facilities.

1:03:43 They're trying to drive down this cost per ton of sorting,

1:03:45 um,

1:03:45 and our robots can do that,

1:03:46 uh,

1:03:47 significantly,

1:03:48 uh,

1:03:48 bringing these costs down to something more like $65 per ton or even less,

1:03:52 and then bringing them back to profitability purely

1:03:54 based on the commodity value of these materials.

1:03:57 Um,

1:03:57 so that,

1:03:58 that creates a strong,

1:03:59 uh,

1:03:59 incentive,

1:04:00 but,

1:04:01 um,

1:04:01 just as important for these,

1:04:02 uh,

1:04:02 facilities is really consistency in their process.

1:04:05 Um,

1:04:05 unfortunately,

1:04:06 the manual sorting process is fairly unpleasant.

1:04:09 Um,

1:04:10 people put all sorts of things in their recycling stream that,

1:04:12 that aren't supposed to be there,

1:04:13 uh,

1:04:13 whether it's hypodermic needles or

1:04:15 every

1:04:16 facility has a story about a grenade or this or that,

1:04:18 um,

1:04:19 and so,

1:04:19 uh,

1:04:20 unfortunately the facilities face,

1:04:21 uh,

1:04:21 high rates of turnover which makes it hard to run a consistent business.

1:04:24 Uh,

1:04:24 so in turn there's a strong incentive around just really being able to control

1:04:29 the process,

1:04:30 uh,

1:04:31 control consistency,

1:04:32 and,

1:04:32 um.

1:04:33 That,

1:04:34 that proves out to be enough for our robots,

1:04:36 um,

1:04:36 but

1:04:37 one of the things that excites us is that

1:04:38 by reducing the cost of sorting,

1:04:40 uh,

1:04:40 you make it viable to sort additional materials

1:04:42 that may not have been worthwhile before.

1:04:45 And so we've seen that in several facilities where they actually either increase

1:04:49 the number of shifts they run,

1:04:51 they increase the uh the types of materials that they're willing to accept,

1:04:54 uh,

1:04:54 things like this,

1:04:55 um,

1:04:56 which in turn allows them to divert more from the,

1:04:58 from the landfill,

1:04:59 which is quite exciting.

1:05:02 Excellent,

1:05:03 Natalia,

1:05:03 quick uh question from the audience.

1:05:06 Meania,

1:05:06 is it possible to sort the different types of plastics?

1:05:11 Mhm

1:05:12 Oh yeah,

1:05:12 absolutely,

1:05:12 that's,

1:05:13 that's a primary

1:05:14 use case for us.

1:05:15 It's separating out 1,

1:05:16 plastics,

1:05:16 2,

1:05:17 plastics,

1:05:18 you know,

1:05:18 polypropylene and all these esoteric plastic or paper types that you,

1:05:22 you know,

1:05:23 not care about unless you're

1:05:24 deeply embedded in that mechanical recycling part of the process,

1:05:27 but

1:05:28 the key for us is that the technology,

1:05:31 um,

1:05:32 uses

1:05:33 basically the branding,

1:05:34 uh,

1:05:34 the form factor,

1:05:36 uh,

1:05:36 the color of the materials.

1:05:38 And so it's learned that,

1:05:39 you know,

1:05:39 shiny,

1:05:40 uh,

1:05:40 transparent plastic is the number one plastic,

1:05:43 it has a Pepsi logo on it or something like that,

1:05:45 then

1:05:46 you can be very certain it's the number one plastic,

1:05:48 um,

1:05:49 and,

1:05:49 uh,

1:05:49 and so we can actually go beyond resin numbers.

1:05:51 We can go down to,

1:05:52 um,

1:05:53 the skew or we can separate out by form factor,

1:05:56 um,

1:05:56 which in turn,

1:05:57 uh,

1:05:58 opens up interesting models for reuse.

1:05:59 Um,

1:06:00 so for instance,

1:06:01 uh,

1:06:01 there's uh several groups that have looked

1:06:03 at reusable packaging rather than recyclable.

1:06:06 Typically this packaging has to be separated out from

1:06:08 the conventional recycling stream and shipped back to the,

1:06:11 the producer,

1:06:12 um,

1:06:12 because of the difficulty of actually separating it out,

1:06:15 um,

1:06:15 but our,

1:06:15 our robots can actually separate out,

1:06:17 say,

1:06:18 uh,

1:06:18 there's a group called Loop,

1:06:19 um,

1:06:20 that's,

1:06:21 that's making uh aluminum reusable packaging,

1:06:23 uh,

1:06:24 and we can actually separate those out at industrial volumes as well.

1:06:27 So,

1:06:27 so even beyond sort of specific resins,

1:06:29 you can um

1:06:30 sort with

1:06:31 potentially an arbitrary level of specificity.

1:06:36 Excellent.

1:06:37 Super.

1:06:37 Thank you for that,

1:06:38 uh,

1:06:39 clear answer.

1:06:42 Next two questions and this is to,

1:06:44 to all of uh the,

1:06:46 the whole panel already.

1:06:47 Uh,

1:06:48 one,

1:06:48 based on your entrepreneurial journeys,

1:06:50 what paths do you see for the transfer of knowledge to stakeholders in,

1:06:54 in emerging economies to deploy these technologies for circularity?

1:06:58 And what,

1:06:59 what are some of the key challenges that you might see,

1:07:01 be it internal,

1:07:02 external,

1:07:03 and some steps,

1:07:04 some steps that could be taken to build a lasting and resilient business,

1:07:07 uh,

1:07:08 amid these challenges,

1:07:09 again,

1:07:09 with the focus on emerging economies.

1:07:11 And the next question will be,

1:07:13 and,

1:07:14 and we've touched on it,

1:07:15 but I think maybe

1:07:16 Uh,

1:07:17 drilling in a little bit more when it

1:07:19 comes to the application of these technologies,

1:07:21 what are the roles for,

1:07:22 for governments,

1:07:24 uh,

1:07:24 in particular,

1:07:25 in emerging markets in terms of optimizing the,

1:07:27 the ecosystem?

1:07:28 As,

1:07:28 as we've seen when Silicon Valley,

1:07:31 uh,

1:07:32 You know,

1:07:33 technology went at light speed and,

1:07:34 and,

1:07:34 and go,

1:07:35 you know,

1:07:35 policy kind of followed very,

1:07:37 very slowly.

1:07:38 So I think that

1:07:39 is that,

1:07:40 is that a trap that we might fall into again or are we now able to,

1:07:43 to get ahead of that?

1:07:44 So,

1:07:46 In the order of appearance,

1:07:47 uh,

1:07:48 Henrik,

1:07:49 let's start with you and,

1:07:50 and,

1:07:50 and then each of you,

1:07:51 if you could just give your two cents on those two questions.

1:07:54 So entrepreneurial journeys,

1:07:55 paths for transfer of knowledge and capabilities in emerging economies,

1:07:59 and then to,

1:08:00 again,

1:08:00 the roles of government with,

1:08:02 with more,

1:08:03 a bit more detail.

1:08:12 And make your.

1:08:13 Henrik,

1:08:14 you're on mute.

1:08:15 Sorry.

1:08:17 I thought

1:08:20 That is,

1:08:21 I thought it was on mute automatically.

1:08:22 Sorry,

1:08:23 yeah,

1:08:25 one of the challenges in

1:08:27 You see,

1:08:28 uh,

1:08:28 is,

1:08:29 is the part of the regulation,

1:08:32 meaning when you need to ship goods back in the reverse logistics,

1:08:36 uh,

1:08:38 that that

1:08:38 that can require or that does require some

1:08:42 some changes,

1:08:43 regulations

1:08:44 those supply chain a typical design for,

1:08:47 for pushing the goods out and not necessarily the whole return to logistics.

1:08:52 And that's also another example if we talk about research logistics.

1:08:58 Another challenge that we're also seeing on the logistics

1:09:02 because traditionally uh logistics has been

1:09:06 The challenge with the the last mile.

1:09:08 I mean how do you get the goods out to the consumers,

1:09:11 but now with the circular economy,

1:09:13 it is really about the first mile.

1:09:15 I mean how do you get the things from the consumer?

1:09:17 How do you incentivize those ones

1:09:19 from the consumer until some kind of logistic point

1:09:23 and you probably need some some in some cases you need,

1:09:27 you will need some.

1:09:27 Governmental

1:09:30 initiatives there to make it attractive for the consumer

1:09:34 to start,

1:09:35 to start the return loop

1:09:37 instead of just throwing out your product

1:09:42 as waste.

1:09:44 Yeah.

1:09:45 Yeah,

1:09:45 Super Henrik,

1:09:46 thank you.

1:09:47 Uh,

1:09:47 just,

1:09:48 just to stay,

1:09:49 uh,

1:09:49 on time,

1:09:50 I would ask Danny,

1:09:50 Matthew,

1:09:51 uh,

1:09:52 Matania,

1:09:52 and Carsten to give a quick,

1:09:55 you know,

1:09:55 32nd,

1:09:56 uh,

1:09:57 answer to this,

1:09:57 to those same two questions.

1:10:01 Yeah,

1:10:01 I'll,

1:10:02 I'll chip in,

1:10:02 uh,

1:10:03 which is,

1:10:03 um,

1:10:04 I think there's a strong role for uh

1:10:06 governments in emerging markets to capture externalities,

1:10:08 um,

1:10:09 and you've started to see this in European

1:10:10 markets and others around extended producer responsibility schemes,

1:10:13 but I think

1:10:14 from our perspective in this sort of mechanical recycling world,

1:10:16 any,

1:10:17 anything that can

1:10:18 capture those externalities really support uh what we're doing.

1:10:21 Um,

1:10:22 we don't necessarily think there's a need,

1:10:23 a need for direct subsidies or things like that in,

1:10:25 in at least our part of the circular economy,

1:10:27 it's really around.

1:10:29 Kind of information about externalities and then um and then try to just

1:10:33 have some market force that can um that can capture that a little bit,

1:10:35 we think that can be quite,

1:10:36 quite powerful.

1:10:38 Super.

1:10:39 Thanks for time.

1:10:41 Danny,

1:10:43 And your,

1:10:43 in your experience involving the stakeholders,

1:10:46 including the user as well as the regulator in

1:10:49 the designing phase of the solution is absolutely essential,

1:10:53 uh,

1:10:53 simply because

1:10:55 the,

1:10:55 the ability to use this disruptive technology is

1:10:59 fundamentally different

1:11:01 in terms of the processing,

1:11:03 whether it's in parallel or,

1:11:05 or in,

1:11:06 in batch processing,

1:11:07 hence involving

1:11:09 the regulators,

1:11:10 for example,

1:11:11 the government in

1:11:12 Understanding the ability of this technology to be able to help,

1:11:16 involving them into this

1:11:18 designing loop and execution loop

1:11:20 will help them to not only understand but also

1:11:23 as an approach

1:11:25 to actually allowing them to get more involved into the

1:11:29 expansion on the scalable of these solutions.

1:11:34 Thank you,

1:11:34 Danny,

1:11:34 Matthew,

1:11:35 and then Carsten,

1:11:36 please.

1:11:36 Yeah,

1:11:36 I think,

1:11:37 um,

1:11:37 uh,

1:11:38 with respect to,

1:11:39 um,

1:11:40 uh,

1:11:41 avenues for getting knowledge out there,

1:11:42 I mean,

1:11:43 for us,

1:11:44 almost everything we do relies on partnerships,

1:11:46 and I mentioned that the highly local aspect of about,

1:11:48 you know,

1:11:49 40 to 60% of the value that we

1:11:51 Uh,

1:11:52 uh,

1:11:52 generator or,

1:11:53 um,

1:11:54 on site.

1:11:55 Um,

1:11:55 and so,

1:11:56 um,

1:11:57 it's a clear way for us,

1:11:59 it,

1:11:59 it would be identifying partners and,

1:12:01 and working with them,

1:12:02 um,

1:12:02 in local economies to,

1:12:03 to implement solutions and,

1:12:05 and there would need to be a transfer of knowledge for that.

1:12:07 With respect to governments,

1:12:08 um,

1:12:08 Uh,

1:12:09 I want to echo what Meania,

1:12:10 uh,

1:12:11 said about,

1:12:12 uh,

1:12:12 simply increasing the cost of,

1:12:14 uh,

1:12:14 we're not increasing the cost,

1:12:15 but simply making,

1:12:16 uh,

1:12:16 folks aware of the impact of externalities.

1:12:18 Um,

1:12:19 and,

1:12:19 uh,

1:12:20 and,

1:12:21 you know,

1:12:21 in our case,

1:12:22 anything that can be done

1:12:23 to favor a,

1:12:24 uh,

1:12:25 uh,

1:12:25 a more distributed model versus a centralized model for resource

1:12:28 processing is by definition going to favor favor circular approaches.

1:12:32 Um,

1:12:32 and there's a number of policies that could be thought of around that,

1:12:34 um,

1:12:35 including national standards for,

1:12:36 for quality around some of these materials and,

1:12:39 um,

1:12:39 that are being produced.

1:12:42 Fantastic.

1:12:43 Thank you,

1:12:43 Matthew.

1:12:43 Uh,

1:12:44 Carsten.

1:12:45 Well,

1:12:45 well,

1:12:46 I have a great privilege of living in a country,

1:12:48 Germany,

1:12:48 that has introduced,

1:12:49 uh,

1:12:50 collection schemes and gate fees already 30 years back,

1:12:53 and you could see year by year with new gate fees and then new deposit schemes,

1:12:57 um,

1:12:57 how,

1:12:58 how more and more circles have been closed.

1:12:59 So that,

1:13:00 that is,

1:13:00 um,

1:13:00 actually best practice example

1:13:03 which can be,

1:13:04 uh,

1:13:04 sent to.

1:13:05 Other countries.

1:13:06 And more on the private side,

1:13:07 so,

1:13:08 uh,

1:13:08 won't come as a surprise if I say that a circular valley where

1:13:11 you bring together people from the

1:13:13 developing countries and the developed countries,

1:13:16 uh,

1:13:16 to work together on solutions is what,

1:13:17 what I would strongly advise here.

1:13:19 Yeah,

1:13:19 this one place

1:13:21 where everybody,

1:13:22 wha wha whatever the boundary conditions are in the respective geography,

1:13:25 come together,

1:13:26 uh,

1:13:26 to jointly develop new solutions.

1:13:30 Thank you very much,

1:13:31 uh,

1:13:32 uh,

1:13:32 gentlemen,

1:13:33 ladies and gentlemen,

1:13:34 rather.

1:13:35 Uh,

1:13:35 with this,

1:13:35 we come to the end of our first panel.

1:13:39 It's actually quite,

1:13:40 the questions were actually meant to transition us,

1:13:43 uh,

1:13:44 right into the second panel.

1:13:46 Uh,

1:13:46 as mentioned in the opening remarks by Martha,

1:13:48 it is important to acknowledge that the use of technologies

1:13:51 and digitalization will not automatically lead to greater sustainability.

1:13:55 There are associated risks,

1:13:57 rebound effects,

1:13:58 etc.

1:13:59 and policy and regulatory measures need to be

1:14:01 aligned with the sustainability slash circularity agenda.

1:14:06 In the second panel we have thought leaders from the public sector with

1:14:09 whom we will discuss existing and

1:14:11 upcoming policy and regulatory measures and frameworks

1:14:14 that enable that aim to enable this transition.

1:14:18 This panel today we have Matthew Stanislaus,

1:14:21 interim director of Global Battery Alliance World Economic Forum.

1:14:27 Professor Gorlos Demetriou,

1:14:29 Director of Circular Economy Research Center in France,

1:14:32 and Elisa Toda,

1:14:33 head of

1:14:34 consumption and Production Unit,

1:14:36 Resources and Market Branch Economy Division,

1:14:38 United Nations Environment Program.

1:14:42 Um

1:14:47 Betty,

1:14:47 if we could start with you,

1:14:48 please.

1:14:49 OK.

1:15:01 Uh,

1:15:01 thanks,

1:15:01 uh,

1:15:02 thanks,

1:15:02 everyone.

1:15:02 I was gonna,

1:15:03 I'm gonna give a brief overview

1:15:05 of the Global Battery Alliance and its activities.

1:15:07 There's a

1:15:08 brief scan of its membership from public,

1:15:10 from government,

1:15:11 and,

1:15:12 uh,

1:15:12 civil society,

1:15:13 academia.

1:15:15 Um,

1:15:16 we focus on this a little bit,

1:15:17 you know,

1:15:17 the batter battery,

1:15:18 Global Battery Alliance has,

1:15:20 uh,

1:15:21 focused in on

1:15:22 three major pillars.

1:15:23 Uh,

1:15:24 the one major pillar I'm going to focus on today

1:15:26 is

1:15:27 looking at circularity to drive towards the Paris Agreement,

1:15:31 which

1:15:32 could reduce greenhouse gas to 30%

1:15:35 in the transportation and power sector

1:15:37 and reducing its own manufacturing footprint

1:15:41 by 50%.

1:15:43 The,

1:15:43 the key way that it is identified

1:15:46 is to increase battery demand

1:15:48 by

1:15:49 realizing,

1:15:51 uh,

1:15:51 optimization of batteries through circularity and greater utilization.

1:15:56 Um,

1:15:56 so these are the,

1:15:57 the,

1:15:57 the 3 principles,

1:15:58 I'm sorry,

1:15:59 the 9 principles,

1:16:01 one around a circular battery value chain,

1:16:05 the second around a low carbon economy,

1:16:07 and the third of ensuring that human rights

1:16:10 and economic development are assured

1:16:13 as we,

1:16:14 as we do the scale up.

1:16:17 Um,

1:16:18 so here,

1:16:18 I've highlighted,

1:16:20 this is an analytical study that we did with McKinsey

1:16:23 that identifies

1:16:24 the economic and uh CO2 abatement

1:16:29 of,

1:16:29 uh,

1:16:30 interventions in key areas.

1:16:32 I've highlighted renewables,

1:16:34 repurposing,

1:16:36 recycle,

1:16:36 repair,

1:16:36 and refurbishment,

1:16:37 and the,

1:16:38 the big takeaway here is,

1:16:40 is that you can achieve

1:16:42 CO2 abatement.

1:16:44 Uh,

1:16:45 that is economically valuable if done correctly,

1:16:49 and we've identified something called a battery passport to really drive this.

1:16:55 Um,

1:16:55 uh,

1:16:56 so,

1:16:57 so,

1:16:57 uh,

1:16:58 uh,

1:16:58 quickly touch on this,

1:17:00 uh,

1:17:00 uh,

1:17:01 we believe the increase in demand

1:17:03 is predicated on reducing the battery cost by 23%

1:17:07 based on studies that we've done.

1:17:10 And a cumulatively,

1:17:13 we believe 10%,

1:17:14 at a minimum 10%

1:17:16 of the cost reduction can be done

1:17:18 through optimizing circular economy levers

1:17:21 with a focus on reuse,

1:17:22 Second Life,

1:17:23 repair,

1:17:24 refurbishment,

1:17:25 and recycling.

1:17:27 So,

1:17:27 we've settled on the flagship effort,

1:17:30 something called a battery passport.

1:17:32 Uh,

1:17:32 the battery passport

1:17:34 would enable

1:17:35 the sharing of data,

1:17:37 uh,

1:17:37 traceability of information and data across the battery value chain.

1:17:43 Uh,

1:17:43 to realize a number

1:17:45 of uh achievements,

1:17:48 uh,

1:17:48 and one is,

1:17:50 uh,

1:17:51 data

1:17:52 to enable safe repurposing and reuse,

1:17:57 optimizing recycling.

1:17:59 This would involve

1:18:01 access to key data,

1:18:02 battery health data,

1:18:04 safety data.

1:18:06 tied to

1:18:07 a battery identity,

1:18:08 and this would be linked with ensuring that

1:18:12 a chain of custody

1:18:13 is assured

1:18:14 to ensure that

1:18:16 there are no sourcing of materials

1:18:18 using child labor in violation

1:18:20 of human rights.

1:18:23 Uh,

1:18:23 so,

1:18:24 at its heart,

1:18:25 the battery passport is an assurance platform.

1:18:28 It was set for,

1:18:29 uh,

1:18:30 uh,

1:18:30 basically a standardization in rules

1:18:33 that is aligned between the public,

1:18:35 uh,

1:18:36 government,

1:18:37 civil society,

1:18:37 and private sector,

1:18:39 uh,

1:18:39 establishing

1:18:41 a mechanism

1:18:44 for data evaluation and integrity.

1:18:46 Uh,

1:18:47 and benchmarking

1:18:48 and certain levels of transparency based on the kind of user in the value chain,

1:18:55 government and public sector.

1:18:58 Um,

1:18:58 so this is just one example of our

1:19:00 ongoing conversation with the European Union Commission.

1:19:03 Uh,

1:19:03 to ensure that

1:19:05 the GBA battery passport

1:19:07 embeds and is aligned with

1:19:09 the upcoming,

1:19:10 the European Union rules in terms of,

1:19:14 uh,

1:19:14 battery responsibility and sustainability,

1:19:17 and the goal

1:19:19 ultimately is to have the battery passport be accepted

1:19:22 as a mechanism

1:19:24 of assurance by

1:19:26 and via

1:19:28 the uh the European Union rules.

1:19:32 Well,

1:19:32 related to,

1:19:32 I,

1:19:32 I'll talk a little bit about our efforts in

1:19:35 the developing world.

1:19:36 This is an effort

1:19:38 around

1:19:39 linking second-use batteries,

1:19:42 EV batteries.

1:19:43 Uh,

1:19:44 but ensuring that the back-end systems are in place.

1:19:47 Uh,

1:19:47 so this is an effort,

1:19:49 uh,

1:19:49 that we have partnership with the World Bank,

1:19:51 Faraday Institute,

1:19:52 and just about,

1:19:53 uh,

1:19:54 begun this effort,

1:19:55 um,

1:19:56 and,

1:19:56 and the key aspect is,

1:19:59 uh,

1:19:59 to build a roadmap,

1:20:01 working with local stakeholders in Africa,

1:20:04 uh,

1:20:05 to

1:20:06 Drive the energy access,

1:20:08 which would

1:20:09 provide the,

1:20:10 the health improvements,

1:20:12 uh,

1:20:12 the economic benefits

1:20:14 associated with energy access,

1:20:16 clean energy access,

1:20:18 but ensuring that

1:20:20 the end of life management is in place.

1:20:21 So we'll be exploring traceability systems of batteries.

1:20:26 Uh,

1:20:26 either within Africa or into Africa and outside of Africa,

1:20:30 but also ensuring the end of life management

1:20:32 systems or recycling systems are in place.

1:20:37 You know,

1:20:38 and,

1:20:38 and the last thing that I will mention uh is

1:20:41 the critical role of ensuring that

1:20:44 uh the,

1:20:44 the lessons of circularity of lead acid bath lead acid battery management

1:20:50 uh that results in a 99%

1:20:52 uh recycling,

1:20:54 safer recycling in

1:20:56 Europe and North America

1:20:58 is achieved

1:20:59 in emerging markets.

1:21:01 And just to highlight,

1:21:02 The quote from a recent study issued

1:21:04 by UNICEF

1:21:06 in partnership with,

1:21:07 uh,

1:21:07 with Pure Earth.

1:21:09 Um,

1:21:09 that is 11 in 3 children globally are poisoned

1:21:12 in violation

1:21:14 of WHO standards.

1:21:16 Uh,

1:21:16 this results in significant,

1:21:18 not only health concerns,

1:21:20 but also significant GDP,

1:21:22 uh,

1:21:23 effects

1:21:23 in emerging markets.

1:21:25 So,

1:21:26 we're working on

1:21:27 Uh,

1:21:28 uh,

1:21:28 uh,

1:21:28 best practices,

1:21:30 uh,

1:21:30 to enable and drive

1:21:32 a closed loop recycling in,

1:21:35 uh,

1:21:35 emerging markets.

1:21:37 Um,

1:21:37 and I will,

1:21:38 uh,

1:21:39 I,

1:21:39 I guess I won't touch on this,

1:21:41 but,

1:21:41 uh,

1:21:42 I'll give a brief scan

1:21:44 of the work and I'll look forward to questions.

1:21:47 Thank you very much,

1:21:48 Matty.

1:21:48 Uh,

1:21:48 very informative indeed.

1:21:50 And you've mentioned the European,

1:21:52 uh,

1:21:52 uh,

1:21:52 uh,

1:21:53 European Commission a couple of times.

1:21:55 Well,

1:21:55 uh,

1:21:56 we're fortunate to have Yorgos today

1:21:58 with us who's,

1:21:58 who's thoroughly,

1:22:00 uh,

1:22:01 looked into this and is actively involved with,

1:22:03 with the European,

1:22:04 uh,

1:22:04 frameworks.

1:22:05 Uh,

1:22:06 you,

1:22:07 can you talk a little bit about

1:22:08 existing governance and regulatory frameworks in place to enable

1:22:12 the transition to digital circular circularity with

1:22:15 the focus on opportunity traceability and,

1:22:18 and,

1:22:18 and data,

1:22:19 and we've heard Maddie give an example,

1:22:20 but

1:22:21 are there other specific examples of success you,

1:22:24 you have in mind?

1:22:26 I mean,

1:22:26 definitely,

1:22:27 uh uh I'm.

1:22:30 Just to check that you can hear me,

1:22:31 you can see the presentation.

1:22:33 Yes,

1:22:33 we can hear you and see the presentation.

1:22:36 Perfect.

1:22:36 So,

1:22:37 uh,

1:22:37 indeed,

1:22:38 I'm,

1:22:38 uh,

1:22:38 I'm,

1:22:39 I'm,

1:22:39 I'm very happy that all the presentations are really complimentary between them,

1:22:43 and,

1:22:43 uh,

1:22:43 definitely Carsten has convinced me to visit the emerging,

1:22:46 uh,

1:22:47 Silicon Valley,

1:22:47 uh,

1:22:48 Silicon Valley of circular economy in Germany,

1:22:51 um,

1:22:51 but what I would like to say is that,

1:22:53 uh,

1:22:53 a little bit from the policy perspective because

1:22:55 we need to also understand a little bit,

1:22:57 um,

1:22:58 from a European perspective.

1:23:00 How things work and

1:23:02 this is a little bit uh uh my presentation it's also

1:23:04 a little bit provocative just to show a little bit the,

1:23:07 um,

1:23:08 the debate is that

1:23:09 um we should look a little bit of policy and education,

1:23:12 the sunk cost for this transition because,

1:23:15 um,

1:23:15 definitely some of the colleagues mentioned before circular economies and about,

1:23:18 um,

1:23:19 supply chain or a business model,

1:23:20 etc.

1:23:21 Which definitely we're looking at that.

1:23:23 So what is the,

1:23:24 um,

1:23:24 what is the,

1:23:25 uh,

1:23:26 aspiration at the EU level?

1:23:27 So the aspiration,

1:23:29 uh,

1:23:29 at the top of the leadership is that EU should

1:23:31 become a world leader in circular economy and clean technologies.

1:23:35 So,

1:23:36 um,

1:23:36 definitely now you would say,

1:23:39 um,

1:23:39 how is this gonna happen?

1:23:40 I mean,

1:23:40 uh,

1:23:41 how are we gonna do it?

1:23:42 There's a lot of san calls related to that.

1:23:44 So

1:23:45 EU started already with the circular economy,

1:23:47 uh,

1:23:47 action in 2015.

1:23:49 Uh,

1:23:49 and now we have the action plan of 2020 and the European Green Deal.

1:23:54 So effectively this brought to the forefront,

1:23:56 um,

1:23:57 the initization of the transition

1:23:59 which of course in Europe a lot of things can,

1:24:01 um,

1:24:01 happen a little bit,

1:24:02 uh,

1:24:03 top down.

1:24:04 So in this way in already in 2018 and 2020,

1:24:07 the European Commission mobilized about

1:24:09 2.5.

1:24:10 billion euros

1:24:11 in the support of the high risk uh uh markets of the future.

1:24:15 So,

1:24:16 so because you,

1:24:17 you,

1:24:17 you,

1:24:17 you see a lot of technologies and innovation.

1:24:20 So all these kind of things create a sort of uncertainty as well,

1:24:23 and Europe has not,

1:24:25 you know,

1:24:25 uh,

1:24:25 showed this culture,

1:24:26 um,

1:24:27 vis a vis for example,

1:24:28 the US,

1:24:28 um,

1:24:29 uh,

1:24:29 with a little bit more dairy.

1:24:31 Um,

1:24:32 so what you see here already from the work program in 2018-2020,

1:24:36 the EU has already,

1:24:38 uh,

1:24:38 um,

1:24:39 mobilized €3.3 billion in low carbon circular

1:24:42 economy 1 billion in digitizing and transforming

1:24:44 the European industry and services 1.7 billion

1:24:47 which is subject of our discussion today.

1:24:49 However,

1:24:50 in the context of the,

1:24:51 uh,

1:24:51 of the Green Deal.

1:24:52 This is a little bit uh the items that are included,

1:24:55 but

1:24:56 um,

1:24:57 I'm,

1:24:57 I'm,

1:24:57 I'm not gonna ask you to focus on any of the green ones.

1:25:00 I will ask you to focus on the blue one,

1:25:01 financing the transition because this is what's very important at this level,

1:25:06 how we'll be able to finance the transition,

1:25:09 given that there is a lot of sunk costs included

1:25:12 and it's not just the technologies,

1:25:13 it's also the transition.

1:25:15 Of the civil sector,

1:25:16 as we said,

1:25:17 regulations before and a number of,

1:25:19 of other things.

1:25:20 So traditionally,

1:25:21 EU has been working through

1:25:23 um uh the,

1:25:24 the programs and now we have the uh the framework programs.

1:25:27 We had so far

1:25:28 9.

1:25:29 The Horizon Europe is the 9th 1

1:25:31 and EU has been.

1:25:32 Investing a considerable amount of money

1:25:35 in,

1:25:35 in this kind of new things and the Green Deal I think

1:25:38 is one of the biggest ones that we're having with €100 billion

1:25:42 in,

1:25:42 in investment.

1:25:44 But then the question is how,

1:25:45 how is this gonna be

1:25:47 um

1:25:47 um

1:25:48 you know,

1:25:49 channeled.

1:25:49 So

1:25:50 the European Union has already uh launched a report accelerating the transition to

1:25:55 the circular economy and improving access to

1:25:57 finance for the circular economy projects.

1:26:00 And this made the European Investment Bank that did the same.

1:26:02 They launched the guide,

1:26:04 um,

1:26:05 and I'm also part of the expert group

1:26:07 that drafted the report for the European Commission,

1:26:09 and there were a number of recommendations for financial institution,

1:26:14 project promoters,

1:26:14 and policymakers.

1:26:16 So

1:26:17 I'm not gonna go through all the recommendations.

1:26:18 The report is publicly available.

1:26:20 We,

1:26:20 we can,

1:26:20 we can go,

1:26:21 uh,

1:26:22 uh,

1:26:22 uh,

1:26:22 uh,

1:26:23 I mean,

1:26:23 uh,

1:26:24 I think it's a good read,

1:26:25 um,

1:26:25 but I would just mention,

1:26:26 for example,

1:26:28 uh,

1:26:28 the self-evident circular economy project definition,

1:26:30 taxonomy,

1:26:31 and measurements.

1:26:31 So we need to have a baseline of what we're talking about.

1:26:34 Um,

1:26:34 and this is for the financial institutions.

1:26:36 Um,

1:26:37 for the project promoters is also,

1:26:40 uh,

1:26:40 uh,

1:26:41 another of uh important element is to,

1:26:43 to be able to establish

1:26:44 collaborative arrangements across different organizations

1:26:47 within and between the value chains.

1:26:49 This is what we discussed earlier and other,

1:26:51 uh,

1:26:51 colleagues,

1:26:52 uh,

1:26:52 have said that I'm very.

1:26:53 Happy that

1:26:54 has been mentioned

1:26:55 um

1:26:56 and of course for policymakers

1:26:57 is

1:26:58 linear risk disclosure standards,

1:27:00 the definition of the uh circular economy finance

1:27:03 so there are a lot of things that are gonna be happening

1:27:05 in the next um uh period

1:27:08 now just to see a little bit how the policy is going more

1:27:11 into that.

1:27:12 Um,

1:27:13 you will see in the framework program which will be launched that

1:27:16 there's a,

1:27:17 a,

1:27:17 a separate chapter,

1:27:19 the 4 to 8,

1:27:20 they will see at the bottom of the screen

1:27:21 on circular industries

1:27:23 and the Europe,

1:27:24 uh,

1:27:25 and aspiration that Europe,

1:27:26 Europe is becoming a,

1:27:27 a leading.

1:27:28 Um,

1:27:29 uh,

1:27:29 to that.

1:27:30 So you,

1:27:30 you see already that um we haven't been,

1:27:33 um,

1:27:34 so vocal and vivid before,

1:27:37 but now the,

1:27:38 the EU is becoming quite,

1:27:40 um,

1:27:40 uh,

1:27:41 a vivid and,

1:27:41 and,

1:27:42 and,

1:27:42 and,

1:27:43 um,

1:27:43 solid on that.

1:27:44 To see that how this is strengthening more with the topic of the discussion today.

1:27:48 The EU in February this year,

1:27:50 they launched the White Paper on artificial intelligence

1:27:52 and the European approach.

1:27:54 And again,

1:27:55 they are linking the circular economy

1:27:57 uh um with a number of sectors.

1:28:00 So Danny mentioned before healthcare,

1:28:02 you see it's already in,

1:28:03 in,

1:28:03 in the vision.

1:28:05 And what's very important as well,

1:28:07 the,

1:28:07 the European Union has issued

1:28:09 the shaping Europe's Digital Future on,

1:28:11 uh,

1:28:12 which was in,

1:28:12 in February.

1:28:13 So we saw our aspirations ahead of,

1:28:15 of us,

1:28:16 and again,

1:28:18 Circular economy and digital

1:28:20 um uh developments are highly linked,

1:28:25 um,

1:28:25 um,

1:28:26 um,

1:28:27 the way forward

1:28:28 um

1:28:29 now the the one important thing,

1:28:30 uh,

1:28:31 which is skills and education.

1:28:32 I know that we're having this part of the discussion in in in a while,

1:28:35 uh,

1:28:35 tila,

1:28:35 but this is part of the

1:28:37 um.

1:28:37 Um,

1:28:38 uh,

1:28:38 presentation,

1:28:38 I'll just go through it.

1:28:40 What is very important to see here

1:28:42 is that um

1:28:44 every few years the European Union,

1:28:46 when they have a new program,

1:28:47 they,

1:28:48 they launch the skills agenda.

1:28:50 Um,

1:28:50 this skills agenda is very unique because

1:28:53 the title is Sustainable and Competitiveness,

1:28:55 Social Fairness and Resilience.

1:28:57 And this is to show

1:28:59 how serious they are on the twinning between the green and digital transition

1:29:04 and how

1:29:05 the,

1:29:05 the digital,

1:29:06 uh,

1:29:06 um,

1:29:07 skills gap has created a,

1:29:10 a small issue and we need to really work into that direction

1:29:13 and the fact that volcano vocational programs,

1:29:17 they need to be tailored to the between green

1:29:19 and digital transition so we need to start preparing

1:29:22 the people so it's not just producing.

1:29:24 Um,

1:29:25 products,

1:29:25 business models,

1:29:26 etc.

1:29:26 etc.

1:29:27 We need to be able to fuse it into the people

1:29:30 and this is what we need to do and how we're gonna do it by awareness,

1:29:34 training,

1:29:34 and education.

1:29:36 So this is something which is um very critical at least at the EU level

1:29:40 and you can see it as well,

1:29:42 um,

1:29:42 um,

1:29:43 last phase that

1:29:45 um that

1:29:46 that the aspiration from Europe to become climate neutral continent

1:29:49 uh is whether we have an informed population

1:29:52 and workforce that understands how to think.

1:29:56 Enact green.

1:29:56 So,

1:29:57 uh,

1:29:57 two last things.

1:29:58 This is the,

1:29:59 the,

1:29:59 the circular Economic Research Center that I'm the director of.

1:30:02 I agree with some of the colleagues before about whether the business,

1:30:05 uh,

1:30:05 circular economy is a supply chain issue.

1:30:07 It's a business model,

1:30:08 um,

1:30:10 which I think we agree with most of them.

1:30:12 And also in our occasion,

1:30:13 we totally believe that the technological advancements and

1:30:16 the skills development will be the two factors

1:30:18 that they will exponentially help to expedite transition

1:30:21 and 10.

1:30:22 Seconds to show you one last slide is this is one of our projects that we have

1:30:27 received funding at the EU,

1:30:28 uh,

1:30:29 which the circular economy in the Internet of things just to

1:30:31 tell you that we are not just on the theoretical,

1:30:33 we are also on the application level,

1:30:35 uh,

1:30:35 in order to,

1:30:36 to see the value,

1:30:37 uh,

1:30:38 creation between and the merging between the

1:30:39 value drivers between the two domains,

1:30:41 and we have received,

1:30:43 um,

1:30:43 quite a,

1:30:43 uh,

1:30:44 uh,

1:30:44 a subsidy to develop the framework between the,

1:30:47 the two domains and again I agree.

1:30:49 With,

1:30:49 uh,

1:30:49 Carsten

1:30:50 you have to do

1:30:51 this with,

1:30:52 uh,

1:30:52 you know,

1:30:53 you're not alone,

1:30:54 uh,

1:30:54 it's all about partnerships.

1:30:55 So these are part of the partners that we are working together in this period

1:30:59 and we're trying to create this fusion of networks

1:31:02 and policies as together as well as our partners

1:31:04 from industries and,

1:31:06 and academia as well.

1:31:07 So,

1:31:08 um,

1:31:09 with that,

1:31:09 um,

1:31:10 um,

1:31:10 I'll just pass back to you,

1:31:11 Attila,

1:31:12 and then,

1:31:12 uh,

1:31:13 apologies if I took a few minutes more

1:31:15 than expected.

1:31:17 No,

1:31:17 that's,

1:31:17 that's fantastic.

1:31:18 That's,

1:31:19 that's exactly what we were hoping to hear.

1:31:21 I mean,

1:31:21 circularity is,

1:31:23 has been such a,

1:31:24 such a European agenda for such a long time,

1:31:27 and the idea is

1:31:28 how do we take all of this knowledge and experience and,

1:31:31 and,

1:31:31 and,

1:31:31 and network and

1:31:33 technology to,

1:31:34 to,

1:31:35 to the rest of the world,

1:31:36 in particular to emerging economies where we've heard from the previous panel

1:31:40 there's so much opportunity.

1:31:41 So

1:31:43 I'll uh

1:31:44 I'll uh

1:31:45 pause there and maybe towards the end,

1:31:47 we come back with some questions,

1:31:48 but it would be good to understand,

1:31:50 you know,

1:31:50 what are,

1:31:50 what are the uh existing

1:31:53 or more specific EU initiatives

1:31:56 that are empowering citizens uh with information and,

1:31:59 and skills.

1:32:00 Uh,

1:32:00 Yorgos,

1:32:01 if you can maybe take 30 seconds on that.

1:32:03 And then Matthew,

1:32:04 I'm,

1:32:04 I'm curious to hear more from you on how

1:32:07 the alliance members are coordinating strategies and

1:32:10 technologies to achieve joint and common,

1:32:13 uh,

1:32:13 CE targets.

1:32:14 So here goes the,

1:32:15 the

1:32:16 question back to you and then to Matthew.

1:32:18 Thanks Adela.

1:32:19 Um,

1:32:19 quickly,

1:32:20 I would just to say that,

1:32:21 uh,

1:32:21 all this investment at the level,

1:32:23 uh,

1:32:24 to the research has enabled

1:32:26 industries and academia to come together,

1:32:28 um,

1:32:29 and start to prepare,

1:32:30 uh,

1:32:31 developing knowledge,

1:32:32 and what we see,

1:32:33 and that's very positive,

1:32:34 is that the number of,

1:32:35 uh,

1:32:36 um,

1:32:36 um,

1:32:37 um,

1:32:38 entities are creating knowledge around what.

1:32:40 They do

1:32:41 and they start sharing best practices.

1:32:43 And the last thing is that there is um

1:32:45 the aspiration from the EU to create the EU global alliance

1:32:48 which will include national roadmaps for implementation for circular economy,

1:32:53 which includes

1:32:54 education and education and skills.

1:32:56 So you,

1:32:56 we will be seeing that coming formally as well in

1:32:58 the education systems of the EU member states at least.

1:33:03 Fantastic.

1:33:04 All good.

1:33:04 Thank you,

1:33:05 Marty.

1:33:07 So,

1:33:07 um,

1:33:08 in terms of your question,

1:33:09 how,

1:33:10 uh,

1:33:10 how we align on GBA members,

1:33:12 I,

1:33:13 I should

1:33:13 first say that,

1:33:15 uh,

1:33:15 especially among,

1:33:17 uh,

1:33:18 some of the midstream manufacturers,

1:33:20 what they all tell us is that

1:33:22 the critical importance of independent verification

1:33:25 of information that currently the markets,

1:33:28 uh,

1:33:29 civil society do not trust,

1:33:30 you know,

1:33:31 so that leads

1:33:32 to the need for a common standard.

1:33:35 Uh,

1:33:35 of

1:33:36 greenhouse gas verification or

1:33:39 uh sourcing of materials or,

1:33:41 or data.

1:33:42 So that's

1:33:42 one,

1:33:43 the first step

1:33:44 of alignment across

1:33:46 uh the GBA membership.

1:33:47 The other,

1:33:48 uh,

1:33:49 which is still to be determined is how

1:33:51 would the battery passport be interoperable with

1:33:55 existing systems.

1:33:56 So there are no numerous

1:33:57 digital systems of traceability.

1:33:59 They're,

1:34:00 uh,

1:34:00 in-company systems.

1:34:02 So,

1:34:02 uh,

1:34:03 you know.

1:34:03 This is an effort that's going to pick up next year is

1:34:06 establishing the governance rules for interoperability where you have

1:34:10 access to data,

1:34:11 but also ensuring protection of data

1:34:14 is assured

1:34:15 and that the rules for a permission basis is established.

1:34:19 So,

1:34:19 so that is something that's still to be determined early next year.

1:34:25 Thank you,

1:34:26 Matthew.

1:34:26 Very clear and,

1:34:27 and,

1:34:27 and,

1:34:28 and

1:34:29 makes,

1:34:29 makes a ton of sense.

1:34:31 Uh

1:34:33 So,

1:34:34 in addition to governance,

1:34:35 uh,

1:34:36 regulatory frameworks,

1:34:38 a favorable investment climate is needed,

1:34:40 providing economic and behavioral incentives for a digital transition

1:34:44 to a digital circular economy.

1:34:46 Alisa,

1:34:47 uh,

1:34:48 substantial financial resources are needed

1:34:51 and structural change in production and consumption

1:34:53 alongside technology change to enhance economic efficiency

1:34:57 and to optimize the use of financial capital.

1:35:00 Could you tell us about national and regional policy led

1:35:03 initiatives for circularity in emerging economies in developing countries?

1:35:09 Thank you,

1:35:09 Attila,

1:35:10 and I'll really be pleased to,

1:35:12 to take advantage of this question to somehow share a bit of a preview

1:35:16 of an assessment that we did,

1:35:18 uh,

1:35:18 globally

1:35:19 as a response to a UN Environment Assembly request uh

1:35:24 brought forward to UNEP in 2019

1:35:27 to really get a sense of what was the current status

1:35:31 of integrated and coherent.

1:35:33 policies that help promote sustainability and circularity across value chains,

1:35:39 and I'll probably stress the word

1:35:41 integrated and coherent because

1:35:44 as per what was described across all actors of supply and value chains,

1:35:50 the same is required

1:35:52 within the government to really push towards this transformation.

1:35:57 And what we captured in terms of feedback and

1:36:01 elements that have been tabled so far in relation

1:36:04 to circularity and specific value chains and products,

1:36:08 we're very much in the realm of

1:36:11 more sectoral siloed approaches or very specific instruments

1:36:17 and only in 14%.

1:36:19 The policies instruments that we had collected in this exercise,

1:36:23 we were able to

1:36:24 identify

1:36:26 this coherent and overarching approach to push forward circularity,

1:36:31 and that was frequently really embedded at the highest level of the government

1:36:36 in the context of

1:36:38 development policies brought forward by the entire government.

1:36:43 And therefore what we saw that

1:36:46 this integration of policies with

1:36:49 the life cycle of the product in mind still remained a bit of a rare situation.

1:36:55 And let me flag another element that might

1:36:57 be particularly interesting also for this conversation,

1:37:00 which is the fact that we also

1:37:03 realize that the monitoring of the impact of those policies is not necessarily

1:37:10 well known and not necessarily tracked in a consistent way,

1:37:13 which is also something where

1:37:15 our digital conversation could be helping a lot advancing.

1:37:20 Uh,

1:37:20 we saw

1:37:21 that in a lot of instances what was understood

1:37:25 as instruments brought forward for circularity were very much

1:37:30 focusing on end of life treatment,

1:37:33 on solid waste reduction,

1:37:35 on recycling,

1:37:36 and we Some saw that there was too little attention

1:37:40 to upstream type of solutions that were looking more

1:37:44 into the design of product and they're transformed,

1:37:47 therefore

1:37:48 transforming up front

1:37:50 that whole system that was described in the course of the earlier presentation.

1:37:55 But let me just give a bit of a flavor of what we had captured

1:37:59 of,

1:38:00 of that picture around the world.

1:38:02 When,

1:38:02 when looking at uh African countries and Latin American countries,

1:38:06 we really saw a lot of the

1:38:09 front runners in bringing forward that idea of

1:38:12 a government-wide circular economy approach,

1:38:16 uh,

1:38:17 particularly we had seen that in the context of

1:38:19 Latin America in countries such as Chile and Colombia.

1:38:23 And I would say not surprisingly,

1:38:25 these are also the countries who have been

1:38:28 stepping forward into creating,

1:38:31 um,

1:38:32 with the support of uh our organization but also other strategic partner,

1:38:37 a regional coalition for Latin America and the Caribbean

1:38:41 again with the idea of trying to share those approaches.

1:38:44 And understanding that

1:38:46 for what we are discussing today,

1:38:49 the boundaries of the countries are not necessarily the boundaries

1:38:52 of the value chains that we're trying to make circular,

1:38:55 so that integration and that regional discussion

1:38:58 is definitely very conducive to create

1:39:01 that systemwide transformation that we want to achieve.

1:39:05 In a somehow similar approach,

1:39:08 also in Africa we have seen a number of leading countries such as

1:39:12 South Africa,

1:39:13 Rwanda,

1:39:14 and Nigeria

1:39:16 taking forward the agenda at the highest level of circularity

1:39:21 and in that instance as well we have seen.

1:39:24 A few years back,

1:39:26 the establishing the establishment of the African Circular Economy Alliance

1:39:31 under the lead of those three governments with

1:39:34 the engagement of UNEP since the beginning,

1:39:37 an alliance which now is being supported by

1:39:40 the African Development Bank in its flourishing.

1:39:43 And if we're looking at the situation that we

1:39:46 have been capturing while looking across the Asian countries,

1:39:51 we have

1:39:52 seen across countries a very strong tradition

1:39:55 of having had policies that were focusing on

1:39:59 resource efficiency,

1:40:00 on clean technologies,

1:40:02 on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,

1:40:04 and in a few instances

1:40:07 with a

1:40:07 Connection

1:40:10 to the market through public procurement and green public procurement policies

1:40:14 and only more recently we're starting to see more integrated circular economy type

1:40:21 of instruments and countries that have

1:40:24 made already this step include obviously China

1:40:28 as well as Japan,

1:40:29 Korea,

1:40:30 Thailand,

1:40:30 and Vietnam.

1:40:32 And a couple of countries are in the

1:40:35 process of getting those overarching policies in place,

1:40:39 and these are Laos and India.

1:40:42 So,

1:40:43 Attila,

1:40:43 as you see,

1:40:44 it's,

1:40:44 it's quite an active context and landscape

1:40:49 somehow with different entry points based on the

1:40:52 tradition and the experience that the countries have had

1:40:56 in promoting agendas such as the one of

1:40:58 resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production.

1:41:10 Thank you,

1:41:10 Alisa.

1:41:11 Thank you very much for.

1:41:12 Uh,

1:41:13 great to have the,

1:41:14 the global perspective and,

1:41:15 and also,

1:41:16 uh,

1:41:17 the,

1:41:17 the global South perspective.

1:41:20 Uh,

1:41:22 Could you tell us any uh

1:41:25 Well,

1:41:25 linking to empowering individuals with information and skills,

1:41:28 uh,

1:41:29 mentioned by Gorgos before,

1:41:31 uh,

1:41:31 can we shift government consumer behavior,

1:41:35 uh,

1:41:35 I,

1:41:36 to give a big context,

1:41:37 several digital and physical tagging solutions have been designed,

1:41:40 uh,

1:41:40 to promote uh behavioral change,

1:41:42 which we know can contribute to more circular economy.

1:41:45 Uh,

1:41:46 could enhanced traceability,

1:41:48 improve the financial due diligence of companies,

1:41:50 perhaps making use of tracking and tracing techniques for materials.

1:41:54 You see an opportunity there?

1:41:58 And,

1:41:59 and I'll start responding to this question by

1:42:02 somehow framing also as an organization as UNEP.

1:42:06 We're seeing the role of the digital transformation going forward.

1:42:11 We actually do see digital technologies and mobile

1:42:16 applications as a way to really accelerate.

1:42:19 Our capacity

1:42:21 to shift towards more sustainable consumption and production solutions

1:42:26 and therefore address

1:42:28 the three big planetary crises that as an organization

1:42:32 we have at the center of our strategies which are

1:42:35 the climate crisis,

1:42:37 the nature loss crisis,

1:42:39 and the pollution and waste crisis,

1:42:42 and we Somehow see

1:42:44 two

1:42:45 big areas where we can see that transformation materialize.

1:42:50 One area is very much related to

1:42:54 being able to

1:42:55 collect

1:42:56 and act upon

1:42:59 environmental data,

1:43:00 and that's why Atila made reference to the idea of monitoring.

1:43:05 So.

1:43:06 It's really important for us to know

1:43:09 what the impact of our action is towards creating that circularity,

1:43:13 and in this sense,

1:43:14 I think that the conversation that we're having today

1:43:17 can really play a fundamental role for us to set a baseline and to help us

1:43:23 progress

1:43:24 towards a milestones that make us more and more circular in the way in which we,

1:43:28 we operate.

1:43:30 And

1:43:31 on a second area of

1:43:33 of intervention,

1:43:35 we help us accelerate

1:43:37 the transformation that we need

1:43:39 in markets,

1:43:40 in value chains,

1:43:42 in consumers' behavior,

1:43:43 and in decision making.

1:43:45 And definitely

1:43:46 a strategically important role to be played

1:43:49 by aligning finance with that transformation,

1:43:52 with that

1:43:53 shift towards circularity.

1:43:55 Be sure that we can

1:43:58 understand

1:43:59 and monitor supply and value chains as well as

1:44:03 inform and engage consumers.

1:44:06 And maybe Attila,

1:44:07 just to be

1:44:09 clear from the beginning,

1:44:10 when I'm referring to consumer,

1:44:12 I also frequently

1:44:14 put together in the category of consumer

1:44:17 uh

1:44:17 relatively important.

1:44:18 Consumer in a number of markets,

1:44:20 which is the government that through its public purchasing power

1:44:25 can influence from 20% of an equivalent of 20% of the GDP in OECD countries

1:44:33 until

1:44:33 more than 30% of the GDP in a number of developing countries,

1:44:38 and they are what we really have experienced through.

1:44:41 A number of our initiatives on the ground

1:44:44 is really that,

1:44:47 taking advantage

1:44:48 of digital innovation and

1:44:52 taking advantage of the new business models that can be shaped around it,

1:44:56 it really changes the relationship between

1:44:59 what we would have in the group of consumers and in the group of producers.

1:45:05 There are

1:45:06 very interesting initiatives around the world similar

1:45:09 to the one put forward from Algramo

1:45:12 that through uh a smart type of uh packaging has

1:45:16 really been recreated the relationship between the consumer and,

1:45:21 and the brand and the product that it's uh taken advantage of.

1:45:26 But they are also

1:45:27 somehow

1:45:28 building on that relationship of knowledge and trust

1:45:32 that was referred to in earlier intervention,

1:45:35 just creating more transparency

1:45:38 on the products that are there in the market.

1:45:41 And for example,

1:45:42 with the government of Chile,

1:45:43 we have been developing a platform that goes under the wording of Nicodi Goverde.

1:45:49 And through that platform,

1:45:51 uh,

1:45:51 consumers are really able to see

1:45:53 what are the environmental impacts

1:45:57 of uh,

1:45:57 um,

1:45:58 high consumption products that are there in the market,

1:46:02 and this obviously has a very close connection to,

1:46:06 uh,

1:46:06 how,

1:46:07 um,

1:46:08 a consumer as important as the government can shape

1:46:12 and carry orient the market towards more sustainable solution.

1:46:16 We've also gone a little bit more in depth into seeing how a

1:46:22 specific digital solution can help

1:46:25 accelerate the shift towards positive environmental impact.

1:46:29 So we've been looking into

1:46:32 what are the impact of digital platform that enable to extend.

1:46:37 The product lifetime of certain categories of product or

1:46:41 enable certain products to remain in the market for longer

1:46:46 and in 1 year of operation across 10 of these platforms we have seen

1:46:51 that there has been a reduction on GAG emissions around 20 million tons.

1:46:58 And a reduction of use of plastic for packaging

1:47:03 around 1.1 million tons.

1:47:06 So these are what we want to try and nurture and capture

1:47:10 as the power of digital technology to accelerate change

1:47:15 in other contexts such as in a small island developing state like Saint Lucia.

1:47:21 Uh,

1:47:21 where the tourism sector was particularly reliant on the import of product,

1:47:28 we actually managed to

1:47:29 shift that balance and increase,

1:47:32 uh,

1:47:33 the purchase of local product,

1:47:35 uh,

1:47:35 thereby

1:47:38 enabling the reduction of GHG emissions.

1:47:41 Of imported product

1:47:43 just by connecting

1:47:45 the users of this product with particularly with local

1:47:49 farmers who would normally not have had access to

1:47:53 big

1:47:54 consumers of product

1:47:56 through a very simple digital solution

1:47:58 and on top of the reduction of GAG.

1:48:01 We've also reduced by 15%

1:48:04 food waste

1:48:05 produced in the country.

1:48:06 So

1:48:08 as I said,

1:48:08 it really changes the dynamics between producers and consumers when

1:48:14 designed to fit

1:48:15 the vision of circularity as well as a vision of reducing our climate impact.

1:48:23 Incredible.

1:48:24 Thank you so much,

1:48:25 Alisa.

1:48:25 Really,

1:48:25 really thorough

1:48:26 feedback.

1:48:27 Uh,

1:48:28 I'll,

1:48:28 I'll freestyle a little bit here because I think I saw Matthew on mute.

1:48:31 Matthew,

1:48:32 was there something you wanted to add

1:48:34 or support or challenge?

1:48:36 I,

1:48:36 I will add that,

1:48:37 uh,

1:48:38 just to,

1:48:39 um,

1:48:39 reinforce at Lisa's comments,

1:48:41 um,

1:48:42 you know,

1:48:42 from our consultation

1:48:44 with the GBA members,

1:48:46 um,

1:48:47 Uh,

1:48:47 traceability has influence at multiple levels.

1:48:50 So,

1:48:51 some of the largest EV manufacturers have told us

1:48:54 that their institutional investors are demanding,

1:48:57 you know,

1:48:59 independent traceability and authentication.

1:49:01 Um,

1:49:02 so,

1:49:02 the investors are no longer saying trust our sustainability report.

1:49:07 They want data,

1:49:08 they want direct data,

1:49:09 they want authentication.

1:49:11 But

1:49:13 authentication in Tracyville is also important,

1:49:15 uh,

1:49:16 to Lisa's point.

1:49:17 Um,

1:49:19 between upstream and downstream suppliers,

1:49:21 right?

1:49:22 So,

1:49:22 the downstream companies

1:49:25 are,

1:49:25 and rightfully so,

1:49:26 are being challenged

1:49:28 by civil society to demonstrate that there's no green uh greenwashing going on,

1:49:33 greenhouse gas claims are,

1:49:35 are,

1:49:35 are,

1:49:36 are authenticated.

1:49:37 So,

1:49:37 you have now the

1:49:39 real,

1:49:40 close to real-time data.

1:49:42 To drive procurement in a way we've never had before.

1:49:45 Between the cheapness of data,

1:49:47 the immutability of data,

1:49:49 the ability to use,

1:49:50 you know,

1:49:51 whether it's cloud-based data

1:49:52 or blockchain-based data,

1:49:54 uh,

1:49:55 uh,

1:49:55 dispersed ledgers,

1:49:56 uh,

1:49:56 to be able to drive procurement authentication in a way they've never had before.

1:50:01 Lastly,

1:50:02 and I think there's still

1:50:03 Going to be further iteration on behavioral

1:50:06 economics and the linkage with digital technology.

1:50:09 You know,

1:50:09 how do we get that right?

1:50:11 You know,

1:50:11 so we are working on a label,

1:50:13 a battery label that would differentiate

1:50:16 the highest performance batteries,

1:50:18 the middle performing batteries,

1:50:20 you know,

1:50:20 and what we've heard from,

1:50:22 uh,

1:50:23 the leading actors in the near term,

1:50:26 it will mostly drive the poorer performers in the supply chain.

1:50:30 Right?

1:50:30 And then,

1:50:31 uh,

1:50:32 uh,

1:50:32 the consumer choice will,

1:50:34 will pick up,

1:50:35 you know,

1:50:35 so,

1:50:36 there's a whole big debate around which

1:50:38 will drive first.

1:50:40 Is it the highest performers

1:50:41 and the financial sector

1:50:44 putting pressure on poor performers,

1:50:46 uh,

1:50:47 uh,

1:50:47 and then the consumer choice will kick in.

1:50:49 So,

1:50:50 I,

1:50:50 I think it probably varies based on sector,

1:50:52 so I'll stop there,

1:50:53 you know,

1:50:53 so.

1:50:59 Thank you

1:51:03 Sorry,

1:51:04 thank you very much,

1:51:04 uh,

1:51:05 uh,

1:51:06 Matthew Giorgios,

1:51:07 and,

1:51:07 uh,

1:51:07 Elisa.

1:51:08 Um,

1:51:09 I would now invite,

1:51:11 uh,

1:51:11 the whole panel,

1:51:12 uh,

1:51:12 to a,

1:51:13 uh,

1:51:13 short Q&A,

1:51:15 uh,

1:51:16 portion of,

1:51:16 of this webinar.

1:51:18 We've received questions from the audience and now we quite a few,

1:51:21 so we'll,

1:51:22 we'll just do our best to,

1:51:23 to select as many as we can in the short amount of time that we have,

1:51:27 but let's start with the biggest one,

1:51:28 and I,

1:51:29 and this is a recurring question,

1:51:31 uh.

1:51:32 Where do we see the,

1:51:34 the,

1:51:34 the role of the bank,

1:51:35 the World Bank.

1:51:36 So we,

1:51:37 uh,

1:51:37 Alisa,

1:51:37 maybe we can start with you because

1:51:38 you've mentioned finance and you've covered finance.

1:51:41 Where do you see the role for the World Bank?

1:51:46 Um,

1:51:46 I,

1:51:46 I guess I see it,

1:51:47 in a number of opportunities

1:51:50 and definitely there is something within the,

1:51:54 the economic and the financial framework that exists in country

1:51:59 that is

1:52:00 to a certain extent still supporting a linear model.

1:52:04 So

1:52:05 while working with counterparts that the World

1:52:08 Bank normally has in the government,

1:52:11 there is a huge potential

1:52:13 to transform

1:52:15 the circular into the normal and the

1:52:17 most convenient and economic solution for everybody

1:52:22 by disincentivizing linear solutions and incentivizing circular ones.

1:52:28 And

1:52:29 obviously also thinking through

1:52:31 the infrastructure that would be required

1:52:36 for the circular world that we want.

1:52:39 So

1:52:39 when uh when supporting the creation or the strengthening.

1:52:44 Of infrastructure that exists in country,

1:52:48 it would be ideal if this could be designed and thought through,

1:52:53 uh,

1:52:53 having in mind

1:52:54 the,

1:52:55 the transition towards circularity that we want uh

1:52:58 countries to take forward.

1:53:03 Thank you,

1:53:04 thank you very much for that,

1:53:05 Alisa.

1:53:07 Um,

1:53:07 another question from the audience,

1:53:09 uh,

1:53:10 and I think Yorgo or Carsten maybe jointly can address this.

1:53:15 Uh,

1:53:15 Europe seems to be making remarkable progress

1:53:17 whilst advancing the quest to going circular.

1:53:20 For developing countries,

1:53:21 what could be the cost

1:53:23 of this transition

1:53:25 and inaction

1:53:26 to circularity?

1:53:28 Yorgo,

1:53:28 do you want to take a stab at it and Carsten maybe supplement?

1:53:32 Sure,

1:53:32 I mean,

1:53:33 um,

1:53:34 I,

1:53:35 I think that,

1:53:35 um,

1:53:36 the,

1:53:37 the,

1:53:37 there's a cost in whatever we do,

1:53:39 but I think that what is happening now,

1:53:41 at least from an EU perspective.

1:53:43 Um,

1:53:43 there is,

1:53:44 uh,

1:53:44 a good strengthening of collaboration abroad,

1:53:47 for example,

1:53:48 um,

1:53:48 there's the EU-India collaboration that has been signed in

1:53:51 order for exactly this to achieve this fusion,

1:53:55 um,

1:53:55 and also Carsten mentioned it before,

1:53:57 we have to collaborate between developing,

1:53:59 um,

1:54:00 uh,

1:54:01 developed countries and,

1:54:02 uh,

1:54:02 etc.

1:54:03 um,

1:54:04 so I,

1:54:05 and I think that the more

1:54:07 There is a fusion between actually what,

1:54:09 what is done in the developed world and what is done uh

1:54:13 with what Eliza has very accurately mentioned.

1:54:16 The more fusion that exists,

1:54:18 I think that there's the less cost to be transferred and actually,

1:54:22 there is more of a,

1:54:23 of a,

1:54:23 an opportunity.

1:54:24 Uh,

1:54:25 to be transferred to the less developed world,

1:54:27 especially when we're talking about,

1:54:30 um,

1:54:31 facilities or,

1:54:33 uh,

1:54:33 technologies that could,

1:54:34 uh,

1:54:35 definitely enable transition

1:54:37 in the less developed parts of the world.

1:54:39 So I think that what I would say is that

1:54:42 the,

1:54:42 the,

1:54:43 let's say the pioneering of the EU.

1:54:46 Um,

1:54:47 could be a huge,

1:54:49 uh,

1:54:49 opportunity for the rest of the world also because

1:54:52 the EU,

1:54:53 uh,

1:54:53 is also contributing and aligning itself with the,

1:54:56 uh,

1:54:56 sustainability development goals,

1:54:58 um,

1:54:59 United Nations,

1:55:00 so there is a lot of huge of benefits there as well.

1:55:03 So I think that is less of a cost rather than opportunity to be transported.

1:55:09 Uh,

1:55:09 I,

1:55:09 I,

1:55:09 I couldn't agree more and,

1:55:11 and,

1:55:11 uh,

1:55:12 fully love Georg's um ideas.

1:55:14 So I mean,

1:55:14 what,

1:55:15 what,

1:55:15 what we've seen in the past in terms of North-South collaboration is typically

1:55:19 that some stuff

1:55:20 um

1:55:21 produced in the South was,

1:55:23 was,

1:55:23 uh,

1:55:24 was,

1:55:24 um,

1:55:25 transferred to the north and sold at,

1:55:27 at higher prices.

1:55:27 So that is a model that has been well knowned

1:55:30 in the past and now it,

1:55:31 this would really be the next step to more set up,

1:55:34 um,

1:55:35 Um,

1:55:36 an economy and,

1:55:37 in this,

1:55:38 in this case,

1:55:38 a circular economy

1:55:39 in the very,

1:55:40 uh,

1:55:40 developed,

1:55:41 um,

1:55:42 nations.

1:55:42 So,

1:55:43 um,

1:55:44 I,

1:55:44 I,

1:55:44 I think this,

1:55:45 this is a great opportunity of taking collaboration

1:55:48 between corporates in the north and um startups in the south or developed nations

1:55:53 uh to the next level.

1:55:58 And thank you for those answers.

1:56:00 And,

1:56:00 and speaking of North-South uh uh cooperation,

1:56:03 uh,

1:56:03 Elisa,

1:56:03 you also mentioned there was uh

1:56:05 work being done in,

1:56:06 in,

1:56:07 in,

1:56:07 uh,

1:56:07 Chile.

1:56:08 We have a question

1:56:10 from the audience and I mentioned Chile because of the,

1:56:13 in relation to the question,

1:56:15 um.

1:56:16 The mining industry is perhaps lagging somewhat

1:56:18 and working towards a circular economy.

1:56:21 What do you see as the priority areas to ensure this industry has the most positive

1:56:27 Um,

1:56:28 attempt at becoming more circular.

1:56:34 Thank you,

1:56:35 Attila.

1:56:36 Um,

1:56:36 I think that this industry is one that probably knows

1:56:42 the resources and the opportunity around resources the best

1:56:47 compared with many other actors around the value chain.

1:56:51 So

1:56:52 their knowledge and insight of the of the

1:56:55 opportunity for circularity is definitely a great asset

1:56:59 that would benefit the rest of the system.

1:57:02 And um when seeing it from a

1:57:06 country's perspective on top of sectoral perspective,

1:57:10 what would definitely be a plus going forward to,

1:57:14 to make sure

1:57:15 that this industry is somehow not left behind in a,

1:57:20 in a transformation that eventually circles resources

1:57:23 more and more into the system.

1:57:25 is really to

1:57:27 think of a solution that enables

1:57:29 that industry to diversify itself and progressively

1:57:33 add value to the resources in such a way that

1:57:38 they become therefore an integral element

1:57:41 of the closed system that we're generating.

1:57:46 Definitely that might require what

1:57:49 Gorgos was referring to.

1:57:51 And

1:57:52 a change or an upgrade in skills and in knowledge and diversifying expertise,

1:58:00 but there is such a solid base in that industry of knowledge of

1:58:06 opportunities around resources that they are

1:58:08 definitely well positioned to do that step

1:58:12 into a circular system.

1:58:15 Yeah,

1:58:16 brilliant.

1:58:16 Thank you so much,

1:58:17 Alisa.

1:58:17 Very good point.

1:58:18 I mean,

1:58:18 we've seen the energy sector

1:58:20 where,

1:58:21 where petrochemical companies,

1:58:23 oil companies have diversified into clean energy.

1:58:27 Uh,

1:58:27 we've seen waste management companies becoming

1:58:29 cleaning companies for reusable packaging.

1:58:32 So

1:58:33 that's a very good point that indeed it's,

1:58:35 its circularity is not necessarily going to be,

1:58:38 uh,

1:58:39 you know,

1:58:39 uh.

1:58:40 Something that

1:58:41 could be foreseen as a challenger to

1:58:43 extraction but rather as complementary to extraction and

1:58:46 who better positioned to do that than,

1:58:49 than

1:58:49 the extractors themselves.

1:58:51 The only question is are you extracting from what's already

1:58:53 in the economy or raw raw resources you find the balance

1:58:57 between the two,

1:58:58 but obviously optimizing circularity,

1:59:00 which is what we're all

1:59:02 striving for in,

1:59:03 in,

1:59:03 in the,

1:59:04 in this space.

1:59:05 So,

1:59:05 um.

1:59:07 What we've heard today is that the technology is there.

1:59:11 It's being applied.

1:59:12 It's being applied differently in different places,

1:59:14 but there's definitely opportunity for scale.

1:59:17 Scale will require intervention from policy and regulation,

1:59:21 and the sooner the better.

1:59:22 And

1:59:23 last but not least,

1:59:26 very,

1:59:26 very importantly,

1:59:28 Financing and as our kind host today,

1:59:31 the World Bank are experts on this piece,

1:59:34 I would just uh invite Etienne uh Kashinian,

1:59:37 uh,

1:59:38 to,

1:59:38 to maybe answer that question but also to,

1:59:40 to,

1:59:41 uh,

1:59:41 to wrap up,

1:59:42 wrap up us,

1:59:43 uh,

1:59:43 wrap us up for today

1:59:45 and,

1:59:46 and give us a bit of,

1:59:47 uh,

1:59:47 look into the future and what's next from the bank.

1:59:51 Thank you so much Atila,

1:59:52 and thank you so much for hosting an excellent session for everyone for joining

1:59:56 uh this late.

1:59:57 Um,

1:59:59 we had some very good discussions.

2:00:00 So

2:00:01 the digital

2:00:02 agenda,

2:00:03 agenda or technology agenda and circular economy is very dynamic.

2:00:06 It's a horizontal theme,

2:00:08 um,

2:00:08 that is kind of

2:00:09 allowing the circular economy to thrive or to,

2:00:12 uh,

2:00:13 in a way it's a gel that allows it to,

2:00:15 to move forward a a lot more rapidly than it has in the past.

2:00:18 Um,

2:00:19 that's why,

2:00:20 uh,

2:00:20 as,

2:00:21 as Matthew mentioned,

2:00:22 the,

2:00:22 the role of information and data is so critical in this space

2:00:26 because it allows us to,

2:00:27 to,

2:00:27 to monitor and to react quicker to,

2:00:29 to things in the supply chain.

2:00:31 Um,

2:00:31 so,

2:00:32 for us at the bank,

2:00:33 the,

2:00:34 the The circular economy space is relatively new.

2:00:36 We have a number of initiatives that are up and coming as,

2:00:39 as Martha had mentioned in the beginning.

2:00:41 We have the,

2:00:41 uh,

2:00:42 disruptive technologies for development,

2:00:44 uh,

2:00:44 initiative ongoing which is trying to identify some of

2:00:47 the disruptive technologies that are enabling circular economy.

2:00:50 Um,

2:00:51 we also have a,

2:00:51 uh,

2:00:51 uh,

2:00:52 a trust fund that is being developed and,

2:00:54 uh,

2:00:54 called ProClean where we are,

2:00:57 uh,

2:00:57 infusing,

2:00:58 let's say the bank operations with circular economy practices,

2:01:02 as Elise has mentioned.

2:01:04 Uh,

2:01:04 we need to start thinking about

2:01:06 circular economy from the infrastructure perspective,

2:01:08 from the,

2:01:09 from the real sector perspective and other sectors at the bank,

2:01:12 but,

2:01:12 uh,

2:01:12 you know,

2:01:13 the,

2:01:13 the way things work is,

2:01:14 is demand comes from the client,

2:01:16 of course.

2:01:17 And we are here trying to,

2:01:19 uh,

2:01:19 push,

2:01:19 uh,

2:01:20 uh,

2:01:21 let's say or push or at least show the client

2:01:23 that there's another way to think about this,

2:01:25 um,

2:01:26 and a lot of what we discussed is fairly new and to the policymaker,

2:01:29 they,

2:01:29 uh,

2:01:29 uh,

2:01:30 they,

2:01:30 they are still a bit skeptical about the circular economy.

2:01:33 So having a very strong evidence base that this is

2:01:35 a new way of development at a grand scale,

2:01:38 not at a

2:01:39 sort of a small Small scale,

2:01:40 but something that can really transform industries

2:01:42 is still relatively nascent and we're trying to figure out how to,

2:01:45 how to,

2:01:46 how to measure that best,

2:01:47 how to uh analyze that best and how to tell the story to the client

2:01:51 in a different way.

2:01:52 I think the digital agenda in post-COVID is also going to be extremely,

2:01:56 uh,

2:01:57 strong,

2:01:58 and

2:01:58 this gives us an opportunity because

2:02:00 digitalization is linked to circular economy.

2:02:03 Using that as a platform to drive development in

2:02:05 our client countries is going to be critical,

2:02:07 and infusing the circular commune to that

2:02:10 is going to be one of the key drivers.

2:02:12 So,

2:02:12 um,

2:02:14 So,

2:02:14 so,

2:02:15 so

2:02:15 to say that the agenda is fairly uh new,

2:02:18 we're through this,

2:02:18 this learning series,

2:02:19 we're trying to understand better how to,

2:02:21 how to come,

2:02:22 how to tackle these issues.

2:02:24 Um,

2:02:24 this is the 4th in our series,

2:02:26 um,

2:02:26 and you had mentioned,

2:02:28 uh,

2:02:28 critical minerals.

2:02:29 Actually,

2:02:30 I was just going to mention that December 9th,

2:02:31 we will have the session on critical minerals,

2:02:33 uh,

2:02:34 hosted jointly with the European Union,

2:02:36 and we welcome everyone to participate in that,

2:02:39 and then we will definitely,

2:02:40 uh,

2:02:40 touch upon things that Matthew was mentioning as well in terms of the,

2:02:43 uh,

2:02:43 integration of,

2:02:44 uh,

2:02:44 uh,

2:02:45 recycling of batteries and other,

2:02:46 uh,

2:02:47 minerals,

2:02:48 uh,

2:02:48 in the supply chains.

2:02:50 Um.

2:02:51 Uh,

2:02:51 again,

2:02:52 uh,

2:02:52 some of the key takeaways for me at least in this series

2:02:55 is the importance of the informal sector and how

2:02:56 can the digital economy and bring those into the,

2:02:59 not informal but into the circular economy

2:03:02 and how to,

2:03:02 how to

2:03:03 make sure that they are also benefiting from some of these actions.

2:03:07 Um,

2:03:08 the,

2:03:08 the notion of security,

2:03:09 providing investors with a sense of security both in terms

2:03:11 of the platform but also in personal security is very critical

2:03:15 in post-COVID

2:03:16 and,

2:03:17 uh,

2:03:17 just in general providing a,

2:03:19 a policy space for digital platforms to,

2:03:21 to flourish.

2:03:22 I,

2:03:22 I don't think we touched upon,

2:03:23 let's say the technical aspects of that,

2:03:25 but digital economies themselves do require certain regulations to be

2:03:29 in place and understanding what that is and how they,

2:03:31 how our countries.

2:03:32 Can enable that

2:03:33 it's still a bit of a,

2:03:34 let's say a question mark that we'll try to,

2:03:36 to,

2:03:37 to figure out as we move forward with this,

2:03:39 uh,

2:03:39 agenda.

2:03:40 So just to close it here,

2:03:43 I want to thank everyone again for joining us.

2:03:44 We have,

2:03:45 uh,

2:03:46 8 more,

2:03:46 more sessions left in this,

2:03:48 uh,

2:03:48 learning series and we really hope that you can

2:03:50 join us on this journey of understanding this topic better

2:03:52 and making sure we're able to scale it,

2:03:54 uh,

2:03:54 to the maximum in our,

2:03:55 in the in the,

2:03:56 in the areas where we work.

2:03:58 So thank you everyone and have a nice day.