The Green Growth Knowledge Partnership (GGKP) and its partners officially launched the Circular Economy Leaders’ Community, a collaborative space dedicated to circular economy initiatives and their practitioners, at the kick-off workshop on 26-27 June 2024.
Recognizing the need to bridge the gap in siloed efforts and enhance overall synergies for a circular economy transition, the community aims for a digital network for knowledge-sharing as well as peer-to-peer experience sharing among circular economy initiatives at the national, regional and global levels.
The workshop introduced activities designed to support extensive experience and knowledge-sharing among members. To establish a baseline understanding of "who" is doing "what" in the circular economy, the GGKP team shared the latest circular economy initiatives mapping results, which included 150 initiatives. Trends observed included a higher percentage of engagement in recycling compared to raw materials extraction, and a visibly higher number of global and cross-sectoral initiatives compared to those with specific geographical or sectoral focuses.
The workshop also introduced key digital tools, including artificial intelligence (AI) and application programming interface (API) links. Gianguglielmo Calvi, Senior GGKP Knowledge Management Systems Expert, explained that these tools will automate and optimize the gathering, synthesizing and curating of circular economy knowledge based on user needs. They will enable GGKP’s knowledge repository to mirror the latest resources from partner knowledge hubs in real time and provide tailored analytical insights to users accessing GGKP’s.
In addition, the workshop emphasized the need for a “common language” to label and group information on circular economy initiatives and to train AI tools for classifying and synthesizing knowledge. To address this, the workshop introduced the collaborative effort between the GGKP and SWITCH-Asia Programme to develop a harmonized circular economy knowledge taxonomy. This taxonomy will encompass various conceptual and technical aspects of a circular economy and will assist GGKP library users in retrieving resources that provide actionable steps for transitioning to a circular economy, aligned with globally recognized frameworks like the EU taxonomy.
Questions and comments from the audience reflected a strong interest in fostering closer connections among circular economy practitioners and addressing practical considerations for building a widely engaged community. For instance, Piotr Barczak from the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) suggested that community members could act as “scrutinizers” of ongoing knowledge-related activities.
Andrii Vorfolomeiev from the Ukraine Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production Centre (RECPC) 
questioned how the community will operate in practice, noting the existence of similar community spaces. In response, Hannes Mac Nulty, GGKP Senior Manager, emphasized that the Circular Economy Leaders’ Community will benefit from a unique digital infrastructure. Specifically, API links will connect GGKP with community members’ online platforms, creating an automated digital knowledge-sharing network.
Therese El Gemayel from UNEP asked how the digitally-driven knowledge management plans can support initiatives, especially from developing countries with limited digital infrastructure, or those not publishing information online. In response, Hannes Mac Nulty noted that GGKP can assist these initiatives by helping them establish an online presence through GGKP initiative pages, or knowledge hubs. Koeun Lee, GGKP Circular Economy Consultant, added that surveys and the Green Forum will continue to be vital for collecting detailed, up-to-date information from practitioners and engaging directly with a broad range of users.
The Circular Economy Leaders’ Community will host a diverse and dynamic space for collaboration, backed by technical support services. If you are a circular economy practitioner and are looking for an opportunity to communicate and exchange with your peers, contact: [email protected].
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To read the workshop summary, click here.
To join the Circular Economy Leaders’ Community hosted on the Green Forum:
- Create your Green Forum account here, if you do not have one already.
- Once you have created your Green Forum account, or if you already have one, please send us your name and email you used to sign up to [email protected], and the GGKP team will add you to the community’s members-only Green Forum group.
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