Luxembourg, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) collaborate to support the transition to a more circular economy. The conference "Financing the Circular Economy", which took place on 10 December 2015 at the EIB headquarters in Luxembourg, aimed to further engage Europe's financial sector in the circular economy.
The circular economy is an imperative for the Member States of the European Union in order to tackle material scarcity and price volatility as well as the degradation of the natural environment. The implementation of the circular economy will lead to a systemic change, including innovative business models that require traditional and innovative financing tools. Luxembourg, the European Commission and the EIB have engaged in a partnership under the InnovFin Advisory programme to raise awareness in the business and financial communities, to assess future financing needs and whether the existing financial instruments, in particular the InnovFin financial products, are fit to support the transition to a more circular economy.
The outcome of this partnership was presented at the conference "Financing the Circular Economy" organised within the framework of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Panel discussions enabled participants to benefit from the experience and know-how of the leading European public and private experts in the field.
Conference participants joined Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Commissioner Carlos Moedas and EIB President Werner Hoyer and listened to Francine Closener, Luxembourg’s Secretary of State to the Economy, Claude Turmes, Member of European Parliament, and Stef Kranendijk, Chairman of the Groene Zaak (NL), as they shared their views on the challenges and the opportunities that the circular economy is offering in particular to the finance sector and through InnovFin.
This conference has resulted in further engagement of Europe’s financial sector through Innovfin Advisory into an innovative process that will lead to the know-how required to finance the transition to the circular economy in Europe, thus supporting the manufacturing industry and increasing its competitiveness while at the same time offering new opportunities to the financial sector that should become the global leader in the field.
The conference was relayed via webstreaming, so proceedings of the plenary sessions could be followed online.