HCH Stakeholder Event cheers to a successful 2022

Looking back at 2022, and forward to circular internationalisation

During the stakeholder event, Professor Jacqueline Cramer, Chair of Holland Circular Hotspot, emphasized the importance of collaboration and shared the takeaways from her visit to Australia (June-August 2022) to create a breeding ground for collaboration on circular economy. 

“The most important ‘nuclei of change’ have been identified and the possibilities for innovative Dutch companies that can play a role in this have been explored.” Jacqueline Cramer mentioned.

A panel discussion followed the presentation. Fred van Beuningen (Clean Tech Delta), Gabriele van Zoeren (RVO) and Harald Tepper (Philips) discussed Network Governance and circular market development in a panel discussion led by Jacqueline Cramer.

Break-out sessions

During the event, four parallel breakout sessions took place, which allowed us to get a glance of international circular developments in textiles, waste management, construction and manufacturing. We had great discussions and shared insights from various viewpoints during these sessions. Seeds have been planted for further conversations and actions.

 

Waste management

During the waste management workshop, Dutch waste industry associations, experts and entrepreneurs discussed trends and growth sectors in the field and opportunities ahead for Dutch entrepreneurs in the field of waste management.

As the highlight of the session, the publication ‘Waste management as a catalyst to Circular Economy’ was officially launched for the audience, while handed over to ISWA’s Global Technical Director, Arditi Ramola, the Dutch waste management branche BRBS’s Chair Ton van der Giessen, Envaqua’s waste management expert group coordinator Bert Keesman, former MoP and ‘father of the waste hierarchy’ Ad Lansink, and brochure partner Milgro’s Managing Director Gijs Derks. 

The brochure is now available to download digitally.

 

Photo: Handover of the waste management brochure. From left to right: Freek van Eijk, director HCH; Gijs Derks, Milgro; Arditi Ramola, ISWA; Ad Lansink, former MoP; Ton van der Giessen, BRBS; Bert Keesman, ENVAQUA
Credits: Tomas Mutsaers

 

Circular manufacturing

In this session, Diana de Graaf, Holland Circular Hotspot, Harald Tepper, Philips, and Ton Bastein, TNO, discussed what other countries are doing, what international initiatives are, and what we still need to work on. One important takeaway is that considering the complex value chain of the manufacturing industry an international approach is inevitable; furthermore, the request for circularity data still has many challenges. The circular data requirements coming from new EU regulations offer complex challenges, but also opportunities for international cooperation.

 

Circular textiles

Headed by Jacqueline Cramer, chair of the supervisory board of Holland Circular Hotspot ánd the Dutch Circular Textile Valley, and Holland Circular Hotspot’s Stephanie Schuitemaker, a round table discussion took place. Entrepreneurs shared their efforts in improving sustainability and circularity in their parts of the value chain, while doing international business. During the conversations we saw new ideas popping up, and seeds planted for future collaborations.

Photo: Breakout session Circular Textiles. 
Credits: Tomas Mutsaers

 

Circular buildings

In the circular building session, Ruben Dubelaar, from Holland Circular Hotspot and Jessica Reis-Leffers, from Rijkswaterstaat discussed how the Public Works Authority relates to the international market and various international (EU) platforms. 

Together with the attendees opportunities and developments for internationalisation of circular construction were discussed. For instance, cellulose residual materials and biobased solutions were mentioned as an option to use for both construction and infrastructure, which Rekel offers technologies for. TNO shared insights about material challenges in the coming decades, and which material flows come out of demolition and renovation projects (the residual value calculator of TNO provides insight into the economic value of the residual flows), and where we can expect the biggest bottlenecks. For one, the province of South Holland alone is expected to need 3 times more material than what comes out of demolition and renovation.

Highlights and achievements

This year alone, HCH participated in 56 missions and events in 32 countries. We saw a shift from inspirational gatherings to expert meetings and more specific topics and questions.  

To support the acceleration of the circular transition at the international level, we work together with the global hotspot network, knowledge institutes, governments, and businesses. HCH’s network has grown significantly through collaboration with 27 hotspots and more than 200 companies. We worked closely together with 4 ministries, 5 knowledge institutes, and we have been working together with 42 embassies around the world.

With pride we launched 3 new publications in 2022: Waste Management as a catalyst to a Circular Economy, Circular Buildings – constructing a sustainable future, and Circular Infrastructure – The road towards a sustainable future, bringing our total number of publications to 8. We also researched the potential of the circular economy in several countries and published several new market studies. Besides, more than 25 showcases have been published to support and promote circular economy trailblazers in the Netherlands.

In addition, our online reach is increasing and we are collaborating with a growing network. We are proud that people from 170 countries visit our website and 1,800 people subscribe to our newsletters.