The EU’s new circular action plan paves the way for a cleaner and more competitive Europe. In this vein, this CONNECT University session will present the participants the circular electronics action, one of the main building blocks of the European Green Deal. Join this event and discover how the transition to a circular economy will reduce pressure on natural resources and will create sustainable growth and jobs.

Background information

This event is part of the CONNECT University Summer School 2021 on Digital for our Planet that aims to present cutting-edge innovations addressing how can digital technologies be harnessed to tackle climate change, both in terms of a greener digital system, as well as their role in helping reducing carbon emissions across industries. Check this blogpost for the full programme and more information. 

Speakers

Moderator and introductory speech: Michael Pantelides, Policy Officer, Coordination of Digital Strategy and Green ICT, DG CONNECT, European Commission

Michael works as a policy officer in DG CNECT’s unit ‘Coordination of Digital Strategy and Green ICT’. His tasks include following the implementation of Europe’s digital strategy, preparing briefings on the interaction between the digital and green transformations, and working on the Circular Electronics Initiative. Prior to joining DG CNECT, he qualified as a lawyer at a private litigation firm, worked as a consultant in environmental and health & safety law, and worked in policy at DG JUST. His particular interests include consumer law, tech regulation and anti-corruption.

• Stephane Arditi, Director of Policy Integration and Circular Economy, European Environmental Bureau 

Title of the presentation: WEEE must stop

Stéphane works as the Director for Policy Integration and Circular Economy at the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), a federation of over 160 ENGO’s from across Europe. Before joining EEB, Stéphane worked as a Quality/Lean consultant within the automotive and aeronautics industry in France and the UK. He has also collaborated with academic research programs concerning energy efficiency in buildings and the evaluation of sustainable development policy in France. Stephane has a dual education background in Philosophy and Environmental Management. In his everyday work, Stéphane attempts to promote circular economy policy instruments, business models and innovative practices, focussing on resource and energy conservation and the prevention of waste. He is now investigating how to bridge circular economy with other policy areas, such as Climate, Bio-economy, Industry, Chemicals and SDGs, as well as how to best adapt sound circular economy practices outside Europe.

• Pascal Leroy, Director General, WEEE Forum

Title of the presentation: Accelerating the transition to a digital circular economy for end-of-life electronics

Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum since 2007, oversees the general management of the association and has been in the WEEE business for almost twenty years. Formerly he was Government Affairs Manager on WEEE at APPLiA, the European home appliance manufacturing industry. He also worked for five years in the European Parliament, as well as for Hill and Knowlton, one of the world’s largest PR/PA firms.

In 2009, he took on the management of the WEEE Forum's WEEELABEX project. He was also main legal authorised representative and contact for the WEEE Forum of the following projects: Countering WEEE Illegal Trade (CWIT, FP7), Recycling by Votechnik of LCD Visual Displays (REVOLV, Eco-innovation), Prospecting Secondary Raw Materials in the Urban Mine and Mining Wastes (ProSUM, H2020), Activating circular Services in the Electrical and Electronic Sector (C-SERVEES, H2020), Developing Voluntary Certification Scheme for Waste Treatment (CEWASTE, H2020), Optimising Data Collection for Primary and Secondary Raw Materials (ORAMA, H2020) and Waste Collection Systems Assessed and Good Practices Identified (COLLECTORS, H2020). He is a Sherpa to the High-Level Steering Group of the European Innovation Partnership on Raw Materials and as such contributed to the Strategic Implementation Plan. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of CIRCULARISE, a start-up.

Pascal obtained a bronze medal from the Fondation du Mérite Européen in 1994 for European achievement. He speaks Dutch (native), English, French, Spanish and German.

• Carsten Waldeck, Founder/CEO, SHIFT GmbH 

Title of the presentation: SHIFT happens - our journey towards circular electronics

Carsten is a designer, philosopher and inventor from Germany. He is also the founder and visionary behind the SHIFTPHONE and other sustainable Technologies.