Join us to learn about Circular Economy strategies in Latin America, with practical examples from the cases of GGGI Peru and GGGI Colombia.
Global Green Growth Week 2022 (GGGWeek2022) is the annual flagship event of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). It brings together global green growth leaders, practitioners, public and private sector experts, civil society members and stakeholders to learn and share examples of solutions and best practices to promote a robust, inclusive, and sustainable low-carbon world. Global Green Growth Week 2022 featured high-level panel discussions, keynote speeches, interactive sessions, and debates.
Events included one activity entitled: "Circular Economy Success Stories in Latin America", held on 26 October, with the participation of local governments, the private sector, and international institutions, sharing progress and implementation of circular economy strategies in their regions and internationally.
This session was an opportunity to present circular economy approaches in Latin America and highlight projects in GGGI member countries in the region.
The session highlighted GGGI's support to the Municipality of Lima, Peru, in developing Lima's Circular Economy Strategy 2030. The Head of Environmental Planning, Maria Elena Alencar, presented the strategy, encouraging the forty-three districts to lead the way in transitioning to a more circular city.
The Municipality of Lima has developed Ordinance n.2367, which incorporates the local management of the principles of the Circular Economy to promote the sustainable and resilient development of the Province of Lima. Among the initiatives developed are the participatory workshops on the actions, indicators, and targets of the Circular Economy Strategy. Lima, along with Bogota, Quito, Santiago de Chile and the IDB, is developing the project "Regional Platform for the Strengthening of the Circular Economy, with a view to post-COVID-19 recovery and mitigation of Climate Change". Other successful initiatives include the recovery of public spaces with a circular economy approach, such as bio-gardens for soup kitchens in Lima, and the municipal initiative "Lima reuses", which seeks to extend the useful life of products.
In addition, other organizations are working at the local and regional levels. For example, the European Union has supported local governments in developing policy instruments to promote circular economy initiatives, Profonanpe, which works with SMEs within protected natural areas, and the Ministry of Environment, which is formulating strategic actions for the National Circular Economy Platform. In this context, GGGI Peru has coordinated with various actors, such as those mentioned above, to advance the national transition to a circular economy.
Colombia shared their good practice focusing on the Antioquia Government’s circular economy strategy in Medellin, represented by the Secretary of Environment and Sustainability, Carlos Ignacio Uribe. The plan addresses the current climate crisis and defines a model of integrated waste management with a circular economy approach and the structuring of a pilot project.
The strategy has three steps: 1) analysis of the current state of integrated solid waste management, 2) structuring of a solid waste management model that incorporates policies, standards, and guidelines, and 3) structuring of a pilot project in the department, with impact on economic growth, environmental protection and social inclusion aligned with the departmental development plan.
Estefani Rondon Toro, a research assistant in the Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division of ECLAC, presented the Circular Economy Strategies for sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean, contextualizing the opportunities of the region in critical sectors. Among them is the Declaration of Circular Cities of Latin America and the Caribbean, an initiative led by ECLAC that seeks to generate spaces for discussion to make visible the initiatives and practices implemented in signatory cities on the issue of Circular Cities.
The private sector was also present in the panel with Veronica Saenz, Head of Circular Economy in Peru of the company ENEL which tells a vision of a circular economy that combines competitiveness with social and environmental sustainability. ENEL is developing its strategy in different countries in Latin America and identifies five pillars of its strategy: sustainability of resources, extending use from design, products as services, collaborative platforms, and new life cycles. ENEL developed a metrics model based on those pillars to take circularity from a qualitative to a quantitative system with indicators and KPIs determining each initiative's circular level.
Finally, we invite you to join us and learn more about the event by visiting the SITE:
https://www.facebook.com/GGGIColombia/videos/1187092961903151/?extid=NS-UNK-UNK-UNK-AN_GK0T-GK1C&ref=sharing
https://events.zoom.us/e/view/5fxqR0H7S-6qoJlikkAS3Q?id=5fxqR0H7S-6qoJlikkAS3Q