International events: Drastic at the World Circular Economy Forum 2024
In April, Drastic was featured as part of this year’s World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) in Brussels. The WCEF is one of the world’s leading events for circular economy thinkers, doers and leaders, showcasing the most impactful circular solutions from around the world.
In collaboration with the Circular Buildings Coalition (CBC), Drastic hosted a lunchtime workshop: ‘Accelerating circularity from a sufficiency perspective’. The built environment is one of the sectors with the highest circularity potential, but current circular strategies focus mainly on the more applied R-strategies (e.g. recycling and reuse). The workshop applied sufficiency on different circular solutions in the construction industry, aiming at the lesser applied R-strategies (e.g. refuse and reduce).
With moderation from VITO colleagues Michiel Ritzen and Joana dos Santos Gonçalves, and additional support from Laura Pallares and Carolina Montano Owen from the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC), discussions focused on the potential of sufficiency in driving circular solutions within the construction industry.
Via engaging case studies from the CBC (an initiative supported by the Laudes Foundation and WorldGBC) and the Drastic project, participants actively collaborated in a world café setting, igniting creativity and fostering sustainable change, exploring the often-overlooked refuse and reduce strategies and paving the way for systemic innovations.