Name of Organization: Moscow Urban Forum, Russian Government
Country: Russia
City: Moscow
Date of Activity: 16/10/2018
Session "Circular city. City as an ecosystem for green businesses" in the framework of the Open Innovations Forum.
Since its launch in 2012, Open Innovations Forum has established itself as Russia’s leading international platform for entrepreneurs, corporations, scientists, and government officials. The ambition of the Forum is to discuss the most important emerging global tech challenges from different standpoints – technological, managerial, and humanitarian. In 2017, Open Innovations welcomed visitors from 98 countries, hosting 18,200 participants, 700 speakers, more than 800 investors and 1,200 journalists.
Description of the Session:
Citizens become more and more environmentally conscious. They demand access to clean water and fresh air, green and well-managed urban environment, and strive to reduce their plastic footprint. Therefore, the concept of a circular economy, an economic model that promotes more efficient use of natural resources, has been gaining ground in politics, industry and society. The new paradigm presupposes not only waste recycling, but the creation of the system that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design. The model has been recently adopted by both cities and technical corporations. According to the report prepared by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, cyclical production can bring the global economy $ 1 trillion annually, saving $ 500 million in materials and preventing the emergence of 100 million tons of waste.
Where do the interests of city authorities and companies cross when introducing the ideas of cyclical production into their practice? How can cities transition to a circular economy? What should be the role of business in the development of new economic model? What technologies are needed to move to a new economic model? What technologies are being introduced by companies today?
Among speakers of the session are Anton Kulbachevsky, Minister for Environmental Management and Protection of the Moscow Government, representatives of technological companies and experts that offer products to decrease the amount of solid municipal waste.