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Global logistics webs are both costly and valuable. We can make them better for the planet and its people.
Trade can amplify the role of circularity in driving net-zero industry transitions, nature conservation and economic development. This session will identify practical solutions that can be scaled to accelerate circular trade, with a focus on helping developing countries build capacities to harness circular value chains, including trade in goods and services, remanufacturing and trusted trader programmes.
Keynote: What is known about circular trade and key trade policy developments
Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan
President & CEO
UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA)
Business leader, social entrepreneur and published author Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan is founder of the Shamma bint Sultan Sustainability Initiatives social enterprise, co-founder of Aurora50 and founder of Reset MENA. She holds a Master of Studies in sustainability leadership and a Master of Philosophy in modern Middle Eastern studies from the University of Cambridge, as well as a degree in Business Administration from Zayed University. She is a well-respected industry expert on sustainability, due to her business and academic endeavours in the field.
Resource Circularity and Sustainable Trade
World Economic Forum
Jeet coordinates the World Economic Forum's work on circular trade. His areas of interest and expertise are plastics, decarbonisation, FDI and development finance. In the past, he has worked at the nexus of trade, environment and SME development with the United Nations in East Africa, and on development financing with the OECD in Paris. Jeet did his studies in India and France, and speaks English, French, Hindi, Bengali and Spanish.
Rebecca “Becky” Taylor works for the Caterpillar remanufacturing division. In this role, Becky leads growth initiatives within Cat Reman, including inorganic growth for new and existing products, market access efforts and data analytics. She began her career at Caterpillar in 2004 as the forecast analyst for Caterpillar global distribution centres. She was promoted into various developmental leadership roles including 6 Sigma black belt, dealer parts operations consultant, inventory planning manager and global parts inventory collaboration manager. Becky holds a Bachelor’s in logistics and supply chain management and marketing from Iowa State University and a Master’s in business administration from the University of Illinois. She is also a certified supply chain professional and a member of the REMADE Institute governance board.
Phil Brown is director of the Metabolic Institute, the non-profit research entity of Metabolic. Phil's role is to strategically shepherd Metabolic’s research programme along an impact-driven theory of change and to foster strategic partnerships with research partners and funders to research systemic transition pathways. Phil has been the vice president of business development and strategy at Circularise and remains a strategic advisor. He has supported Circularise’s partners to integrate circular oriented innovation strategies and helped to translate blockchain capabilities into decision-making processes for developing Digital Product Passports (DPPs). Phil holds a PhD in collaborative circular oriented innovation from Delft University of Technology and has previously held multiple positions focused on circular economy innovation. Phil’s key areas of interest and expertise include the circular economy, collaborative innovation networks, circular design and business model strategies, supply chain management as well as digital transition and solutions.
In addition to her work with the roof window manufacturer VELUX, Julie Kjestrup is also the President of EuroACE – Energy Efficient Buildings. Her past roles include head of EU affairs and interim global head of public affairs and sustainability at Danfoss, head of EU affairs at the European Copper Institute, and leading the Brussels energy and environment practice at APCO Worldwide, a global public affairs and strategic communication agency. In Brussels since 2006, Julie has extensive experience working on all aspects of advocacy and stakeholder engagement and has witnessed and contributed to the rise of energy and sustainability topics on the European policy agenda over time.
Jori Ahvonen heads Europe’s leader for refurbished iPhones that believes technology shouldn’t have an expiration date. Jori is focused on building Swappie’s technical strategy and scaling the team by looking for unique talent who understands the role of circularity in technology. To further support this, he’s also an active member of EUREFAS and the Right to Repair Coalition to push for change around repairability and ensure a long-term circular market for the smartphone industry. Before joining Swappie, Jori headed engineering and technical functions at companies like Zalando, Ekahau and Accenture. As an engineer through and through, he believes that tech companies need to build solutions to tackle issues the world is facing today. While not solving the biggest puzzles in the world, Jori enjoys clearing his head in nature – either by rock climbing or trail running.
Resource Circularity and Sustainable Trade
World Economic Forum
Jeet coordinates the World Economic Forum's work on circular trade. His areas of interest and expertise are plastics, decarbonisation, FDI and development finance. In the past, he has worked at the nexus of trade, environment and SME development with the United Nations in East Africa, and on development financing with the OECD in Paris. Jeet did his studies in India and France, and speaks English, French, Hindi, Bengali and Spanish.
Nicolas Lockhart’s practice covers public international law, with a focus on trade and environment and EU ESG law issues. Nic is recognised as a leading practitioner in international trade law and policy, advising a wide range of governments in dozens of WTO disputes, and he assists clients with the negotiation of trade agreements, including trade and sustainability chapters. Nic also advises clients on the international climate change regime, international waste shipment, the law of the sea and the interface between international trade and environmental law. He is advising on the ongoing negotiation of an international convention to end plastic pollution. Nic teaches on trade and sustainability, the circular economy and the international climate regime at the World Trade Institute of the University of Berne. He has contributed to two papers on the circular economy published by the World Economic Forum, linked here and here.
Deputy Director Tariff and Trade Affairs
World Customs Organization (WCO)
Gael is with an intergovernmental organisation representing customs administrations globally. After three decades in customs in Australia, she joined the Tariff and Trade Affairs Directorate, which covers the Harmonized System Nomenclature, Valuation, and Origin within the WCO, in 2017. The WCO is currently studying how emerging circular economy policies will intersect with customs. As part of this, Gael is focused on how customs might identify goods falling under circular economy policy measures when they cross borders. This is a critical question for governments looking to develop measures to promote cross-border circular trade.
Resource Circularity and Sustainable Trade
World Economic Forum
Jeet coordinates the World Economic Forum's work on circular trade. His areas of interest and expertise are plastics, decarbonisation, FDI and development finance. In the past, he has worked at the nexus of trade, environment and SME development with the United Nations in East Africa, and on development financing with the OECD in Paris. Jeet did his studies in India and France, and speaks English, French, Hindi, Bengali and Spanish.
President & CEO
UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators (UICCA)
Business leader, social entrepreneur and published author Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan is founder of the Shamma bint Sultan Sustainability Initiatives social enterprise, co-founder of Aurora50 and founder of Reset MENA. She holds a Master of Studies in sustainability leadership and a Master of Philosophy in modern Middle Eastern studies from the University of Cambridge, as well as a degree in Business Administration from Zayed University. She is a well-respected industry expert on sustainability, due to her business and academic endeavours in the field.
Jori Ahvonen heads Europe’s leader for refurbished iPhones that believes technology shouldn’t have an expiration date. Jori is focused on building Swappie’s technical strategy and scaling the team by looking for unique talent who understands the role of circularity in technology. To further support this, he’s also an active member of EUREFAS and the Right to Repair Coalition to push for change around repairability and ensure a long-term circular market for the smartphone industry. Before joining Swappie, Jori headed engineering and technical functions at companies like Zalando, Ekahau and Accenture. As an engineer through and through, he believes that tech companies need to build solutions to tackle issues the world is facing today. While not solving the biggest puzzles in the world, Jori enjoys clearing his head in nature – either by rock climbing or trail running.
In addition to her work with the roof window manufacturer VELUX, Julie Kjestrup is also the President of EuroACE – Energy Efficient Buildings. Her past roles include head of EU affairs and interim global head of public affairs and sustainability at Danfoss, head of EU affairs at the European Copper Institute, and leading the Brussels energy and environment practice at APCO Worldwide, a global public affairs and strategic communication agency. In Brussels since 2006, Julie has extensive experience working on all aspects of advocacy and stakeholder engagement and has witnessed and contributed to the rise of energy and sustainability topics on the European policy agenda over time.
Rebecca “Becky” Taylor works for the Caterpillar remanufacturing division. In this role, Becky leads growth initiatives within Cat Reman, including inorganic growth for new and existing products, market access efforts and data analytics. She began her career at Caterpillar in 2004 as the forecast analyst for Caterpillar global distribution centres. She was promoted into various developmental leadership roles including 6 Sigma black belt, dealer parts operations consultant, inventory planning manager and global parts inventory collaboration manager. Becky holds a Bachelor’s in logistics and supply chain management and marketing from Iowa State University and a Master’s in business administration from the University of Illinois. She is also a certified supply chain professional and a member of the REMADE Institute governance board.
Deputy Director Tariff and Trade Affairs
World Customs Organization (WCO)
Gael is with an intergovernmental organisation representing customs administrations globally. After three decades in customs in Australia, she joined the Tariff and Trade Affairs Directorate, which covers the Harmonized System Nomenclature, Valuation, and Origin within the WCO, in 2017. The WCO is currently studying how emerging circular economy policies will intersect with customs. As part of this, Gael is focused on how customs might identify goods falling under circular economy policy measures when they cross borders. This is a critical question for governments looking to develop measures to promote cross-border circular trade.
Phil Brown is director of the Metabolic Institute, the non-profit research entity of Metabolic. Phil's role is to strategically shepherd Metabolic’s research programme along an impact-driven theory of change and to foster strategic partnerships with research partners and funders to research systemic transition pathways. Phil has been the vice president of business development and strategy at Circularise and remains a strategic advisor. He has supported Circularise’s partners to integrate circular oriented innovation strategies and helped to translate blockchain capabilities into decision-making processes for developing Digital Product Passports (DPPs). Phil holds a PhD in collaborative circular oriented innovation from Delft University of Technology and has previously held multiple positions focused on circular economy innovation. Phil’s key areas of interest and expertise include the circular economy, collaborative innovation networks, circular design and business model strategies, supply chain management as well as digital transition and solutions.
Resource Circularity and Sustainable Trade
World Economic Forum
Jeet coordinates the World Economic Forum's work on circular trade. His areas of interest and expertise are plastics, decarbonisation, FDI and development finance. In the past, he has worked at the nexus of trade, environment and SME development with the United Nations in East Africa, and on development financing with the OECD in Paris. Jeet did his studies in India and France, and speaks English, French, Hindi, Bengali and Spanish.
Nicolas Lockhart’s practice covers public international law, with a focus on trade and environment and EU ESG law issues. Nic is recognised as a leading practitioner in international trade law and policy, advising a wide range of governments in dozens of WTO disputes, and he assists clients with the negotiation of trade agreements, including trade and sustainability chapters. Nic also advises clients on the international climate change regime, international waste shipment, the law of the sea and the interface between international trade and environmental law. He is advising on the ongoing negotiation of an international convention to end plastic pollution. Nic teaches on trade and sustainability, the circular economy and the international climate regime at the World Trade Institute of the University of Berne. He has contributed to two papers on the circular economy published by the World Economic Forum, linked here and here.
