The circular economy and the bioeconomy: Emerging approaches in South and Southeast Asia

This event, hosted by the Stockholm Environment Institute, will present their initiative on governing bioeconomy pathways, and will provide a platform for UNCTAD’s circular economy programme, to present lessons drawn from the UNCTAD-FCDO Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP) programme.

In the past decade or so, the circular economy and bioeconomy have moved from academic discussions and analysis into more tangible programmes, policies and business practices in different countries and world regions. Both concepts are fundamental elements within broader sustainable development aims but it has taken time to articulate the frameworks and translate the principles into practice.

In this online webinar, UNCTAD will focus on lessons drawn from the SMEP programme, which promotes “industrial symbiosis” and better plastics management in countries like Bangladesh. UNCTAD will highlight the important role of bioenergy and biodigestion systems in the circular economy. Bioenergies, especially waste to energy, can be seen as part of a broader circular bioeconomy umbrella and also help in pollution mitigation initiatives (e.g. biodigestion lowers ecotoxicities).

For example, the SMEP programme could support technologies that convert waste generated from manufacturing operations into an energy input, with solutions identified including:
• Anaerobic digestion to produce biogas and biofertilizer using organic waste generated from manufacturing processes as feedstock.
• Organic pyrolysis to produce biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel, using organic waste generated from manufacturing processes as feedstock.
Source: UNCTAD