Advancing the Circular Economy for Human and Planetary Wellbeing

“Circular economy” is an amorphous concept that, overall, seeks to reduce the linear throughput of natural resources through the economy, with the goal of advancing human and planetary wellbeing. In recent years, the concept of the circular economy has gained public appeal and is expected to play a critical role in net-zero carbon transitions, water sustainability, and our ambition for a pollution-free world. However, the environmental and human wellbeing impacts of resource circularity are challenging to quantify and depend on the spatial scale at which circular economy interventions are implemented. The analytic methods and tools developed in industrial ecology are critically important in conducting a robust analysis of various proposed circular economy strategies across multiple sectors and scales. The goal of this conference is to bring together researchers studying industrial ecology and the circular economy to share emerging scientific methodologies, novel analytical tools, and key insights that are critical to advance beneficial implementation of circular economy in society.

The conference is organized into nine sessions. The keynote session will focus on the frontiers of industrial ecology to inform sustainable circular economy transitions. A session on implementing the circular economy at societal scales will highlight real-world implementation across cities, regions, and nations. Two sessions will focus on advances in core industrial ecology methods that are critical to develop metrics that represent human and environmental impacts of circular economy strategies. Additional sessions will explore the circular economy across sectors and applications, e.g. water sustainability, food-energy-water nexus, industrial systems, and materials.