For the first time, the impact on the carbon footprint of this new edition of the World Circular Economy Summit organized by the Municipality of Córdoba will be measured for three days: this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
This is one of the novelties of an event that will have as its main content attractions the conferences of Kari Herlevi, director of Sustainable Projects at Sitra, a Finnish investment fund that organizes the most important Circular Economy forums in the world; Shalini Bhalla, Director General of the International Council for the Circular Economy; and Ayla Tapajós, indigenous peoples activist from Brazil.
Panels highlight the participation of researchers, entrepreneurs, officials and leaders from Vietnam, Germany, the African Circular Economy Network, Morocco and Canada.
Another novelty for the general public is the organization, in parallel, of a social chess tournament, played on boards made from factory discards.
Measure the footprint
The call to participate in this new summit comes with a special recommendation: pay attention to the way you are going to get to the Convention Center. This is due to the high impact on the carbon footprint of mobility, in which the individual car option is the least sustainable.
If you choose this mode of transportation, the suggestion is to transport several people. The municipal recommendation is to choose between buses, taxis, vans, bicycles or electric vehicles, whether skateboards, motorcycles or cars because they all have a smaller carbon footprint than private mobility.
To facilitate the use of public transportation, the municipality organized all the information about routes, stops, and schedules on a website and in the Tu Bondi app, with the bus being a sustainable way to get to the Summit.
Transportation is one of the main sources of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The carbon footprint measures greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. What happens at events, such as concerts, shows, sports competitions or this summit, is important due to the impact of transportation, energy consumption and the garbage generated, among other topics.
Integrate new economies
This new summit aims to generate a space for dialogue and integration between actors of the new economies: the knowledge, the creative, the community and the host, the circular economy.
The event will be the premiere of the recognition by the Organization of American States (OAS) of the Municipality of Córdoba as a reference center in circular economy. Mayor Daniel Passerini will speak at noon this Thursday. There are expectations in what he can say in relation to the future tender for a scheme that replaces waste collection with a metropolitan model, centered on the circular economy, to give impetus, scale and a new legal framework to the activity. Governor Martín Llaryora will then receive a distinction, as the creator and pioneer in Córdoba of public policies to encourage the circular economy.
Panels and conferences
Among the featured panels is one that will discuss the topic “Community Economy: green jobs, environmental protection, economic development and social inclusion” with the participation of the Italian Giulia Detomati, CEO of Invento Innovation Lab; the Swiss Sacha Pictet, director of RWC LLC; and the Colombian Nathalia Gómez Andrade, corporate director of Sustainability at ISA Colombia.
At the end of the first day, there will be a discussion titled “Global alliances for the decarbonization of the economy”, with the Moroccan Soha Benchekroun, representative of the SOUTH-SOUTH association and cooperation for 4C Morocco; Canadian Marcos Badra, director of the Circular Economy Management and Sustainable Development program of the city of Richmond; and the Belgian Piotr Barczak, director of the Circular Economy Program of the African Circular Economy Network Foundation.
On Friday there will be a talk “Innovation and science for sustainable development”, with Argentine Claudia Kenbel, researcher at CONICET-UNRC; the German Michael Kuhndt, director of the Collaborating Center on Sustainable Production and Consumption (CSCP); and the Vietnamese Hong Quan Nguyen, director of the Institute for Circular Economy Development (ICED).
The closing of the central schedule will have the talk “Climate change and activism”, which will be attended by the activist Alice Piva and the former Secretary of Climate of Rio de Janeiro, Luciano Páez (both from Brazil), and the CEO of Kilimo, the Cordoban entrepreneur Jairo Trad.
Finally, that same Friday the Circular Incubator prizes will be awarded.
In parallel to the scenarios with experts and round tables, a new edition of the Circular Economy Fair will be held, with almost a hundred exhibitors. The idea of this fair is to connect consumers with circular organizations, their products and their services.
In an alternative scenario, the Circular Experiences panels will be repeated, which on this occasion will have the participation of 99 exhibitors from all over the country to tell successful business models.
The summit will have its last day of activity on Saturday, when all the other proposals can be visited.
A social and circular chess tournament
The 1st Social Chess Meeting will take place around the Summit.
There will be 3 categories: children, youth and adults. People from 8 years old and up can participate.
Both the pieces and the boards that will be used in the meeting were made by hand with discarded products at the School of Circular Economy.
For the most part, the boards are made with wood from discarded engine boxes from the Iveco factory.
With this material, boards and pieces were made with lathes, tables, boards and boards for the blind, as well as some blackboards for teaching.
There are also pieces made with transparent resin and others with melted plastics made inside rubber molds.
In addition, there are more formal chess games, made with polished and polished recycled boxes, whose pieces are composed of bits of metal pieces such as nuts that are assembled with detailed artisanal blacksmithing.
All the materials used are rescued from the School of Circular Economy and each board made has a standard pro game quality: they have the appropriate category, level, measurements and weight so that they can be used in any national open.
Once the 4th Circular Economy Summit is concluded, this same Social Chess project will be taken to different neighborhood institutions, picnic areas and/or dining rooms, with the teaching boards, pieces and blackboards, as well as a chess book for children that will be presented during the Summit.
