WorldLoop participates in Arenberg Symposium at KU Leuven


On November 28 2012, WorldLoop participated in the prestigious Arenberg symposium (Van Cauteren chair) at the University of Leuven.
The topic of the day was: “Golden waste: tomorrow’s resources” and the program included speakers from academia (Oxford University, KULeuven), industry (Umicore, Philips), research & consulting (McKinsey, VITO) and non-profit sector (WorldLoop).
Topics included evolution of resource scarcity and the need for more recycling as part of the move towards a circular economy, and some of the building blocks that are in motion from a linear to a circular economy which is impacting product eco-design as well as end of life management. Tangible examples were presented by Philips, incorporating new evolutions of eco-design in “design-to-recycle” a key consideration in their new product design. Umicore, who is an end refiner, explained the mind shift that the company went through during the last decade resulting in their recent award of being the most sustainable company in the world.
Thomas Poelmans, Project Director at WorldLoop, presented its “best of 2 worlds” approach, a concept developed by the United Nation’s Solving the E-waste Problem Intiative (StEP), for the recycling of electronic waste, demonstrating the win-win of collaboration between OECD and developing countries when it comes to building a sustainable economy.