The way forward: plastics in a circular economy

As Executive Director of the European Environment Agency, Hans Bruyninckx is responsible for providing policymakers with reliable, independent information on a wide array of environmental subjects, from urban air quality to green infrastructure. Before joining the European Environment Agency, Bruyninckx was Head of the Research Institute for Work and Society at the Catholic University of Leuven, where he also served as Head of the Political Science Department. Over the past 20 years, he has led research on environmental politics, climate change, and sustainable development on a multitude of scales, working with local governments, member states, EU institutions and international organisations.

At the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Sander Defruyt leads the New Plastics Economy Initiative, an ambitious global initiative bringing together key stakeholders to rethink and redesign the future of plastics, starting with packaging. Defruyt previously worked at McKinsey & Company, where he was part of the core team responsible for publishing the report, ‘Growth within: a circular economy vision for a competitive Europe’.

Sarah Nelen has almost 20 years of experience in European policymaking, mainly in the areas of sustainability, justice and home affairs. In her current portfolio, as Deputy Head of Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, Nelen is primarily responsible for the coordination of the Green Deal, the EU’s growth strategy to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Prior to joining Timmermans’ Cabinet, she was Head of Unit for waste management and secondary materials, whilst negotiating the EU’s single-use plastic legislation.

Maria Spyraki is an award-winning Greek journalist and politician now serving her second mandate in the European Parliament. She actively works in numerous committees, including Industry, Research, and Energy (ITRE), Regional Development (REGI) and Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). Prior to her public service, she worked for 22 years as a journalist in Greece. She drew on this experience during her time in the Athens Press Office of the European Parliament and the office of Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas. Spyraki is a firm believer in the transformative power of research and innovation to tackle climate change.