The Circular Economy Innovation Communities (CEIC) Summer Conference will be held on Tuesday 4th of July 2023 at the Cardiff City Stadium. The conference is an open invitation for environmental champions from throughout South Wales and beyond to discuss how well-designed, incremental efforts can have substantial impact.

The CEIC programme enables colleagues from across the public and third sectors to collaborate and create communities of practice to develop innovative solutions to probably the biggest challenge of our generation. We have a lot of work to do to meet the ambitious target of achieving net carbon zero by 2030 and need everyone helping to get there.

During the morning we will be having various keynote speakers who will present on a wide range of subjects relating to both Circular Economy and the impact of the Climate emergency is having globally.

The Conference will also showcase the amazing work that is going on across South Wales public services to tackle the climate emergency. Several of the cohorts that have been taking part in both the Swansea Bay and Cardiff Capital regions, will present on the innovative work they have been doing both on CEIC and back in their organisations.

The conference will create opportunities to meet existing and past participants to learn about what they have been doing and speak to the CEIC team.

Key note speakers

Ben Burggraaf

‘The role of circular thinking in the Green Industrial Revolution'

Native of the Netherlands, Ben began his career in 2002 at the Corus/Tata Steel research and development facility in the Netherlands and was appointed as the Energy Optimisation Manager at the Port Talbot Steelworks in 2007. In 2014, he made the switch to Welsh Water and was responsible for the day-to-day energy costs and carbon management of more than 4000 of the company’s sites across Wales and Herefordshire. Four years later, he was appointed as the Head of Energy, leading on all aspects of energy management for Welsh Water, including developing and leading the company’s Net Zero Strategy. In 2022 Ben was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer for a newly established body called Net Zero Industry Wales, supporting the industrial clusters in Wales on their Journey to Net Zero.

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The CEIC Spring Conference will be a hybrid event, with physical as well as virtually streamed presentations. You can let us know whether you want to attend in person or virtually when you choose your ticket type. If you have any questions about the CEIC Summer Conference, please email us on: [email protected]

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The CEIC programme is run over 10 months, with participants meeting up once a month. CEIC is fully funded for Swansea Bay Region and Cardiff Capital Region public services and designed to develop real benefits for participating organisations, the community and the planet.