Narrative Building on Circular Economy for Sustainable Development in the Asia Pacific Region

Overview

The project seeks to accelerate the adoption of circular economy practices to address climate challenges and foster sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region. By engaging key stakeholders — including industry, policymakers, and academia — it aims to assess challenges, identify opportunities, and develop frameworks for circular transitions, with a particular focus on SMEs.

Key deliverables of the project include a white paper, policy briefs, and a high-impact research agenda for actionable insights while bringing Global South perspectives to policy discussions. The project’s outcomes will focus on raising awareness, showcasing innovative models, and promoting regional collaboration to drive sustainable growth.

Objectives

Assess challenges and opportunities for circular transitions aligned with sustainable development priorities
Demonstrate linkages between circular strategies and climate targets through evidence-based sectoral analysis
Suggest frameworks for adopting circular practices, especially for SMEs
Engage and build awareness among stakeholders about circular economy’s importance
Document and disseminate knowledge on circular innovations and good practices
Contribute Southern perspectives to international policy discussions on circular economy transitions

Events

Beyond Plantations: Synergies for Healthy Mangroves, Thriving Coastal Communities, and Robust Value Chains - Lessons from the Sundarban

Beyond Plantations: Synergies for Healthy Mangroves, Thriving Coastal Communities, and Robust Value Chains – Lessons from the Sundarban: Watch here

The session, as a part of Centre for Responsible Business (CRB’s) India and Sustainability Standards 2024, aimed to develop a strong narrative that promotes a comprehensive concept of mangrove stewardship at the national level, going beyond just increasing mangrove cover through plantations. Some of the objectives of the session were:

Emphasise the importance of nurturing and promoting mangrove stewardship among local communities to ensure long-term ecological sustainability beyond mangrove plantation.
Advocate for the mobilisation of resources through the right channels to support mangrove stewardship and related livelihood initiatives, with particular emphasis on women’s empowerment.
Initiate a multi-stakeholder dialogue platform on the transformative bottom-up model (pursued by NEWS) coalescing the triple objectives of healthy mangroves, thriving coastal communities and resilient value chains.
Use the platform to raise awareness about the positive outcomes nature based solutions using a value chain approach, involving all key stakeholders in the region.