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Women at a circular economy workshop writing notes

New circular economy programme launches at City Hall

24 April 2017

Advance London: Helping London’s SMEs to capitalise on the benefits of the circular economy

Advance London, a new EU-funded programme to help London’s smaller businesses ‘go circular’ and become more resource efficient, is launching at London’s Living Room in City Hall, on Tuesday 25th April 2017.

The programme, established by The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) in January 2017, is jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund and LWARB. Its goal is to help London’s businesses transition to, or scale up, circular economy business models, giving them the resilience they need to thrive now and in the future. After a short phase of planning and development, Advance London is now ready to start delivering direct support to SMEs from May 2017.

The launch event on 25th April is an opportunity for businesses and stakeholders engaged in the circular economy to meet, share their experiences and find opportunities to collaborate. A panel of experts – Ann Beavis (Premier Workplace Services), Linda Coyle (Sustainable Ventures), Arthur Kay (bio-bean), Nitesh Magdani (Royal BAM Group) and Malcolm Waddell (WRAP) – will also lead a discussion on opportunities and challenges facing London SMEs in the context of the circular economy.

Councillor Bassam Mahfouz, Board member and circular economy lead at LWARB, said:

London is home to some impressive circular economy leaders. The nature of the circular economy requires collaboration throughout the supply chain and changes the way businesses interact with consumers – Advance London aims to help SMEs in the capital do exactly that. As more and more businesses ‘go circular’ new opportunities will emerge for SMEs to be innovative in the way that they tackle market challenges, and this programme will help a number of businesses through the transition. We believe London can be a real world leader in nurturing circular economy businesses and become a genuinely resource-efficient global city.

The programme will run for three years, until December 2019.


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