Brussels, 5 June 2025 –During the 2025 EU Green Week conference in Brussels from 3 to 5 June, the United Nations brought a global lens to discussions on how circular economy solutions can power a greener, more competitive, and resilient Europe. Focused on ‘Circular Solutions for a Competitive EU’, the event explored the ‘3Cs’—Clean, Competitive, and Circular—highlighting how circularity can drive innovation and sustainability. The UN contributed insights from global initiatives and local projects, reinforcing the importance of circular approaches in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
“We are already using more than the available amount of Earth’s natural resources. If current trends were to continue, we would need three planets by 2050,” said Camilla Brückner, Director of the UN/UNDP Office in Brussels and Representative of the UN System in the EU. “The transition to a circular economy is not just an environmental imperative—it is a development opportunity. It enables us to reduce waste, and foster innovation for more inclusive and sustainable economic growth. UN’s participation at the EU Green Week exemplifies how our partnership with the European Union can accelerate this transformation for a greener future and peaceful societies.”
UN voices featured prominently in several high-level sessions offering global perspectives on circularity. Janez Potočnik, Co-Chair of the International Resource Panel (UNEP IRP), emphasised the role of efficient resource use in achieving the SDGs during a session on the proposed Circular Economy Act. Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, joined a panel on the EU’s global influence, highlighting the importance of green diplomacy and inclusive partnerships. Jérôme Stucki, Chief of the Circular Industry Resource Efficiency Unit at the UN Industrial development Organization (UNIDO), underscored that UNIDO and the EU share a common vision for a fair transition toward circular economies. Improving the way, we use resources is critical for environmental purposes, but it is equally essential for increasing the resilience and competitiveness of our economies.
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UN Collaboration in Action: Circularity on Display
Over the three days of EU Green Week 2025, six UN agencies joined forces to host a vibrant UN Brussels Team booth, coordinated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The booth became a dynamic space for cross-sector dialogue, spotlighting how UN entities are driving circular solutions through global cooperation and local impact. From policy to practice, the interactive stand highlighted joint efforts with communities, governments, and businesses to embed circularity into sustainable development strategies:
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), underscored the growing role of bioeconomy in transforming food systems, showing how innovations in bioscience and biotechnology can feed the world sustainably without depleting natural resources. FAO also displayed fashion items like women bags, wallets and shoes made out of discarded fish skins in Cabo Verde. The exhibit showed how it is possible to green the fashion industry by pioneering bio-based solutions, while giving local women economic opportunities. This type of projects are key to FAO’s sustainable bioeconomy for agrifood systems transformation.
Meanwhile, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) brought a crucial dimension to the table: the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Their presence served as a powerful reminder that the environment and human rights are deeply intertwined, especially in the face of the triple planetary crisis—climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
Visitors were also drawn to the “Building Circularity into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – A Practical Toolbox”, co-developed by UNDP, UNEP’s One Planet Network, and UNFCCC secretariat. The toolbox supports countries to assess, implement and track circular economy interventions in their updated NDCs, including in key sectors such as buildings and construction, and agriculture and food systems. UNDP also spotlighted circular innovations led by its Accelerator Labs as well as partnerships with the EU—ranging from the EU-supported Green Economy Programme in the Philippines which supports the country’s transition to a green economy to the EU-funded Green Agenda Initiative in Serbiawhich promotes circular economy investments in starts-ups as well as MSMEs.
UNEP spotlighted the need for more circularity in areas such as minerals, metals, textiles, and plastics, emphasizing the importance of lifecycle thinking and sustainable production and consumption. It highlighted flagship initiatives like the Innovative Business Practices and Economic Models in the Textile Value Chain (InTex), the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE) and the Green Jobs for Youth Pact. UNEP also promoted the 5 June World Environment Day campaign, which this year focuses on ending plastic pollution, and emphasized nature inspired solutions through circular economy approaches. (See their related EU Green Week partner event)
At the same time, UNESCO shared how its Global Geoparks and Biosphere Reserves serve as real-world laboratories for sustainability, offering tangible examples of circular practices in action within living landscapes. Community-led initiatives range from sustainable groundwater use in Croatia’s Vis Archipelago Geopark, to co-designed agricultural resilience plans in the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere (UK), and nature-based infrastructure protection through the NBSINFRA project. These sites are more than scenic areas—they are hubs of innovation, adaptation, and circular thinking in action
For its part, UNIDO showcased industrial projects that support green manufacturing, clean technologies, and circular business models—demonstrating how circularity can drive competitiveness in line with the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy, especially in partner countries. UNIDO featured the Switch to Circular Economy Value Chains project—co-funded by the European Union and the Government of Finland—which supports the transition to circularity in targeted value chains across selected countries. Additionally, the initiative Advancing Nigeria’s Green and Just Transition to Net Zero through Circular Economy Practices, funded by the EU, focuses on improving the management of used off-grid energy equipment and plastics.
A Shared Commitment to People and Planet
By highlighting joint initiatives, tools, and global-local connections, the UN highlighted how circularity can be embedded into development strategies across sectors and regions. This collaboration between the UN and EU reflects their shared commitment to accelerating the green transition and delivering on the 2030 Agenda—together, for people and planet.