Event

Regional exchange and learning with BONUS RETURN

Welcome to a regional exchange and learning event by BONUS RETURN.

The Baltic Sea is a hotbed for innovation with a strong tradition of transnational cooperation for a healthy Baltic Sea. At the same time, its rapid growth needs to be reconciled with the challenges of sustainable development.

The nine countries sharing the Baltic Sea have enormous potential to develop a circular Blue Bio-Economy, if the challenges can be transformed into opportunities. To transform the region’s current environmental challenges towards innovation-driven solutions, all policy, financial, social, and scientific parts of the puzzle need to come into place.

30 May 2018 at 10:00

ending at 15:00

Helsinki, Finland and Online

Scandic Hotel Simonkenttä, Simonsgatan 9,

Join us on the 30th of May in Helsinki as we co-create solutions to bring about meaningful transformations in the Baltic Sea Region. The event will bring together researchers, innovators, investors, civil society and policy makers in the Baltic Sea Region to enable knowledge exchange and co-learning in relation to systemic innovations for a sustainable Baltic Sea.

PROGRAMME

10:00 Welcome and registration (coffee available)

Finnish Environment Institute

10:30 Overview of BONUS RETURN: The problem context in the Baltic Sea Region and BONUS RETURN’s innovative approach to eco-technologies

Karina Barquet, Project Manager, Stockholm Environment Institute

10:40 Keynote 1: Circularity in the Baltic Sea Region policy context

Akko Karlsson – Kalmar Regional Council; Deputy Member of EuroRegion Baltic (ERB); Politician Green Party (MP); South Baltic MC- Swede delegation

10:50 Keynote 2: The Role of Blue/Sustainable Finance in Circular Economy: what is it and how can we access it?

Marcus Svedberg – Senior advisor, Stockholm Sustainable Finance Centre

11:00 Keynote 3: Local demands for circular solutions in the BSR.

Eija Hagelberg – Project Director, JÄRKI project, Baltic Sea Action Group

11:10 Keynote 4: Engaging municipalities; practical examples in the BSR.

Marc Klaus – Director, Race For The Baltic

11:20 Panel discussion with keynote speakers: How can we enable circular innovations to trigger sustainable transformations in the Baltic Sea Region?

Moderator: Eva Friman, SWEDESD, Uppsala University

12:15 Presentations by the three winners in the BONUS RETURN innovation

competition :

Aquacare – Prashanth Kumar

TerraNovaEnergy – Erkan Yalcin

Ravita – Laura Rossi

12:30 Lunch and networking

13:15 Presentation: Serious Game System – Supporting systemic reflections and practice

Steven Bachelder, Professor at Department of Game Design, Uppsala University

13:30 Parallel working groups

Participants are invited to join parallel conversations to discuss specific topics related to supporting systemic innovations that promote both circularity and co-benefits within different interlinked sectors in the Baltic Sea Region.

1. Risk and reward of circularity – How policy frameworks at the regional level can be adapted to support the implementation of systemic innovations at the local level?

2. The social dimension of circular economy and how to overcome cultural challenges in the circular transition

3. How can entrepreneurship support the shift to a circular economy? What kind of investment is needed?

4. Creating a “community of practice” for circular solutions (using the Serious Game System to foster systemic reflections and insights for improving systems thinking and practice)

14:30 Reporting in plenary session

Neil Powell, Uppsala University

14:50 Closing remarks

Karina Barquet, Stockholm Environment Institute