At the UN climate conference in early November this year, Lithuania set out its ambition to significantly reduce emissions by 2030 and become a climate-neutral country within 30 years. Where are we today? While it is agreed that there is huge potential for a circular economy in Lithuania, according to Domantas Tracevičius, the head of the public institution “Circular economy”, which was set up in Lithuania to promote circular production, change is extremely slow due to neglect from politics and the dominance of business interests. So, why is circularity not growing at the pace we would like it to and what are the challenges in the future?

On 19 November, the aim of the online forum will be to educate and develop the academic community and the business sector by reviewing relevant information and research results in the context of the circular economy and its impact on business.

Specific topics have been selected for discussion: circular economy, sustainability and manufacturing, which currently are the most challenging topics in the environmental field and equally relevant for science and business.

Algirdas Toliatas, a priest and member of the Lithuanian Social Innovation Cluster Association, who will give the welcoming speech on the day of the event, says that the world will not change by itself, but shining more light on the problems can change attitudes and bring results. 

On the day of the Forum, the organizers invite you to have a look at good examples: businesses that successfully apply the principles of circularity. One such example is the “Ergolain Group”, which has been developing and refining its sustainability policy for over 20 years, with the aim of ensuring that every employee believes in the importance of sustainability. “We have a sustainability policy in place and in our sales, we offer sustainable products to the customer. In this way, we feel that we are contributing to the education of society; They will not necessarily choose more sustainable solutions right away, but maybe they will hear about it and implement it in the future,” says Vilma Bružienė, Director of the “Ergolain”.

Meanwhile, the Finnish capital company “Peikko Lithuania” has set an ambitious target to reduce CO₂ emissions. “We are currently focusing on the circular economy in construction work. Reducing the CO₂ footprint is very important. We have managed to optimize the production of some products in such a way that CO₂ emissions have been reduced by 2 times compared to standard steel products,” says Paulius Bulota, Director of “Peikko Lithuania”. Neringa Urbanė, Marketing Specialist of “Peikko Lithuania”, will present the case of the manufacturer of reinforced concrete joints and building composite structures.

The clothing industry has also changed beyond recognition in recent years. Underneath the industry’s pretty façade lies the over-exploitation of the Earth’s resources and the production of non-recyclable materials. Designer Olesia Les-Daškevičienė, who became interested in sustainable fashion a decade ago, will give her insights on this topic. The designer says that today’s collections are changing faster than ever before, and in order to slow down this change and overproduction, we need to change our consumption habits. “The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry, and more than anywhere else, each of us has the power to make the difference,” says Les-Daškevičienė, who is convinced that the most important thing is to be interested.

So what does the future hold, how will the industry change and what sanctions will the European Union have to take to reduce global pollution to prevent catastrophe? The answer to this question will be summarized on the day of the Forum by Clive S. Michelsen, psychologist, Founder and CEO of “My-E-Health” a healthcare and rehabilitation services company.

The event will be held in English and remotely. The login link will be sent after registration.

Last year’s forum publication.