Main Stage

Mittwoch, 12. März 2025 bis 
Donnerstag 13. März 2025

Das Programm der Main Stage

Die Main Stage ist ein Highlight der Circular Valley Convention – ein Ort, an dem führende Köpfe aus Wirtschaft, Wissenschaft, Politik und Gesellschaft ihre Visionen und bahnbrechenden Projekte präsentieren. Hier erfahren Sie aus erster Hand, wie die Zukunft der Circular Economy gestaltet wird. Mit inspirierenden Keynotes und richtungsweisenden Impulsen bieten renommierte Experten wertvolle Einblicke in innovative Strategien, transformative Technologien und globale Trends. Lassen Sie sich von den Perspektiven der Top-Speaker begeistern und erleben Sie, wie Ideen Gestalt annehmen, die unsere Welt nachhaltig verändern werden.

Mittwoch, der 12. März 2025

10:00 - 10:45 Uhr

Eröffnung & Begrüßung

10:00 - 10:10 Uhr

Eröffnung

 Format: Eröffnung

 Session: Eröffnung & Begrüßung

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Chérine de Bruijn

Moderatorin

Wolfram N. Diener

Vorsitzender der Geschäftsführung
Messe Düsseldorf GmbH

Dr. Carsten Gerhardt

Chairman
Circular Valley Stiftung

Prof. Manfred Renner

Institutsdirektor
Fraunhofer UMSICHT

10:10 - 10:15 Uhr

Grußwort und Videobotschaft des NRW Ministerpräsidenten

 Format: Eröffnung

 Session: Eröffnung & Begrüßung

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Hendrik Wüst

Ministerpräsident
Landesregierung NRW

10:15 - 10:25 Uhr

Begrüßung

 Dauer: 00:10 h

 Format: Eröffnung

 Session: Eröffnung & Begrüßung

 Sprache: English

Speaker

TBA

Position
Unternehmen

10:25 - 10:40 Uhr

The Industry Aims to Drive the Circular Economy

 Format: Keynote

 Session: Eröffnung & Begrüßung

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Dr. Claas Oehlmann

CEO
BDI-Initiative Circular Economy Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie e. V.

10:40 - 10:45 Uhr

Grußwort und Videobotschaft der Bundesumweltministerin

 Format: Eröffnung

 Session: Eröffnung & Begrüßung

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Steffi Lemke

Bundesministerin für Umwelt, Naturschutz, nukleare Sicherheit und Verbraucherschutz BMUV
Bundesregierung

10:45 - 13:30 Uhr

Keynotes - Enabling Circular Economy

10:45 - 11:00 Uhr

The value creation potential of circularity: opportunities for innovation, efficiency and resource conservation

 Format: Speech

 Session: Keynotes – Enabling Circular Economy

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Holger Hanselka

Präsident
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft

Vortragsinfos

The circular economy is not only ecologically necessary, but also offers economic advantages in light of global competition for resources. Waste contains significant quantities of valuable raw materials such as building materials, high-tech materials and precious metals. What opportunities does circularity offer and how can products be optimized for reuse and waste minimization? Innovative technologies, developed from the idea to the application in cooperation between applied research and industry, are key to addressing ecological challenges and securing access to valuable resources.

11:00 - 11:15 Uhr

Closing the Loop: BASF's Research-Driven Path to a Circular Economy

 Format: Speech

 Session: Keynotes – Enabling Circular Economy

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Dr. Carla Seidel

Vize-Präsidentin
BASF SE

Vortragsinfos

BASF's ambition is clear: to be the preferred chemical company enabling our customers' green transformation. We are committed to advancing a Circular Economy by increasing our use of recycled and renewable feedstocks, shaping new material cycles, and creating innovative business models. This presentation will illustrate how we contribute to closing and extending these loops by developing and implementing circular solutions for sourced materials. Additionally, we will discuss our efforts to optimize operations and provide resource-efficient products and services that support our customers on their circularity journeys.

11:15 - 11:30 Uhr

Circular Economy as the solution for Businesses to become future proof

 Format: Speech

 Session: Keynotes – Enabling Circular Economy

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Rebecca Tauer

Programmleiterin Circular Economy
WWF Deutschland

Vortragsinfos

TBA

11:30 - 11:45 Uhr

Circularity at Henkel

 Format: Speech

 Session: Keynotes – Enabling Circular Economy

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Ulrike Sapiro

Chief Sustainability Officer
Henkel

Vortragsinfos

TBA

11:45 - 12:00 Uhr

The Power of Partnerships: Accelerating the Circular Economy for Economic Growth

 Format: Speech

 Session: Keynotes – Enabling Circular Economy

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Prof. Karin Huber-Heim

Stadt Wien Stiftungsprofessur für Kreislaufwirtschaft & transformative Geschäftsmodelle
Circular Economy Forum Austria

Vortragsinfos

The keynote explores how strategic collaborations can drive the transition to a circular economy, unlocking significant economic benefits. It will highlight key opportunities for businesses and governments to partner effectively, and demonstrate how such alliances can enhance resource efficiency and stimulate sustainable growth. It will elborate how leveraging partnerships can accelerate the shift to a circular economy and boost economic performance.

12:00 - 12:15 Uhr

Circular Economy business initiatives and cross-sector coalitions

 Format: Speech

 Session: Keynotes – Enabling Circular Economy

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Joe Murphy

Executive Lead - Business Network
Ellan McArthur Foundation

Vortragsinfos

TBA

12:15 - 12:30 Uhr

Equipment Nexus in a Circular World

 Format: Speech

 Session: Keynotes – Enabling Circular Economy

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Dr. Martin Sonnenschein

Vorsitzender
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG

Vortragsinfos

TBA

12:30 - 12:45 Uhr

TBA

 Dauer: 00:15 h

 Format: Speech

 Sprache: Keynotes – Enabling Circular Economy

 Sprache: English

Speaker

TBA

Position
Unternehmen

Vortragsinfos

TBA

12:30 - 13:30 Uhr

Panel Discussion "Enabling Circular Economy"

 Format: Panel Discussion

 Session: Keynotes – Enabling Circular Economy

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Holger Hanselka

Präsident
Fraunhofer Gesellschaft

Dr. Carla Seidel

Vize-Präsidentin
BASF SE

Dr. Carsten Gerhardt

Chairman
Circular Valley Stiftung

Prof. Karin Huber-Heim

Stadt Wien Stiftungsprofessur für Kreislaufwirtschaft & transformative Geschäftsmodelle
Circular Economy Forum Austria

Vortragsinfos

TBA

13:30 - 15:00 Uhr

Session 1 - Value Cycles for Plastics

13:30 - 13:45 Uhr

What does it take for a full plastics Circular Value Chain to be successful?

 Format: Speech

 Session 1: Value Cycles for Plastics

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Auguste Laurent

CEO
Der Grüne Punkt Holding GmbH & Co. KG – A member company of the Green Dot Group

Vortragsinfos

Developing successful Circular Value Chains for plastics requires a comprehensive approach in order to create synergies and efficiencies. From legislation to feedstock strategy, capacity planning, and the interaction between different recycling technologies, to securing resilient and performant markets for recycled plastics, all actors in the circular value chain have to engage and pursue a clear strategy. Laurent Auguste will address some of the challenges and opportunities from his first-hand experience as CEO of GreenDot.

13:45 - 14:00 Uhr

Solutions to close the loop on plastics - today and tomorrow

 Format: Speech

 Session 1: Value Cycles for Plastics

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Dr. Daniel Schwaab

SVP Strategy
TOMRA

Vortragsinfos

There are three main building blocks to close the loop on plastics packaging; Enabling reuse, collecting for recycling, closed loop recycling. Viable solutions already exist and just to be applied and scaled: reuse systems for food takeaway, deposit return systems for beverage container, mixed waste sorting, advanced sortation of plastics, advanced mechanical recycling. The main bottleneck today is business models and not availability of technology.

14:00 - 14:15 Uhr

Speech: TBA

 Dauer: 00:15 h

 Format: Speech

 Session 1: Value Cycles for Plastics

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Position
Unternehmen

Vortragsinfos

TBA

14:15 - 14:30 Uhr

Developing plastic waste solutions for a Resource-Efficient and Sustainable Circular Economy

 Format: Speech

 Session 1: Value Cycles for Plastics

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Nicola Lelli

Senior Advisor
Alliance to End Plastic Waste

Vortragsinfos

A comprehensive, system-based approach is required to accelerate a circular economy for plastics. This involves collaborating with stakeholders across the plastic value chain to design, test, and implement practical solutions that can be scaled and replicated globally

14:30 - 14:45 Uhr

Industrialization of Circular Economy - A case study on OMV ReOil

 Format: Speech

 Session 1: Value Cycles for Plastics

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Dr. Andreas Leitner

Senior Vice President Innovation&Technology
OMV AG

Vortragsinfos

To transform - We innovate. For the OMV´s transformation into an integrated sustainable fuels, energy and chemicals company, we reinvent essentials for a more sustainable living. OMV developed a proprietary technology called ReOil for chemical recycling enabling to close the loop of the value chain for polyolefins. This case study will outline the requirements for successful implementation of circular economy concepts along the plastics value chain.

14:45 - 15:00 Uhr

Circular Economy – Overview, Enablers, Products and Business Models

 Format: Speech

 Session 1: Value Cycles for Plastics

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Prof. Manfred Renner

Institutsdirektor
Fraunhofer UMSICHT

Vortragsinfos

TBA

15:00 - 16:30 Uhr

Session 2 - Circular Construction Industry

15:00 - 15:15 Uhr

Home Remedies for Circulatory Disturbance

 Format: Speech

 Session 2: Circular Construction Industry 

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Prof. Dr. Philip Leistner

Institutsleiter
Fraunhofer-Institut für Bauphysik IBP

Vortragsinfos

There are good reasons for a flourishing circular economy, such as conserving, securing and creating resources.
However, this requires holistically established value creation cycles across materials, technologies and sectors.
So the challenges are great, but so are the opportunities, especially in the construction industry.

15:15 - 15:30 Uhr

Circular economy in the construction sector - our path to a sustainable future

 Format: Speech

 Session 2: Circular Construction Industry 

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Thomas Nyhsen

Mitglied des Vorstands
STRABAG AG

Vortragsinfos

The construction industry is responsible for 38% of global CO2 emissions and more than 50% of waste. Circular economy in construction is not a vision, but one of the keys for a sustainable future. How do we fulfil this responsibility? What has STRABAG already done to realize circular economy? And what next steps do we want to take in the future? You will find the answers to these questions in this presentation.

15:30 - 15:45 Uhr

Speech: TBA

 Dauer: 00:15 h

 Format: Speech

 Session 2: Circular Construction Industry 

 Sprache: English

Speaker

TBA

Position
Unternehmen

Vortragsinfos

TBA

15:45 - 16:00 Uhr

Circular Construction by Schüttflix

 Format: Speech

 Session 2: Circular Construction Industry 

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Christian Hülsewig

CEO
Schüttfix

Vortragsinfos

TBA

16:00 - 16:15 Uhr

The opportunities and challenges of circular construction

 Format: Speech

 Session 2: Circular Construction Industry 

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Dr. Christine Lemaitre

CEO
DGNB e.V. - German Sustainable Building Council

Vortragsinfos

Circular Economy oder zirkuläres Bauen wird heute oftmals als Synonym für nachhaltiges Bauen gebraucht und verstanden. Warum das Falsch ist und damit viele Potentiale nicht genutzt werden bzw. man damit zu eindimensional denkt, wird in dem Vortrag thematisiert.

16:15 - 16:30 Uhr

Sustainability and circularity - core for the future in the lime industry

 Format: Speech

 Session 2: Circular Construction Industry 

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Frederick Verhelst

Head of Materials - Business Innovation Center
Lhoist Europe

Vortragsinfos

Lime is crucial for a sustainable society.
Increasing agricultural production, supply of pure water and healthy living environment, enabling recycling of steel, copper and building debris, delivering safe buildings and last but not least acting as a CO2 sponge, lime is crucial in facing todays challenges of sustainability.
At the same time, the lime industry is considered hard to abate and as such the engineering efforts will be huge.

At Lhoist we are fully committed to make the difference and assure lime was, is and will be available to continue to play this increasingly crucial role.

In the presentation, i will expand on how Lhoist and the lime industry
1) is tackelling the avoidable CO2 in production - energy
2) assure future low carbon lime supply by carbon capture
3) Lhoist is already today working on circularity of its full value chain including CO2 by carbon utilisation
4) Lime will contribute to carbon neutrality

16:30 - 18:00 Uhr

Session 3 - Circular Packaging & Printing

16:30 - 16:45 Uhr

What does sustainable embellishment mean and how do we get there?

 Format: Speech

 Session 3: Circular Packaging & Printing

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Ralph Hopfensitz

Executive Senior Vice President Global Technology / CTO
LEONHARD KURZ Stiftung & Co. KG

Vortragsinfos

Can premium embellishment truly be sustainable? At KURZ, we believe it can. Our transfer technology ensures that no plastic film is applied to the final product - only an ultra-thin lacquer layer remains, which does not influence recyclability. But what happens to the carrier material removed during the application process? In this presentation, we will explore how KURZ is addressing this challenge with its slim program, a PET reduction plan that minimizes the use of carrier material in the industrial cycle. For material that cannot be avoided, our in-house recycling system, RECOSYS® 2.0, provides an innovative solution to reintroduce it into the process. Join us to learn how sustainable practices and cutting-edge technology can transform embellishment – reducing waste while maintaining exceptional quality.

16:45 - 17:00 Uhr

How Additives and Colorants can enhance plastic recycling

 Format: Speech

 Session 3: Circular Packaging & Printing

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Dr. Jan Sültemeyer

Global Sustainability Leader
Avient Corporation

Vortragsinfos

As the content of PCR in packaging articles is continuously increased, it becomes more and more important to understand how to best protect the polymers during the recycling process to have as less as possible accumulation of degraded and colored material, leading to a higher PCR quality and hence bring the industry one step closer to a truly circular economy.
The Presentation will focus on today’s major gaps in mechanical recycling and will highlight additive and color solutions that can close the gaps and enhance the mechanical recycling process.

17:00 - 17:15 Uhr

Bayers Circular Economy strategy

 Format: Speech

 Session 3: Circular Packaging & Printing

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Dr. Timo Fleßner

Senior Vice President
Bayer AG

Vortragsinfos

TBA

17:15 - 17:30 Uhr

Is everything going in circles? Why a successful circular economy can't just be packaged in technology alone

 Format: Speech

 Session 3: Circular Packaging & Printing

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Prof. Dr. Andrea Büttner

Geschäftsführende Institutsleitung
Fraunhofer-Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Verpackung IVV

Vortragsinfos

In the pursuit of a sustainable circular economy, focusing solely on technological feasibility is insufficient. This presentation explores the critical role of packaging in the circular economy, emphasizing that successful implementation requires a holistic approach. Beyond technology, it is essential to consider socio-political scenarios, economic viability, regulatory frameworks, and consumer acceptance. By addressing these factors, we can create a truly sustainable and effective circular economy – with the required foresight for a world in transformation.

17:30 - 17:45 Uhr

First steps to enable circular loops for flexible transport packaging

 Format: Speech

 Session 3: Circular Packaging & Printing

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Simone Mosca

CEO
Mosca GmbH

Vortragsinfos

Mosca stellt seit 18 Jahren recyclingfähige Umreifungsbänder auf Basis von fast 100% Post Consumer Recycling Gehalt her.
In dem Pilotproject „strap loop“ haben sie mit Partnern den Kreislauf vom Band zum Band geschlossen. In ihrem Vortrag zeigt Dr. Simone Mosca auf, was die Herausforderungen und die Learnings waren, den Loop zu etablieren.

17:45 - 18:00 Uhr

The myths and truths about fiber-based flexible barrier packaging solutions

 Format: Speech

 Session 3: Circular Packaging & Printing

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Dr. Christoph Steger

Vorstand
delfort

Vortragsinfos

Fiber-based flexible packaging solutions are currently on every brand’s lips as an alternative to hard-to recyclable polymer films.
The so called functional-barrier papers only require ultra-thin polymer layers to protect the paper’s surface and to deliver the required protective functions for food and non-food packaging.
Most important barrier papers promise good recyclability in the existing paper waste stream as well as a good overall sustainability profile.
On the other hand, this new material class poses a lot of challenges over the whole packaging value chain and the latest EU regulations (e.g. PPWR) created uncertainties over the right material selection for sustainable packaging.
This presentation highlights on the most important challenges and opportunities of functional barrier papers and suggests concrete strategies to overcome some of the hurdles in a sustainable packaging transformation process.

18:00 - 19:00 Uhr

Dinner (flying buffet)

19:00 - 20:00 Uhr

Abendveranstaltung "Circular Night"

19:00 - 19:05 Uhr

Eröffnung & Wrap Up Day 1

 Format: Wrap-Up

 Session 3: Abendveranstaltung „Circular Night“

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Dr. Carsten Gerhardt

Chairman
Circular Valley Stiftung

19:05 - 19:20 Uhr

The potential of the Transformation towards a Circular Economy

 Format: Keynote

 Session 3: Abendveranstaltung „Circular Night“

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Prof. Dr. André Bardow

Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering
ETH Zurich

Vortragsinfos

TBA

19:20 - 20:00 Uhr

Panel Discussion "From Green Deal to Industrial Deal: Economy as the basis for greater ecology and social stability"

 Format: Panel Discussion

 Session 3: Abendveranstaltung „Circular Night“

 Sprache: English

Speaker

Ralf Düssel

Vorstandsvorsitzender
Plastics Europe e. V.

Prof. Dr. André Bardow

Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering
ETH Zürich

Prof. Dr. Henning Wilts

Abteilungsleiter Kreislaufwirtschaft
Wuppertal Institut

Carsten Cramer

Position
BVB

Vortragsinfos

The aim of the discussion is to discuss the key points for Germany's competitiveness using the example of a circular and sustainable plastics industry with the aim of making the plastics system climate-neutral and ending the plastic waste problem.

20:00 - 00:00 Uhr

"Circular Night" music & drinks

Innovation Stage

Innovative Start-ups und Unternehmen stellen ihre bahnbrechenden Ideen und Technologien vor, die zur Transformation hin zu einer Kreislaufwirtschaft beitragen.

Masterclasses

Die Masterclasses bieten tiefe Einblicke in innovative Lösungen und konkrete Anwendungen, die die Circular Economy voranbringen.