{"id":151321,"date":"2025-08-19T13:58:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T18:58:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sela.org\/?post_type=agenda&p=151321"},"modified":"2025-08-19T13:58:18","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T18:58:18","slug":"iii-seminar-on-circular-economy-measurement-monitoring-and-design-of-indicators-for-public-policies-on-circular-economy-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean","status":"publish","type":"agenda","link":"https:\/\/rmtsolutions.net\/sela\/en\/agenda\/iii-seminar-on-circular-economy-measurement-monitoring-and-design-of-indicators-for-public-policies-on-circular-economy-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean\/","title":{"rendered":"III Seminar on Circular Economy: measurement, monitoring and design of indicators for public policies on circular economy in Latin America and the Caribbean"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n \n Background <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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The Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) has consolidated its commitment to the promotion of the circular economy in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region by organising seminars that address this issue from various perspectives.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>In October 2023, SELA held a seminar entitled \u201cCircular Economy: actions and best practices contributing to sustainable development,\u201d with the aim of identifying key areas for promoting circularity in the region\u2019s markets. This event focused on policy implementation, innovation, and knowledge sharing to promote the circular economy as a path to sustainable development. In addition, the importance of disseminating best practices and lessons learned to increase the scalability of circular initiatives in the region was highlighted.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, in September 2024, SELA, in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), organised the II Seminar on Circular Economy entitled \u201cGlobal Plastics Treaty: progress and challenges, how to strengthen the agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean.\u201d This seminar focused on the problem of plastic pollution and the need to implement public policies that promote the circular economy, technological innovation and environmental education. The event also served as a platform to consolidate regional positions before the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) of the Global Plastics Treaty.<\/p>\n

The evolution of these seminars reflects a progressive approach towards integrating the circular economy into public policies in LAC, initially focused on identifying best practices and areas of opportunity. The events have moved towards discussing regulatory frameworks and the need for indicators that facilitate the measurement and monitoring of circular policy performance. This evidence-based approach is essential for evaluating the effectiveness of the strategies implemented and for guiding decision-making in the region.<\/p>\n

Following on from this trajectory, the XXXIII Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean will be held in the second half of 2025, focusing on the progress and challenges in strengthening the circular economy through South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) mechanisms in Latin America and the Caribbean as a driver for sustainable development. This edition, part of a tradition of more than three decades of regional dialogue, will emphasise the coordination of cooperation initiatives with current efforts in the field of circular economy, particularly with regard to measurement, monitoring and design of indicators for public policies.<\/p>\n

In this context, the III Seminar on Circular Economy, whose proposal is developed in this Concept Note, will seek to provide technical and strategic inputs that will enable the consolidation of an evidence-based regional agenda capable of evaluating effective progress towards sustainability goals in Latin America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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\n \n Context and justification <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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The transition to a circular economy has been established as a key strategy for urgently addressing the structural challenges of sustainable development, in a global context marked by the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and increasing pressure on natural resources.<\/p>\n

In LAC, this model for implementing circular value chains seeks to: i) mitigate the impact of climate change and pressure on natural resources; ii) promote new opportunities for productive development; iii) foster technological innovation; iv) generate green jobs; and v) reduce the vulnerabilities that disproportionately impact the most affected populations. In fact, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in its publication \u201cCircular Economy in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Shared Vision<\/em><\/a>,\u201d highlights that the circular economy has the potential to transform current production and consumption systems, enabling the achievement of higher levels of sustainability, inclusion and resilience.<\/p>\n

However, moving towards this model requires overcoming institutional, technological and statistical barriers. One of the main challenges facing the region is the migration to Circular Transition Indicators (CTI), the limited availability of comparable data, harmonised methodologies and robust indicators that allow for measuring the degree of circularity achieved by countries, evaluating the impact of public policies and guiding evidence-based decision-making. The lack of harmonised data, standardised methodologies and interoperability among information systems currently limits countries’ ability to make evidence-based decisions and comprehensively assess the impact of their strategies.<\/p>\n

In recent years, several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have made progress in formulating public policies geared towards the circular economy. National roadmaps, sectoral strategies, and action plans have been developed to integrate circularity principles into development policies. In addition, observatories and statistical systems have been established to monitor and evaluate progress in this transition. These initiatives reflect a growing commitment to the transformation towards more sustainable production and consumption models.<\/p>\n

In the Latin American context, financing for the circular economy began to gain relevance as a key tool for the transition to sustainable models. Thus, UNEP and the IDB[1]<\/a> stressed the need to update environmental laws, develop common taxonomies, and establish measurement frameworks that make it easier for companies and investors to identify productive activities aligned with the principles of circularity.<\/p>\n

In line with the above, SELA will hold the \u201cIII Seminar on Circular Economy: measurement, monitoring and design of public policy indicators in Latin America and the Caribbean,\u201d with the aim of strengthening regional capacities in evaluating the effectiveness of public policies through circular transition indicators (CTI). The seminar will focus on the analysis of circular value chains in various sectors, as well as the exchange of experiences on the measurement and implementation of indicators that promote circular economy models in the region.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) & Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) (2023).\u00a0Unlocking Circular Economy Finance in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Catalyst for a Positive Change<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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\n \n General objective <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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To strengthen the institutional capacities of Latin American and Caribbean countries by developing a handbook of recommendations on circular transition indicators (CTI) that will enable the measurement, monitoring, and evaluation of the effectiveness of public policies on the circular economy through the design and use of technical, comparable, and regionally aligned indicators aimed at promoting more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive development models.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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\n \n Specific objectives <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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  1. Analyse regional and international experiences in designing circular economy indicators applied to public policies, with an emphasis on their ability to measure performance, results and impact.<\/li>\n
  2. Collect and analyse cases of circular value chains in strategic sectors, identifying the methodologies used to measure their economic, social and environmental effects, and their coordination with multisectoral public policies.<\/li>\n
  3. Explore models and opportunities in data governance and interoperability, based on the role of national statistical systems and digital platforms for monitoring circular strategies.<\/li>\n
  4. Discuss regulatory and economic frameworks that integrate indicators into decision-making, including regulations, financial incentives, and impact assessment methodologies with a circular approach.<\/li>\n
  5. Promote technical cooperation among public institutions, multilateral organisations, and actors in the productive sector, with the aim of generating consensus-based recommendations for the harmonisation and regionalisation of circular economy indicators.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n
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    \n \n Event information <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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    The seminar is organised by the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) in collaboration with international organisations and institutions with expertise in the subject, as a prelude to the XXXIII Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Date:<\/strong>\u00a028 August 2025
    \nTime:<\/strong>\u00a011:00 \u2013 13:30 (Caracas time | GMT-4)
    \nFormat:<\/strong>\u00a0Virtual.
    \nLanguage:<\/strong>\u00a0Spanish, with simultaneous interpretation into English.
    \nExpected participants: <\/strong>Members of SELA, AMEXCID, UNTACD, ECLAC, UN Habitat, UNFCCC, Future Lab & Partners, Terra\u00e9tica S.L, Expert consultant in Sustainable Development and OECD.
    \nRegistration link<\/strong>:\u00a0 <\/strong>https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/2antdnv6<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n

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    \n \n Contacts <\/span>\n <\/div>\n
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    For coordination purposes or any additional information, please contact:<\/p>\n