LONDON, March 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Resource 2014, Europe's leading conference and exhibition for the circular economy, opens tomorrow at London's ExCeL and runs from the 4-6 March.

A massive 10,000 international visitors have pre registered for this first ever dedicated circular economy event with designers, manufacturers, retailers and the end of life community all coming together to find practical ways in which they can develop more sustainable supply chains and increasingly circular business models.

Biffa CEO Ian Wakelin, who will be discussing what will drive businesses towards the circular economy at the Resource conference said. "As business leaders, we need to make the sums add up and I am really looking forward to a challenging debate with my peers on how we embed the circular economy into business practice whilst delivering to the bottom line."

The Resource conference programme boasts over 100 forward thinking business leaders from some of the world's best known brands.  Highlights are set to include: the Big debate: what does the circular economy mean for retail and manufacturing? Featuring Alice Ellison, Environment Policy Advisor, the British Retail Consortium, Markus Zils, CEO & MD, Returnity Partners, Joe Franses, Director - Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability, Coca Cola Enterprises, David Palmer-Jones, Chief Executive Officer, SITA UK, Jamie Butterworth, CEO, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Mark Greenwood, Sustainability Director, DS Smith.  .  Captain of industry, Sir Ian Cheshire, Group Chief Executive, Kingfisher will discuss retailer strategies and which products lend themselves to circular economy models, and on the final morning of the event Walter Stahel, Founder-Director, Product Life Institute will give his frank views on how government and legislators can foster a profitable circular economy.

Resource also hosts the launch of The Great Recovery Phase 2 - the RSA/Great Recovery Project and TSB's circular economy initiative. Sophie Thomas, Co-Director of Design at the RSA, commented: "We are really excited to be launching Phase 2 of The Great Recovery project at the inaugural Resource show. Building the right network is crucial to developing an effective circular economy, and it is very encouraging to have so many influential figures from across the spectrum of industry and policy in one place. Our next phase focuses on the interrelationships between design, materials and waste, and Resource sees the introduction of our new materials library that will explore these connections in tangible detail."

The practical focus of Resource is demonstrated by the demand for the series of 12 workshops, which will run alongside the conference programme, many of which are now fully subscribed or have very limited availability.  Workshop hosts and facilitators include WRAP, DS Smith, LRS Consultancy, Resource Futures, SITA UK, SAICA Natur, PE International and Ricardo-AEA.  Check the Resource website for more details http://www.resource-event.com.

http://www.resource-event.com

Resource - 4-6 March 2014, ExCeL, London

Resource is the first conference and exhibition that connects the whole supply chain - extraction, design, recycling, manufacturing, retail and resource recovery - to capitalise on the commercial opportunities of a circular economy. A resource constrained world demands new thinking and new business models, this event allows senior business leaders to network throughout the supply chain and discover forward thinking solutions for closed loop business strategies.

UBM Live

UBM Live, a division of UBM plc, the global events-led marking and communications company, connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their brands and expand their markets.  Through premier brands such as Ecobuild, Medtec, CPhI, IFSEC, Food Ingredients, TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show and many others, UBM Live's exhibitions, conferences, awards programmes, publications, websites and training and certification programmes are an integral part of the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors.

About UBM plc

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SOURCE UBM Built Environment Live