Fourth Plenary Meeting on Circular Economy Mapping in Georgia

On 12th July 2022, the fourth Plenary Meeting on Circular Economy Mapping in Georgia will be held in Tbilisi to bring together the Inter-Ministerial Coordination Board of the Government of Georgia and the Task Team of the Georgian Society of Nature Explorers “Orchis” (GSNE “Orchis) for Circular Economy Mapping in the frames of the project ‘To Map Circular Economy in Georgia’ supported by the Government of Sweden, and implemented by GSNE “Orchis” in close cooperation with the Government of Georgia.

Since the previous plenary meeting on 4th March 2022, when the preliminary results of the complex assessment of the circularity level of Georgian economy were presented, considerable work has been carried out and the circularity mapping process has been significantly advanced to the critical point, when the major portion of the Circularity Mapping Report for Georgia has been already drafted, and feedback of the key stakeholders is required to proceed.

Therefore, the fourth Plenary Meeting has been summoned to discuss the progress made, among them the methodology and approaches used, main stages of the mapping process, key findings and circularity recommendations that are based on snap-shot picture of Georgian economy created through the collection and collation of statistical data stored in the databases of various Georgian agencies as well as the intensive consultations held with different governmental agencies, municipalities, business associations and representatives of private businesses.

The Fourth Plenary Meeting will also include a roundtable discussion for the Inter-Ministerial Coordination Board of the Government of Georgia on circular economy vision, ambition level and perspectives for Georgia to get their feedback on these important aspects to feed this information into the Circularity Mapping Report for Georgia.

Together with the above mentioned, 2022 Circularity Gap Report for Sweden will be presented on the meeting to demonstrate the experience of the country which is well-ahead of Georgia on the way to the circularity.

Mapping how circular is the economy of Georgia and developing recommendations for the Circular Economy Strategy are the first steps needed for the accelerated transition to circularity. Through the financial support of the Government of Sweden, this process was commenced in 2020 by the GSNE “Orchis” in close cooperation and active engagement of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia (MoEPA), which also ensured the establishment of the Inter-Ministerial Coordination Board of the Government of Georgia as the main objectives of the project call for a close collaboration with key governmental structures to enable appropriate mapping of the current circularity level of the national economy and to establish appropriate national quantitative circular economy policy targets and circular ambitions.

The implementation of the circular economy mapping programme is led by the project’s International Expert in the Circular Economy Dr. Dariusz Prasek – Doctor in Environmental Engineering, International Expert in Sustainable Finance, Environmental, Social and Governance Areas, former Director of Operations in Environmental and Sustainability Department of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), member of the United Nations Advisory Board on Circular Economy, and Independent Expert on Development Financing at IDB Invest. He is supported by a group of local experts having a sound knowledge of the Georgian economy and environmental, social, governance and sustainable development issues. The Inter-Ministerial Coordination Board of the Government of Georgia, which includes members from different government departments to ensure broad expertise and early buy-in from key departments, has been actively engaged in the mapping process from the initial stage.

The circularity mapping is a complex process. To perform it, the Task Team has conducted a three step assessment of economic sectors of Georgia in terms of circularity. This included screening of economic sectors, assessment of selected sectors in circularity context, and re-estimation of circularity potential of each sector, prioritization and clustering. Based on this process, the Circularity Mapping Report is being prepared for Georgia to provide a snap-shot picture of economy with circularity highlight as well as recommendations how circularity level could be increased. At present major portion of the Circularity Mapping Report is already drafted, and the draft document will be made available shortly, considering feedback of key stakeholders obtained on the fourth plenary meeting when main findings and circularity recommendations will be presented, and the roundtable discussion on the vision, ambition level and perspectives for Georgia will be organized for the Inter-Ministerial Working Group.

The project ‘To Map Circular Economy in Georgia’ has been implemented through funding of the Government of Sweden to accelerate the transition to the circularity through setting national quantitative circular economy policy targets and circular ambitions, identifying sector circular economy opportunities, mapping priority sectors for circular economy initiatives and sector-specific policy options, and developing recommendations for the Circular Economy Roadmap and Strategy of Georgia.

• In a circular economy, products are designed for durability, upgradeability, reparability and reusability, with a view to reusing the materials from which they are made after they reach the end of their life. Consumers use products efficiently and discard them in such a way that they can be reused or, if this is technically or economically unfeasible, recycling operators turn them into secondary materials that can enter a new production-consumption cycle.

• The transition to a circular economy requires a radical change in the way we produce and consume. This needs to be supported by the whole system, from enabling technolo¬gies and infrastructures to a form of market organisation that facilitates collaboration along and across value chains and a form of governance and regulation that encourages companies to adopt circular approaches to social norms that make the circular production-consumption patterns socially preferable.

• Georgia has recently embarked on an accelerated path to transition to the circular economy. With the concerted efforts of the Government, civil society organisations, academia and international partners, Georgia initiated the development of the circular economy strategy and roadmap aimed at multidimensional approach including production, consumption, waste management, secondary raw materials, innovation, investments as well as ongoing initiatives, in different sectors, by different players, and at different stages of the value chain or different stages of development.

The fourth Plenary Meeting is planned in the frames of the project ‘To Map Circular Economy in Georgia’ commonly by the MoEPA and GSNE “Orchis”. The project ‘To Map Circular Economy in Georgia’ is being implemented by GSNE “Orchis”, through funding of the Government of Sweden, with the support of Georgian Ministries of Environmental Protection & Agriculture, Economy & Sustainable Development, Regional Development & Infrastructure, and Education & Science.