The development of the action plan for the Southwest Finland region is at a stage when it was time to present its objectives in more detail together with a key stakeholder network. On March 28, 2022, Turku University of Applied Sciences organized a network meeting of public circular economy actors in the Turku region. As the corona situation remained challenging, this meeting was also held online. A total of 20 representatives from various regional organizations attended the meeting. Representatives were e.g. Regional Council of Southwest Finland, Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, City of Turku, Turku Business Region, Turun Ekotori Reuse Centre, University of Turku, Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto ltd.
The network of circular economy operators has been the most important stakeholder group in the region of Southwest Finland since the beginning of the REDUCES project. Many of the key activities in the action plan are being actively planned and implemented in co-operation with members. In addition, the comprehensive representation of the network in the development of the circular economy in the region has been an important discussion body once the objectives for the development of the region have been defined.
At the sixth stakeholder meeting, Jenni Suominen, Project Manager of the REDUCES project, presented the key measures of the Regional Action Plan for Circular Economy and Sustainable Business in Southwest Finland and explained how these actions and activities have been selected for development. In addition, the forthcoming interregional meeting in Manchester was discussed with the stakeholder network. Other actors in the stakeholder network also presented their own key development projects and their results at the meeting. The idea is to find a new kind of co-operation through open sharing and, in particular, to stay on the map on the broader theme of the development of the region's circular economy activities.
In particular, the development of circular business support services for SMEs in the Action Plan attracted interest and the importance of this topic was highlighted many times. Investing in business support and supporting the theme of green transition is seen in the region as an important step forward in increasing the business potential of the circular economy. It is the role of public actors to act as advocates, to provide a wide range of low-threshold support and information on the subject.
In the next phase, Southwest Finland will focus on updating the action plan based on the comments received from the project funder and the project's internal peer review. In addition, close co-operation with regional stakeholders will be pursued to take the action plan forward and complete the planned activities.
Jenni Suominen
Project manager
Turku University of Applied Sciences
