The ASEAN Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ACESP), under the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD), held a collaborative exchange with the EU-ASEAN Business Council.
The ACESP, hosted by the ACSDSD, recently held a collaboration meeting with the EU-ASEAN Business Council to exchange views on sustainable development, the circular economy agenda in ASEAN, and opportunities for synergy among existing projects in the region.
The meeting underscored the need for stronger synergy, effective collaboration, and robust policy frameworks to accelerate ASEAN’s transition to a circular economy.
Key highlights from the discussion included:
- ASEAN’s vision for synergy: Ensuring greater alignment across member states and strengthening ASEAN’s ownership of circular economy initiatives, events, and platforms.
- Circular economy events & initiatives: Continued efforts to bring more partners—including the private sector—on board, while addressing challenges such as overlapping schedules with major ASEAN events.
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): Ongoing roundtable initiatives across member states aim to establish six shared principles for EPR development from the 2025 EU-ABC “From Waste to Wealth Advancing ASEAN’s Circular Economy through EPR Alignment” report. The focus is on “alignment, not harmonisation,” enabling companies operating in multiple jurisdictions to comply with regulations more easily and cost-effectively
- Inclusive stakeholder engagement: Policymakers, industry leaders, NGOs, and consumer groups are actively involved in shaping circular solutions and drawing lessons from global best practices.
Both sides reaffirmed the importance of collaboration between ASEAN and EU partners in scaling sustainable practices, enhancing regulatory coherence, and ensuring that the circular economy transition benefits governments, businesses, and communities alike.