With a background in teaching and science, Mette focuses on developing strong partnerships and initiatives that promote sustainable industrial practices and enhance resource efficiency, making a meaningful impact on sustainable industry development. Her experience builds on knowledge gained through the Kalundborg Symbiosis partnership which has worked collectively on the circular economy in industrial production for more than 50 years. Passionate about the green transition and environmental care, Mette is dedicated to driving change towards a more sustainable future. She is involved in the systemic export of industrial symbiosis to Brazil, in cooperation with AEDIN and the State of Rio.
Izabella Teixeira was minister of the environment of Brazil (2010-2016). She is member of the High-Level Advisory Board of UN-DESA and of the administrative council of the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). Izabella won the UN Environment's "Champions of the Earth" in 2013 for her contribution to reducing deforestation in the Amazon. She also serves on the boards of international and national institutions, including as senior fellow of Arapyaú Institute, board member of the iFHC and member of the International Advisory Board at CEBRI.
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Marcelo Thomé da Silva de Almeida
President
Federação das Industrias do Estado de Rondônia (FIERO)
Marcelo advocates for innovation, economic growth, community inclusion and forest conservation, building a sustainable Brazilian industry especially in the Amazon. He currently holds several roles, also as Vice-President of CNI, leading their thematic council on environment and sustainability (COEMAS); Executive Director of the Amazônia+21 Institute; board member of the Center for Bioeconomics of the Amazônia (CBA); member of the Guidance Committee of the Amazon Fund (COFA) and the Brazil Climate Finance Hub Council; and several regional leadership roles. He has a bachelor’s in architecture and urbanism from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and is a post-graduate in business management from Fundação Getulio Vargas.
Janez Potočnik (born 1958) is an economist graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. He was appointed head of the negotiating team for the accession of Slovenia to the EU and served as minister responsible for European Affairs. Between 2004 and 2014, he served in the European Commission, first as Commissioner responsible for science and research and then for environment. After the mandate he was appointed as a co-chair of UNEP IRP. Dr Potočnik is also a partner at SYSTEMIQ.
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Mauricio Mireles
Policy Officer
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
A Mexican national, Mauricio Mireles has served at the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean since 2019. He previously worked with FAO as an international consultant in Italy, Ghana, Mozambique and Brazil. A sociologist and anthropologist by profession, he holds a master's in environmental security from the UN University for Peace, and a master's in peace, development, security and international conflict transformation from the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Mireles has extensive experience in issues related to the social inclusion of Indigenous peoples and traditional communities, having coordinated diverse projects and initiatives related to South-South cooperation, social protection, school meals, family farming and the Amazonian bioeconomy.
Giuliana Morrone combines journalism with business expertise and doesn't treat ESG as merely the sum of the environmental, human and governance practices adopted by companies. She has a long history of interacting with leaders from all sectors in Brazil and abroad, covering the most varied topics including presidential elections, corruption scandals, environmental tragedies and social movements. Her experience, broad outlook and ability to connect the dots between different fields are essential for approaching the subject from a systemic perspective. With an MBA in ESG from PUC Rio, Giuliana has rewritten her own professional journey and authored the book ‘Myths and Truths about ESG’.
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Al-Hamndou Dorsouma
Division Manager Climate and Green Growth
African Development Bank (AfDB)
Al-Hamndou Dorsouma leads AfDB’s efforts on climate change in Africa, including policy and finance, building climate resilience and low carbon opportunities into the bank’s investments, as well as supporting the bank’s engagement in the green transition and the circular economy. Dr Dorsouma’s academic background is in geography and environmental management. He also worked for other international organisations, namely the Observatory of Sahara and Sahel (OSS) in Tunis as environment and climate change officer and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva as senior programme manager for resource mobilisation and development partnerships.
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U. Müge Dolun
Programme Manager
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
Müge Dolun is a development practitioner with expertise on trade, gender and the environment, with experience in strategic research, technical assistance projects and programme evaluation. She manages a large portfolio of UNIDO projects on the circular economy and resource efficiency. Previously Müge served as UNIDO’s gender coordinator. She has managed technical assistance projects in trade and standards as well as agri-business development, mostly in Africa. She is a development economist by training, with a master’s in public administration in international development from Harvard Kennedy School and a BA in environmental studies.
Cynthia is a Costa Rican economist with over 25 years’ experience in environmental economics, public policy and sustainability. She is a specialist in cost-benefit analysis, climate change, the circular economy, bioeconomy and environmental assessment. She is vice-chair on OECD committees, coordinator of Costa Rica's Inter-Ministerial Committee on Circular Economy, and country chair of the G100. Previously, Cynthia has served as environmental economics coordinator at the Ministry of Environment and Energy and held technical and leadership roles in key institutions such as the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) and Tropical Science Center (CCT). Recognised for her academic publications, she promotes creativity, consensus-building and a just transition.
Joona Kotilainen is a serial entrepreneur from Finland and the co-founder of a circular economy start-up tackling the global problem of underutilised wood waste. Joona has a background in innovation and technology management and is now the marketing director of the company. His business views revolve around brand building, communications and marketing, which are key in getting sustainable solutions to the market. He co-founded the company in 2023 with his master carpenter brother Miikka Kotilainen, who has become known in Finland as an innovative thinker and circular economy-based wood user.
