World Circular Economy Forum to be held for first time in India
Pic source:wcef2026
NEW DELHI: The tenth edition of the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF2026) will be held for the first time in South Asia in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from Sept. 15 to 18, the Embassy of Finland said on Friday.
The forum is jointly organised by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra and India’s Central Pollution Control Board, with support from India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, in coordination with the Government of Gujarat and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, and in collaboration with partners including the United Nations Environment Programme, the embassy said in a statement.
The forum will convene business leaders, investors, policymakers and innovators under the theme “Circular economy: Transition for people and prosperity.” The main forum on Sept. 15-16 will comprise four plenaries and sixteen parallel sessions, followed by more than 60 accelerator sessions on Sept. 17-18, alongside an expo showcasing circular economy solutions.
Finland’s Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala will deliver an address at the closing ceremony on Sept. 16 and attend Finland Day on Sept. 17 at The Leela Gandhinagar, the statement said.
Finland Day, part of the accelerator programme, will bring together Finnish and Indian companies, investors and policymakers for sector deep dives on circular maritime systems and sustainable ports, energy and the built environment, circular sports infrastructure, and emerging technologies enabling circularity.
An afternoon session organised with ADB Ventures and the World Bank Group will focus on international development financing for circular economy business, the embassy said.
The embassy said more than $25 trillion of value is lost globally every year across product lifecycles and value chains, citing WCEF partner Circle Economy, and that the global economy remains only around 7% circular.
Sitra, which initiated WCEF in 2017, has organised the forum annually since then, building on Finland’s circular economy road map published in 2016.
Dr Antti Herlevi, counsellor for trade and investments at the Embassy of Finland in New Delhi, said circular economy was an economic and industrial agenda, not just an environmental one, and noted that more than 100 Finnish companies are active in India across clean energy, waste management, recycling, digital solutions and sustainable design.
India’s participation builds on its Mission LiFE initiative and programmes such as the 3Rs and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the statement said.
Online participation in WCEF2026 is open and free of charge, organisers said.
