To mark World Environment Day 2023, a joint seminar was organised by the Department of Environment (DoE), Unilever Bangladesh Ltd. (UBL), World Bank, UNIDO and Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BPGMEA), titled ‘Adopting Circular Economy for Sustainable Plastic Management in Bangladesh’, on June 8, 2023, at the DoE Auditorium, Agargaon, Dhaka, a press release said on Saturday. The seminar focused on sustainable plastic waste management, which was also the focus of this year’s World Environment Day.
In the first panel on ‘Circularity as the Solution to Plastic Pollution’, M Masrur Reaz, Chairman and Founder, Policy Exchange Bangladesh, gave the keynote speech. Uzma Chowdhury, Director, PRAN-RFL Group, Shamim Ahmed, President, BPGMEA, Arif M. Faisal, Programme Specialist (Nature, Climate & Energy), UNDP Bangladesh, and Shamima Akhter, Director, Corporate Affairs, Partnerships and Communications, UBL, spoke as panellists.
In the second panel on ‘Enabling Policy to Tackle Plastic Pollution’, Kartik Kapoor, Member WGGLI, ISWA, Independent Consultant for waste management, Waste expert GIZ India, gave the keynote speech. Rashedul Quayum, Legal Director & Company Secretary at UBL, Shamim Ahmed, President, BPGMEA, Dr. Rene Van Berkel, UNIDO Representative and Head of Regional Office in India, UNIDO, and Heedong Kwon, Head of Net-Zero Business Dept, SUDOKWON Landfill Site Management Corp., Republic of Korea spoke, as panellists. Bushra Nishat, Environment Specialist, The World Bank, chaired this panel.
The Chief Guest of the Event, Md Shahab Uddin, Honorable Minister, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and special guest Md. Jashim Uddin, President, The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) also shared their valuable opinions at the conference. Dr. Abdul Hamid Director General Department of Environment chaired the seminar. Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Dr. Zaki Uz Zaman, UNIDO Country Representative Bangladesh Country Office, Dr. Rene Van Berkel, UNIDO Representative and Head of Regional Office in India, and Sanjay Kumar Bhowmik, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, spoke as special guests.
