Finland to hold road shows on circular economy in India next year

At a time when India is slated to host the World Circular Economy Forum next year (2026), Finland plans to hold road shows across major cities in India to highlight circular economy and the opportunities it will generate.

“India will host the next edition of World Circular Economy Forum next October. We want to spread awareness about circular economy not just as a waste management issue, but very much to move the discussion upstream to product design and production, to turn it into such a way that the product lifespan is better. With a roadshow we want to spread awareness about it in different parts of India. Various cities will have different focus points. For example, in Ahmedabad, the most relevant sector will be textile, in Bengaluru it will be IT,” Kimmo Lahdevirta, Finaland’s Ambassador to India, told The Hindu during an exclusive conversation in Mumbai on Tuesday.

India’s circular economy is expected to have a market value of $2 trillion and create 10 million jobs by the year 2050, as per the Government of India. Currently, the government focus is on waste management and recycling. Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA said the opportunities lie beyond waste management in several sectors.

“It is hard to calculate circular economy, and put numbers to it. But switching to a circular model could bring $4.5 trillion in economic benefits by 2030, cut emissions, create stable jobs and open new green markets, as per UNDP. The way we look at it is, there is business potential everywhere. At present, more than 70% CEOs are interested in circular economy. They want to look at opportunities to add to the value chain, to close the loop and to make sure that the supply chains are secure in today’s international scenario. Saving costs is important to them. We aren’t calculating that as circular economy business. The clearest case of recycling is the new value chain of electrification of batteries, how one recycles back to the value chain. A great share of our green investment is going to circular economy value chains which are going into electrification of our value chain,” said Mika Sulkinoja, senior lead at International Programmes for Circular Economy at SITRA, Finnish Innovation Fund.

Emphasising on the need for a trickle-down effect in India’s corporate ecosystem for circular economy practices, Shalini Goyal Bhalla, founder and managing director of International Council for Circular Economy, said, “At present, the Government of India’s focus is more on waste management in recycling and circular economy. And yet, the question is, are we managing the waste properly? Managing our electronic waste is the upcoming new challenge. How do we manage our waste and use it as a resource? Circular economy thought hasn’t yet trickled down. The transition is lacking as SMEs are still not onboard.”

Ambassador Lahdevirta was in Mumbai on a two-day visit to lead a business delegation consisting of 20 Finnish companies including Nokia, Kone Elevators, Wärtsilä, Elematic, Lindström, Konecranes, Normet, Mirasys, Tana, Vaisala.

Speaking about the growing interest of the Finnish companies in Maharashtra, he said, “Maharashtra is the powerhouse of India. It offers benefits like better infrastructure and facilities. There is a great opportunity to collaborate on the energy sector, which is important in Finland. During the shift to renewable energy, the issues about balancing power and smart grid management will be key. As India moves more towards renewable energy, the grid management can become acute. We have companies which have the technologies to work on it, on grid management and the capacity of the grid to handle the load,” he said.

The Finnish delegation held meetings with Maharashtra government officials and ministers to explore the state’s investment policies, infrastructure, and economic vision, and identified opportunities to deepen investment cooperation by supporting sustainable industrial development, advanced manufacturing, and digital innovation.