10 hrs ago
India and Finland Seek to Scale Circular Economy Solutions
Finland and India are discussing ways to reduce waste and use resources for longer.
This idea is called a circular economy.
It means designing products so they can be reused or recycled instead of quickly becoming rubbish.
Finland has tested some of these ideas, but its market is small.
India’s much larger market could help Finnish companies expand them.
Finland’s environment minister said businesses and governments need to work together.
She also said saving resources such as rare earths will become more important as economies use more electricity.
The forum presents climate action as a business opportunity that could create jobs and attract investment.
Thousands of people from more than 60 countries are attending the event.
Finland’s Environment Minister Sari Multala said India’s large market could help scale circular-economy solutions developed in Finland.
The 10th World Circular Economy Forum is being held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from 15 to 18 September.
Multala said circularity should begin with product design, construction planning and resource efficiency—not only waste management.
Finland and India are discussing how government rules and business cooperation can support circular economic models.
The forum addresses resource use, critical minerals, climate investment and a forthcoming European Union-India trade agreement.
- Who
- Finland’s Environment Minister Sari Multala, Finnish companies, Indian businesses and policymakers, and delegates from more than 60 countries.
- What
- The 10th World Circular Economy Forum is examining how circular-economy practices can be expanded through product design, recycling, resource efficiency and business cooperation.
- Where
- Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.
- When
- 15 to 18 September; Finland and India also renewed an environmental cooperation memorandum earlier in 2026.
- Why
- To support circular economic models, conserve limited resources and make climate action an investment and business opportunity.
Development and Climate Support Emphasis
Investment and Market Expansion Emphasis
Responsibilities and finance
Development and Climate Support Emphasis
India has long called for common but differentiated responsibilities in climate action, along with technology and finance from developed countries for the Global South.
Investment and Market Expansion Emphasis
Sari Multala emphasized climate mitigation as an investment opportunity, arguing that predictable policies can attract investment and create clean-technology jobs.
How to accelerate circularity
Development and Climate Support Emphasis
Circular-economy progress requires policy rules that help businesses and support broader resource and waste-management goals.
Investment and Market Expansion Emphasis
Finland’s approach stresses early product and construction planning, business-to-government cooperation and using India’s large market to scale solutions already tested in Finland.
Key facts
- Forum
- 10th World Circular Economy Forum
- Location
- Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
- Dates
- 15–18 September
- Participation
- Delegates from more than 60 countries
- Forum theme
- Circular Economy: Transition for People and Prosperity
- Policy cooperation
- Finland and India renewed an environmental cooperation memorandum earlier in 2026
- Key policy areas
- Extended producer responsibility, waste-to-resource policies and the LiFE campaign
Quotes
Sari Multala
Finland’s minister of the environment and climate change
“It can’t be only taken into account when you already have the waste in your hands. You have to start from planning the products, product design, planning construction areas and so forth.”
wionews.com
“Our market is quite small, but in India the market is big, and so you can scale these solutions that you have found already workable, for example at home in Finland.”
wionews.com









