The Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) is set to participate in the 7^th Edition of the SADC Industrialisation Week (SIW) from 28th July to 2nd August 2024 in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Hosted by the SADC Secretariat in partnership with the government of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the SADC Business Council and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), the event will be held at the Harare International Conference Centre, under the theme “Promoting Innovation to Unlock Opportunities for Sustainable Economic Growth and Development Towards an Industrialised SADC.”

As part of its participation during the regional industrialization week, ZELA will deliver a presentation on Cultivating Circular Economies within SADC, giving an update on the SADC Business Council EPR Platform and Pilot Project, an initiative supported by the European Union which started in October 2022. The targeted result is a Circular Economy (CE) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) platform – a tool designed to revolutionise Waste Management and Sustainable Business practices within the SADC region.

The SADC Business Council says the mandate of the EPR platform is to facilitate activities that can assist in the transition from a linear to a circular economy in the SADC region. “This facilitation will be established through building and gathering knowledge on promoting good practices, facilitating guidance in designing related policies and implementing EPR frameworks, revealing business opportunities, fostering job creation, creating a general awareness and sensitizing both private and public sector on EPR and Circular Economy (CE) policies and regulations.”

ZELA, a leader in sustainable development promotion and practice, attends the SADC Industrialisation Week – the largest public-private platform and consultative body for industrialisation in the SADC region – to further environmental protection through promoting responsible investments among other sustainable business practices.