VIOn April 28, 2021, experts from the Institute for Circular Economy Development (ICED), Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City and Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, the Netherlands has jointly agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for facilitating a circular economy-related research, which is a part of CRESTING project. CRESTING stands for “Circular Economy: Sustainability Implication and Guiding Progress” project.
Members of ICED’s side include Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Hong Quan- Director of ICED, Dr. Nguyen Kieu Lan Phuong, MSc. Bui Le Thanh Khiet, MSc. Tran Thi Diem Phuc, and Dr. Dang Thuong Huyen.
On the CRESTING’ side, members are Assoc. Prof. Dr. Walter Vermeulen, Kaustubh Thapa MSc, and related research assistants from the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development at Utrecht University and Prof. Dr Pauline Deutz from the University of Hull.
The ultimate goal of the MoU is to cooperate in academic research on the transboundary waste flow from high-income countries to Vietnam and its implications to the circular economy. Forms of cooperation consist of research agenda-setting, fieldworks in Vietnam (ICED responsibility) and in Europe (CRESTING responsibility). The tentative outputs are scientific papers and other impacts such as white paper, workshops, newspaper article with joint responsibility.
About Assoc. Prof. Walter VermeulenProfessor Vermeulen is working at Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development of Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He is also a former President of the International Sustainable Development Research Society. His expertise is on social scientific analysis of practices of governance for sustainable development, collaborative approaches from market and civil society and governments. He is focus on circular economy and sustainability of globally traded products.
About CRESTING projectThe CRESTING project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 765198. In the project eight European universities, and partners in Africa and Asia, collaborate in deepening the understanding of CE discourses and practices across the world based on both primary and secondary data. It aims at 1) critically analysing the development of CE in science, policy and the market to provide a synthesis for all stakeholders to clarify the currently contradictory use of concepts; 2) analysing policy and practice in CE internationally, to contextualise the effectiveness of policies relating to key materials and 3) examining the processes governing flows of residues beyond Europe. The MoU research between CRESTING and ICED is a part of the research work for Work Package 1.3 of the EU Marie Curie ITN project.(Source: Utrecht University, CRESTING)
