World Resources Forum
The World Resources Forum is a non-profit organisation for sharing knowledge about the economic, political, social and environmental implications of global resource use. WRF promotes resource productivity among researchers, policymakers, business, NGOs and the public. In addition to organizing international and regional conferences, the WRF Secretariat coordinates multistakeholder dialogue projects, amongst others the Sustainable Recycling Initiative as well as the H2020 projects Towards a World Forum on Raw Materials, and CEWASTE. The WRF contributes to other EC-projects and projects with the German development organisation GiZ, UNEP and UNIDO.
WRF serves as a platform fostering knowledge exchange between academics, politicians, research-oriented practitioners, entrepreneurs, consultants and other professionals in the areas of the Sustainable Development Goals
Overview
The WRF aims to bring the issues of global resource consumption and resource productivity higher on the agenda of policymakers and business leaders. Aspects covered by the WRF include the scarcity and security of supply as well as the price risks of key resources. The issues of pollution and energy use over the life-cycle of certain resources, their social impact – in particular in developing countries – and in general the Sustainable Development Goals are topics examined by the WRF as well.As an inter-link between research, industry and policymaking, WRF emphasises the facilitation of networking in order to optimise the transfer of knowledge between the different stakeholders. For that purpose, special events are organised and connections to key leaders can be established through the WRF Secretariat.
The WRF capacity-building activities include, for instance, supporting the participation of scientists from developing countries and of young people and Kids and yWRF program of WRF 2013.
Flagship activity is the organisation of the annual WRF Conference, which usually takes place in the fall and brings together science, research, policymakers, and industry. The programme usually includes a series of high-level keynotes, parallel sessions and targeted workshops as well as special side events. Apart from the regular media reports are regularly being written by Student Reporters. Furthermore, the WRF Secretariat conducts other knowledge and multi-stakeholder dialogue as well, such as the dissemination of UN Environment International Resource Panel reports though website, social media and MOOCs.
The Corporate image of the World Resources Forum was designed by Helmut Langer. It shows a white R in a blue world which symbolizes not only the resource issue but also associations like Refusing, Reducing, Re-using, Repairing, Refurbishing, Remanufacturing, Re-purposing, Recycling and Recovering.
Organisational structure
The WRF is a non-for-profit association, with a General Assembly and Board. The WRF Secretariat, based in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is responsible for the coordination and organisation of multiple activities.Founding members are the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, the Swiss interdisciplinary research institution and service provider for materials science and technology Empa, the United Nations Environment International Resource Panel, Hewlett-Packard, and the city of St. Gallen.
Other members have included the German Federal Environment Agency, the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences, the Rhomberg Group, the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, the Mercator Foundation Switzerland, the Association for Quality and Management Systems, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Foundation for Rare Metals ESM, the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences and the Finnish Innovation Fund SITRA.
History
The Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Empa, part of the ETH Domain, has organised international conferences on recycling and re-use of resources since 1995, the so-called "R"series. R referred to reduce, reuse and recycle. In 2009 Empa together with the Factor 10 Institute decided to broaden the scope of the conferences to include the full life-cycle of products and services. And so the series of conferences became the World Resources Forum, which has been attracting high-level politicians, business leaders, NGOs and scientists from all over the world ever since.In 2009 the WRF Conference was organised in Davos, Switzerland, back to back with the R'09 Twin World Congress on Resource Management and Technology for Material and Energy Efficiency.
The R' Conferences got entirely integrated into the WRF and in 2011 the enlarged WRF Conference took place again in Davos, followed by annual flagship meetings in Switzerland and beyond.
The spin-off of the Secretariat from Empa and inauguration of the independent WRF Association took place on 16 March 2012 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, with support from governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as the private sector. Bas de Leeuw became its first Managing Director, and Xaver Edelmann its first President. Former FOEN Director Bruno Oberle was elected President in 2018, Xaver Edelmann stayed on as Vice-President.
Vision and mission
WRF envisions the world where influential decision-makers, established civil societies, key industrial players, leading scientists and the empowered public interact and communicate on setting the agenda and developing solutions for sustainable use of resources worldwide, paying close attention to the delicate interplay between the economic, social and environmental implications of resource use as well as acknowledging the challenges of increasing pressure on available resources. Through this interaction of multiple stakeholders, innovative and effective solutions emerge, addressing the issue of efficiency and sufficiency of resource utilization amongst consumers, producers, and waste management sector, establishing sustainable practices of resources use worldwide.The World Resources Forum aims to make their vision of sustainable use of resources worldwide a reality through organization of high-level international conferences and capacity-building workshops, dissemination of relevant research findings and scientific discussions, development of resource efficiency indices, setting standards for sustainable resource use, creation of opportunities for financing resource efficiency projects as well as through engagement with young leaders and the wider public. WRF is committed to the inclusiveness of economic growth and elimination of poverty and marginalization, thus making these issues a core element in any objectives we pursue.