This year's Latin America Day was held under the slogan "Bereit für Veränderungen?! ¿Preparados para el cambio! A postos para a mudança?! Ready for change?!" The panel on "Circular Economy – Building resilience in the economy", moderated by AWE consultant Karla Luzette Beteta-Brenes, made it clear that this readiness is necessary and indeed exists. Representatives from three innovative German companies active in the sector of circular economy on the Latin American continent shared their experiences.

"We always have to look both ways," said Jens Utecht of WISTEMA GmbH, one of the speakers on the panel. What can Germany learn from Latin America, and vice versa, what contribution can Germany make in the countries of this continent? "If we only look in one direction, we can't realize the full potential." Utecht's company, which recycles side and waste streams, has representatives in Brazil, Colombia, and Costa Rica and works with many local partner companies, for example, to recover materials from products that WISTEMA eventually reuses.

Utecht sees Germany's role primarily in providing the necessary technologies. "That's where we are further ahead." On the other hand, Germany could learn from the basic attitude and mindset prevailing in Latin America. "My personal view is that Latin America is much more ready for change," Utecht said. To achieve a circular economy, he continued, change would be needed – with not much time to do it. "Because of this basic attitude, Latin America is a very attractive region for WISTEMA."

Utecht thus addressed the general theme of the 72nd Latin America Day, which the Latin America Association organized jointly with the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce in Hamburg on November 4 and 5: the diverse political, economic, and social changes confronting Latin American countries in the face of global challenges such as the corona pandemic and climate change. At the conference, international experts and industry professionals discussed what a new direction in the region might look like and how it could be implemented.

To read the full article from Nov. 15, 2021, visit https://wirtschaft-entwicklung.de/blog/detailansicht/kooperation-in-der-kreislaufwirtschaft-lateinamerika-ist-bereit-fuer-wandel/.