Unveiling China’s circular transformation

Jocelyn Blériot has been with the foundation since its creation in 2010, after 15 years spent in the media and publishing industry. He leads the organisation’s institutional engagement and the work with national governments across the foundation's offices in Europe, Latin America, China and North America. He manages the relationship with supra-national bodies such as the European Commission, United Nations, G7/20 Resource Alliance, OECD and the World Economic Forum. Jocelyn has been a member of the circular economy advisory board of the China Council for International Cooperation on Development (CCICED) and currently is a part of the international advisory network of the forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS).

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A lawyer by training, Astrid Schomaker is director for green diplomacy and multilateralism in the European Commission's Directorate General for Environment. Since joining the Commission in 1992, she has held a variety of posts in the areas of international relations and environment policy, amongst them leading the work on chemical policy, marine issues and the EU's environment policy strategy to 2030.

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Liyang Zhu is a professor-level senior economist andmember of the Fourth China National Expert Committee on Climate Change. He has a long-term participation in policy research, major plannings formulation, relevant regulations drafting and revision, and review and evaluation of important demonstration projects in the fields of the circular economy, energy conservation and emission reduction, climate change and environmental protection, in support of NDRC and other relevant government departments. Before working in CACE, he was the director of the resource and environment industry department of China International Engineering Consulting Corporation (CIECC). Zhu was also the member of the general Group of China National Medium- and Long-Term Program for Science and Technology on Water Pollution Control and Treatment, as well as been awarded with the State Council Special Government Allowance for experts.

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Yisong Guan has rich experience in consulting governments and enterprises for the green transition. In his over ten years’ career on climate change, he founded Easy Carbon, a consultancy firm which supported its clients to develop low carbon transition strategies and achieve carbon financing under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of UNFCCC. The company secured over RMB5 billion carbon emission reduction financing for its clients through the international carbon market, and has successfully developed the largest number of CDM projects in China. He was the chief operations officer of the UNEP – International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP), responsible for organisation management and project execution to protect biodiversity while promoting international cooperation on ecosystem management. Now, he is leading the foundation’s programme to accelerate the circular economy transition of China through high-level cooperation, industry transition dialogue and capacity building to unlock the country’s potentials and achieve the social and environmental benefits from the circular economy.

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Xiaoting Chen brings a wealth of expertise to her role at the foundation’s Beijing office, where she leads their plastic initiative and the policy and climate workstream in China. With a PhD in sustainability economy from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chen possesses over 16 years’ invaluable experience in the field of sustainability. Prior to her current position, Chen served as the global coordinator for Greening the Belt and Road Initiative at WWF China, and senior manager of the strategic corridor programme at KPMG China’s Global China Practice, where she played a pivotal role in shaping environmental strategies on a global scale and demonstrating her proficiency in crafting sustainable business solutions.

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Pau is an accomplished professional with a master's from the College of Europe. With over four years of dedicated service at the European association for industrial battery companies EUROBAT, he led significant policy initiatives related to the batteries regulation. Recently, Pau has embarked on a new chapter in his career as the policy director at the energy technology company CATL, where he continues to leverage his expertise in shaping the future of energy policies.

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Paul joined PepsiCo in September 2017. Previously he acted as director general of spiritsEUROPE for 5 years, director of the European Retail Round Table (ERRT) for 4 years and as deputy secretary general of EUROCHAMBRES for 10 years. Before joining EUROCHAMBRES, Paul worked as CEO of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, having spent several years before that in the Irish Industrial Development Authority, responsible for attracting and developing industry in Ireland. He has a bachelor of commerce degree from University College Dublin and an MBA from UBI/Mercer University. As a student, he also worked as a chimney sweep, proof-reader, house painter, grape picker, seller of “In Dublin” magazine and merchandiser.

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Xiaojun Huang joined Veolia Water in 1999. In 2004, he began presiding over external relations as vice president of Veolia Water China, and in 2010 he became vice president of Veolia China. Previously he worked as a diplomat for over 10 years with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Huang has leadership roles in many organisations, including executive president of China Environment Service Industry, vice president of China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, vice president of China Association of Circular Economy and board member of China Business Council for Sustainable Development. Among other roles, he is an expert at Jilin Think Tanks and invited professor at the UN University for Peace. He graduated from the University of International Relations in 1986 and later had further studies at the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University. He holds an MBA from Peking University.

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Hua Wen collaborates with Chinese partners to design and implement research and outreach projects to accelerate just and inclusive energy transitions in China's top coal-consuming provinces and cities. Prior to joining NRDC, he worked with the World Resources Institute for nine years, focusing on project management and cross-cutting research on the water-energy nexus, climate preparedness and market-based mechanisms. Before that, Hua worked as a programme officer at the Chongqing Environmental Protection Bureau in southwest China. He holds a master's in environmental engineering from Southwest China University and an MPA from the University of Maryland.

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Kai Zhao holds an MBA from Guanghua School of Management, Peking University. He is an expert member of the National Green Development Fund Expert Advisory Committee, the National Technical Committee on Environmental Protection (SAC/TC275), the National Technical Committee on the Basis and Management of Product Recycling and Utilization (SAC/TC415), and the National Technical Committee on Energy Systems (SAC/TC459), among others. Zhao has successively won the second and the third prize of the China Standard Innovation Contribution Award. He has been engaging in the promotion of energy conservation and the circular economy over twenty years and has extensive experience in international cooperation.

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Jocelyn Blériot has been with the foundation since its creation in 2010, after 15 years spent in the media and publishing industry. He leads the organisation’s institutional engagement and the work with national governments across the foundation's offices in Europe, Latin America, China and North America. He manages the relationship with supra-national bodies such as the European Commission, United Nations, G7/20 Resource Alliance, OECD and the World Economic Forum. Jocelyn has been a member of the circular economy advisory board of the China Council for International Cooperation on Development (CCICED) and currently is a part of the international advisory network of the forum on Trade, Environment and the SDGs (TESS).

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