Bert van Son, originally from the Netherlands, worked in the fashion industry in both Asia and Europe for thirty years before founding MUD Jeans in 2012. Together with his team, Bert transformed MUD Jeans into a circular economy exemplary company. MUD Jeans has already been recognised in the form of numerous awards, including the Sustainability Leadership Award and the Peta Vegan Award. MUD Jeans attains the high standards of various sustainability organisations such as the worldwide B Corp.

Claudia Ávila Connelly is the General Director of the Mexican Association of Private Industrial Parks (AMPIP). She held the position of Secretary of Economic Development of the Government of the State of Hidalgo. She was Executive Director and Founder of the International Hidalgo Corporation, a decentralized public body for promoting exports and attracting investment. During her professional career she has specialized in issues related to economic development and the promotion of Foreign Direct Investment. She is Vice President of the National Association of Directors of Chambers and Business Organizations (ANGECAI) and President of the National Technical Committee for the Standardization of Industrial Parks in Mexico.

Project technician at Circular Economy department at Ihobe and technical manager at the Basque Ecodesign Center. Expert in Life Cycle Assessment and Carbon Footprint methodologies, he was a member of the Basque Country delegation in the negotiation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and he has been involved in developing different simplified software tools, as well as in different European Commission discussion forums (Integrated Product Policy, Sustainable Consumption and Production, European Eco-label, etc). Along with the Ministry for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, he has taken part in the European Environment Agency Network, as well as in the European forums on Sustainable Consumption and Production.  He is currently the Spanish representative in the technical monitoring group for creating the future European organisation and product environmental footprint. Since 2012, he has headed the Basque Ecodesign Center.

Mariana Silva works at Idom Consulting leading the low carbon economy area to impulse the development of green growth and clean technologies in Mexico and Latinoamerica. In the last years, she has led efforts in the region such as the program Green Finance for Smart Cities, Low Carbon States phase 1 and 2, the Municipal Energy Efficiency Program, Clean Energy States Specialization Program (PRODETES) among other low carbon technology and innovation initiatives for the public sector in Mexico and Latin America. She has also been an independent consultant to renowned companies in the field of carbon emissions management, energy projects, waste and water management, sustainability reports and assements on climate change action strategies. Her experience focuses on carbon and energy management, the development of low carbon business models, project development, environmental regulation compliance and policy analysis to boost the transition to a low carbon economy. Mariana holds a Chemical Engineering degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana and M.Sc. title in Engineering of Processes, Energy, and Environment by the Technological University of Berlin. She is current candidate by the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management to be Certified Expert in Climate & Renewable Energy Finance.

Expert in various aspects of the circular economy and analyses regulatory and market barriers to the adoption of circular economy practices in Europe and beyond. Vasileios’ main research areas include circular economy policies, industrial sustainability, green value chains, low-carbon transport and resource efficiency indicators. He was co-chair of the Circular Economy Task Force of the Think20 (T20) network that supported G20 activities under the German presidency 2016-17. Between 2016 and 2018 he was the coordinator of the CEPS Task Force on the Role of Business in the Circular Economy that brought together executives from major multinational companies as well as representatives of NGOs and research institutes. Previously Vasileios worked in DG Environment at the European Commission and the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI). He is the lead author of several publications on circular business innovation and policy instruments that can encourage the green market transition

Doctor in Social Sciences obtained at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He has been professor at the Erasmus University, and visiting professor in the Dauphine University in Paris, France as well as in the Autonomous Metropolitan University of Mexico City, campus Azcapotzalco. He currently works as a research-professor at the Center for Urban Studies of the Autonomous University of Mexico City, and as an external professor at the center for Environment and Development (CIIEMAD) of the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico (IPN). He is a fellow of the US/Texas based association the ATLAS, dedicated to learning and advanced studies in transdisciplinarity, and an associated editor of the Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering and Science, affiliated with the Texas Tech University. He is a member of the UNAM Climate Change Research Program (PINCC), and member of the Mexican Network of Researchers in Socio-Cultural Studies of Emotions (RENISCE). His main research line explores the role of the more-than-rational in change and innovation towards sustainability, such as emotions, imagination, creativity, art and sensibility. He is a strong promoter of a holistic approach to sustainability, which integrates the cognitive, the embodied and reflective practice. His second research line explores sustainability in Mexico and in particular Mexico-City. He published on the circular economy of Mexico, and on urban agriculture, environmental politics and environmental cultures and art in Mexico City.