CIRAN participates in the UNECE Resource Management Week 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland

From the 24th until the 28th of March 2025, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe organised the 2025 Resource Management Week, held at the Palais des Nations of Geneva, Switzerland. Within this framework, our CIRAN partners Minja Marijanski (Proman Consulting) and Ronald Arvidsson (SGU) proudly participated in the FutuRaM project Annual Event, which took place on Wednesday, 26th of March, at 14:30h CET.

CIRAN and FutuRaM projects have collaborated in previous occasions, as Horizon Europe-funded projects sharing similar scopes of action and research goals, particularly the focus on Critical Raw Materials (CRMs). Moreover, CIRAN partners GTK and SGU are also part of the FutuRaM Consortium. FutuRaM – “Securing the supply of secondary & critical raw materials in the EU“ will develop the Secondary Raw Materials knowledge base on the availability and recoverability of secondary raw materials (2RMs) within the EU, specially, CRMs. The project aims to establish a methodology, reporting structure, and guidance to improve the raw materials knowledge base up to 2050. It will integrate 2RM and CRM data to model their current stocks and flows, and consider economic, technological, geopolitical, regulatory, social and environmental factors.

Within the context of the UNECE RMW2025, the FutuRaM project organised the side event “Providing data intelligence and UNFC methodology for secondary critical raw materials in the EU”, which brought together Horizon Europe projects and other stakeholders to advance knowledge and action on sustainable critical raw materials supply in Europe. On this occasion, Ronald Arvidsson (SGU) presented an interesting mining waste case study developed under the FutuRaM project.

• Additional information about the FutuRaM annual event can be found here.
• You will find the full UNECE RMW25 programme here.

Panel Discussion – “How can FutuRaM be useful to observatories and policymakers?”

The Annual Event also featured a panel discussion focused on the usefuleness of FutuRaM and related projects’ developments to the work of observatories and policy makers. It was moderated by Erika Ingvald, Economic Affairs Officer at UNECE, where, together with the distinguished panellists Stéphane Bourg (OFREMI Director, BRGM) and Kieran Campbell-Johnston (Circular Economy and Supply Chain Researcher, TNO), was a representative of the CIRAN project, Minja Marijanski (Proman Consulting). During the conversation, Marijanski shared insights on two critical topics: the structural vulnerabilities of the EU’s current CRM supply chains, which are carefully analysed within her work in Work Package 6, and the role of cross-project cooperation in enhancing supply chain resilience, for which the role of the CIRAN Community of Practice and participation in clustering events are crucial.

The discussion emphasised existing vulnerabilities—including geopolitical disruptions, public resistance to domestic mining, and limited investor engagement. These challenges point to an urgent need for diversification—through both the responsible scaling up of domestic extraction and increased investment in urban mining and waste recovery.

The session further highlighted how CIRAN and FutuRaM, in synergy, are addressing these challenges. CIRAN focuses on innovative business models and social contracts that promote local development and strengthen public acceptance of mining activities. FutuRaM, on the other hand, is developing a data-driven knowledge base on secondary raw materials, enabling evidence-based decision-making to support circular supply chains and the broader green and digital transition. Together, our projects are contributing to the development of a resilient, circular, and sustainable CRM supply chain for Europe.