Bart Lahcen

The circular economy has an enormous potential to generate a positive systemic change for some of the most pressing environmental and economic issues at both the local and global level

Bio

Bart Lahcen currently works as an R&D researcher at VITO and has a dual background as an economist and urban planner. In January 2023, Bart defended his PhD research (funded by VITO) at KU Leuven. His thesis aimed at developing quantitative optimisation models that integrate markets, material flows, and environmental indicators to evaluate the macroeconomic and environmental impacts of various economic policies based on circular strategies (e.g. rethink, reduce, reuse, repair, and recycle). Before his PhD, Bart worked for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as an editor for Systemic Initiatives, specialising in strategic communication narratives for plastics, textiles, and food chains. Prior to that he was working and interning for the United Nations’ Habitat III and WUF 9 Secretariat (UN-Habitat), focusing on sustainable urban development policies.