Ammon News - Economic experts, international organisations and academic institutions have called for the application of "circular economy principles" in the food industries in Jordan, which will boost competitiveness to open new markets for Jordanian products.

In the first forum on introducing circular economy measures to Jordanian food industries, hosted by the Royal Scientific Society (RSS), experts presented a detailed explanation to introduce the concept of the circular economy to food factories, decision-makers and regulatory and governmental bodies.

The circular economy is based on the protection of natural resources and the application of the resource-efficient and cleaner production methodology.

The RSS said in a statement on Monday that the forum is part of an applied research project on the green economy and efficient and cleaner production of resources, funded by the Newton Khalidi Fund at the British Embassy and implemented by the Water, Environment and Climate Change Centre at the RSS.

The Vice President/Executive Director of Sustainable Solutions at the RSS, Rafat Assi, emphasised during the opening of the two-day forum the need for local industries to adopt cleaner production methodologies and principles of the circular economy.

The representative of the Ministry of Environment, Maha Alma'ayta, presented the Ministry’s strategy for green growth across different sectors in Jordan.

The forum included scientific seminars presented by Prof Vikas Kumar from the University of the West of England in Bristol, the academic partner of the project, and Anna Tari, President of the International Institute of Circular Economy, who gave a detailed explanation of the concept and principles of circular economy in the food industry and highlighted the importance of integrating Industry 4.0 tools into the concept of resource-efficient cleaner production.

The forum’s activities included presentations from specialists in the Cleaner Production Unit and the Climate Change Division of the RSS who delivered a detailed explanation of the methodology of resource-efficient cleaner production and carbon footprint of food products and their significant role in achieving the concept of circular economy, achieving environmental sustainability and market competitiveness.