On 2 & 3 December, SEED hosted the Regional Practitioner Labs for Policy Prototyping: Asia Chapter in collaboration with the GO4SDGs platform. The Labs showcased innovative, breakthrough policies and policy programmes in the area of circular economy, based on the theory of change that replication is an effective and efficient way to solve similar problems across geographies.

Over both days, 130 participants attended the labs from ministries, NGOs, research institutes, and enterprises from Asia. During the labs, the policy champions showcased national policy solutions from their countries.

The following policy champions presented their solutions:

• Abd. Malik bin Atan from Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change presented on ‘Malaysia’s greening SME scheme’.
• Dr. Orathai Pongruktham from Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) presented on ‘Thailand’s Public Private Partnership for Plastic and Waste Management’.
• Marissa Claustro from Department of Tourism presented on ‘The Zero Carbon Resorts Project in Philippines’.
• Mariyam Samha from Ministry of Environment and Energy presented on ‘Maldives’ Plastics Phase-out Plan’.
• Kuntum Melati from Stockholm Environment Institute presented on ‘Recommendations for supporting SMEs in the Circular Economy in Thailand’.
• Gita Syahrini from LTKL Indonesia presented on ‘Mobilising & Connecting Multi-stakeholder Groups in Indonesia’.
• Dr. Saima Shafique from Ministry of Climate Change presented on ‘Green Jobs Initiatives in Pakistan’.

Participants had the pleasure of hearing about the SME perspective, in the presentation by Shailaja Rangarajan from Rimagined about the 'Opportunities and Challenges of Upcycling in India'.

Following the presentation from our Policy Champions , the participants had the opportunity to replicate and prototype their own policy solutions, inspired by the presentations, in the context of their country or community.

SEED Toolkit for Policy Prototyping used in the labs can be downloaded for offline use here. Visit the policy blueprint on Mural for Lab Day 1 and Lab Day 2  to get a glimpse of the policy solutions.