Plastics and Circular Economy: Regulation in Times of CoViD-19

Jonathan D. Cocker heads Baker McKenzie’s Environmental Practice Group in Canada and is an active member of the firm's Global Consumer Goods & Retail and Energy, Mining and Infrastructure groups. Mr. Cocker provides advice and representation to multinational companies on a variety of environmental and product compliance matters, including extended producer responsibilities, dangerous goods transportation, GHS, regulated wastes, consumer product and food safety, and contaminated lands matters. He assisted in the founding of one of North America’s first Circular Economy Producer Responsibility Organizations and provides advice and representation to a number of domestic and international industry groups in respect of resource recovery obligations. Mr. Cocker was recently appointed the first Sustainability Officer of the International Bar Association Mr. Cocker is a frequent speaker and writer on environmental issues and has authored numerous publications including recent publications in the Environment and Climate Change Law Review, Detritus – the Official Journal of the International Waste Working Group, Chemical Watch, Circular Economy: Global Perspectives published by Springer, and in the upcoming Yale University Journal of Industrial Ecology’s special issue on Material Efficiency for Climate Change Mitigation. Mr. Cocker maintains a blog focused upon international resource recovery issues at environmentlawinsights.com.

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Denisa Mertiri, J.D. (Green Earth Strategy) provides legal and policy advice to clients on waste management, single-use reduction, circular economy and extended producer responsibility laws. Denisa has worked with the City of Toronto and other municipalities in Ontario, Canada, on Ontario’s transition to EPR and on single-use reduction and circular economy policies. She brings her in-depth understanding of local and international laws related to these issues to generate solutions for clients on the management of plastics.

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Germán Sturzenegger is a Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank. He has participated in the design and implementation of water and sanitation projects throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Germán leads the recycling and green infrastructure agenda for the Water and Sanitation Division of the IDB, working on the implementation of river conservation and inclusive recycling projects. It also leads the impact assessment and behavior change agenda, supporting the development of empirical evidence in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector. Germán has published several research and public policy papers on sustainability issues, promoting water and sanitation markets, and on the challenges facing the new development agenda, among others. A Fulbright Scholar, he has a masters in Public Policy from Harvard University, and has been actively involved in the world of development for the past ten year.

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Maria Vizeu Pinheiro is a lawyer specializing in environmental and natural resources issues at the Environment, Rural Development and Disaster Risk Management Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Maria works on the analysis of environmental policies, governance and regulatory frameworks for the Bank's operations. Before joining the IDB, Maria worked as a water and environmental lawyer in “Canal de Isabel II”, a leading company in the water sector in Spain. She also collaborated with the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Spain in Washington, DC. Maria is the founder of the environmental NGO Environment for inclusion which received the "100 projects pour le climat" award from the French government. María has a degree in law from the Complutense University of Madrid, and a master's degree in international law specializing in Environment and Energy from the University of Georgetown.

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