Future-Proofing Value Chains: The EU Clean Industrial Deal as a Driver for Growth

WHEN:  8 April 2026     I    TIME:  14:00 - 15:30 (Bangkok Time)   I  Register HERE

Background:

The EU Clean Industrial Deal (2025) is the European Union’s new overarching growth strategy designed to harmonize decarbonization with economic competitiveness. While the original Green Deal (2019) focused on environmental regulations and targets, the Clean Industrial Deal acts as a "Business Plan for Net-Zero." It is built on the reality that for industries to go green, they must remain profitable and resilient against global competition.

The policy is anchored by two major legislative pillars that directly affect global supply chains:

• The Industrial Accelerator Act (planned for February 2026): This is one of the most important parts of the Deal. It aims to create "Lead Markets" for clean products. The idea behind it is to introduce non-price criteria in public procurement and private bidding, meaning, for instance, that the carbon footprint and "circularity" of a product (like steel, cement, or textiles) carries more weight in winning contracts, regardless of whether the product is the cheapest option. Also, the Act will propose a label to define “green steel” according to GHG emission performance.
• The Circular Economy Act (expected Q3 2026): This act centres on the principle of facilitating a secondary market for raw materials. In combination with the upcoming Product Act, and the implementation of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, it mandates a Digital Product Passport, which is likely to require Asian manufacturers to provide granular data on the origin and recyclability of every component in their products, with increased emphasis on transparency and verifiability of recycled content.

For Asian value chains, the Deal introduces a new era of "Green Conditionality" with the scaling of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and new Sustainability Labels.

Webinar Session:

The EU SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component and the European Environmental Bureau, are convening the webinar, Future-Proofing Value Chains: The EU Clean Industrial Deal as a Driver for Growth to:

• Provide a breakdown of the Clean Industrial Deal’s core pillars, specifically the Industrial Accelerator Act and the Circular Economy Act (2026).
• Understand how the Clean Industrial Deal may re-shape key value chains and relations between European and Asian businesses.
• Discuss practical tools for future-proofing, including the adoption of Life-Cycle Costing (LCC) and the use of Digital Product Passports for better value chain traceability.

Moderator:

Ms Elodie MARIA-SUBE, Key Expert on EU policy development and partnership building, SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component 

Elodie is specialized in European Affairs related to topics of circular economy, SCP, climate change and environmental management, and has extensive experience in stakeholder consultation and engagement at the EU level, as well as with high-level officials in Ministries of Environment and Finance in Asia. For over a decade, Elodie has worked in South and South-East Asia on environment and climate change. She is currently leading the SWITCH-Asia Technical Advisory project on Sustainable/ Green Public Procurement for Transformation.

Speakers:

Eva BILLE, Head of Circular Economy, European Environment Bureau

Eva is in charge of the EEB activities around circular economy policy. She studied economics and graduated with a Master’s Degree specialising in resources, development and growth from Tilburg University. She has previously spent 10+ years as an EU policy consultant, working with major companies and trade associations in the Brussels bubble. She has also worked for the UN in Lebanon and spent 4 years working in China.

Ulrike SENGSTSCHMID, Sustainability Advocacy Manager, EU-ASEAN Business Council

Ulrike Sengstschmid is an Advocacy Manager at the EU-ASEAN Business Council, where she leads the Council’s work on sustainability, energy, and transport. Her focus is on advancing ASEAN’s green transition, with particular emphasis on circular economy, decarbonisation, and carbon market development. She regularly engages with policymakers, industry leaders, and regional platforms to support evidence-based policy and stronger public–private collaboration. Prior to joining the Council, Ulrike worked at the Asia Competitiveness Institute, National University of Singapore (NUS). 

Domien VANGENECHTEN, Programme Lead on EU industry transition at the leading climate change think tank E3G

Domien works with NGO partners, industrial stakeholders and policymakers on issues relating to decarbonising industry. His expertise includes industrial policy, carbon pricing and carbon leakage protection measures. He joined E3G in April 2021 from the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition (ERCST), where he held multiple positions over the last four years, most recently leading the organization’s work on the EU ETS. Domien holds a master’s degree in Sustainability Science and Policy from Maastricht University and masters’ degrees in Policy Economics and International Relations from KU Leuven.

Agenda: