As Lao PDR advances its economic development and works toward graduating from Least Developed Country (LDC) status, managing natural resource dependencies and waste has become central to long-term resilience. Adopting circular economy principles enables the country to decouple growth from environmental degradation, optimize resource efficiency, and foster new green enterprise opportunities. This shift aligns directly with national priorities under the National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP) and the National Green Growth Strategy, establishing sustainable consumption and production as core pillars for a green, inclusive economy.
Following the foundational visioning workshop held in July, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), in partnership with the European Union through the EU-funded SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component, concluded a two-day series of targeted consultations in Vientiane Capital on October 20-21, 2026. The multi-stakeholder sessions brought together key actors to review and refine four sectoral action plans under Lao PDR’s Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP): Plastics & Packaging, Electronics & E-Waste, Agri-Food, and Tourism.
To leverage specialized domain expertise and ensure strong ground-level implementation, each sectoral action plan was co-led alongside leading development organizations, aligning national policy formulation directly with active initiatives across the country. The consultations brought together 20 to 30 representatives per session from government ministries, private sector enterprises, civil society, and academia.
On October 20, the morning session on Plastics & Packaging was co-organized with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), building on technical synergies with the National Plastics Action Plan (NPAP); the afternoon session on Electronics & E-Waste was co-organized with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), anchoring circular approaches within urban waste and green growth initiatives.
On October 21, the Agri-Food consultation was co-led with Swisscontact, integrating insights from the EU-co-funded Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP Lao) project, while the afternoon session on Tourism was co-organized with Plan International who supports the Lasting Laos initiative.
The consultations followed an interactive methodology focused on policy alignment and practical implementation. Participants engaged in structured breakout group discussions to examine both long-term Vision 2050, mid-term milestones, and immediate implementation targets.
These policy-level consultations work in tandem with the broader ecosystem of EU SWITCH-Asia Grants Projects operating in Lao PDR, creating a direct feedback loop between state-level frameworks and ground-level action. Targeted grant interventions—such as the EMP-ACT (Empowering to Act for Circular Transition in Plastics in Lao PDR) project implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Lasting Laos focused on sustainable tourism value chains, and SuPER WE Coffee implemented by CARE—provide practical proof-of-concept models across key value chains. Furthermore, the consultations connect national policies with regional platforms like the ASEAN Circular Economy Business Alliance (ACEBA), an EU SWITCH-Asia initiative promoting private-sector leadership, market innovation, and circular design. Together, these complementary efforts reflect the EU’s sustained commitment to supporting Lao PDR in advancing Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), strengthening green governance, and accelerating inclusive economic transformation.
The feedback, technical adjustments, and institutional recommendations gathered across the two days provide necessary stakeholder feedback final policy drafting. SWITCH-Asia and its development partners will incorporate all consultation outcomes to finalize the four sectoral action plans. The resulting framework will serve as an operational blueprint to advance sustainable consumption, circular economy, and green governance across Lao PDR.
Contact:
For more information on EU SWITCH-Asia covering Circular Economy and GPP in Laos contact:
Ms. Elodie Maria-Sube, EU Policy Development and Stakeholder Engagement Expert, SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component, [email protected]. Learn more here.
