Dr. René Van Berkel is an industrial ecologist with deep expertise and global experience in policy and practice of circular economy, resource efficiency, cleaner production, industrial symbiosis and sustainable consumption and production, particularly in Asia, Australia and Europe.
Dr. René Van Berkel is a leading expert and practitioner in circular economy, resource efficiency, cleaner production, industrial ecology and symbiosis, and sustainable consumption and production.
He is currently a founding co-convenor of the ASEAN Circular Economy Business Alliance, an associate researcher of the Stockholm Environment Institute and principal circular economy expert serving the EU SWITCH Asia programme on Sustainable Consumption and Production and the UN Global Compact.
His international development experience covered senior positions with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), during 2008-2023, focused on industrial resource and energy efficiency, cleaner production, (cleantech) innovation and climate technology, productivity and responsible business. His work was centred in South and Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe, whilst serving as a global thought leader for resource efficient and cleaner production.
His academic experience included an affiliate foreign faculty role at the School of Global Studies, Thammasat University, Thailand, during 2023-2026. Earlier in his career, as Professor of Cleaner Production at Curtin University (Australia), he led an applied research, teaching and advocacy programme focused on industrial symbiosis, eco-efficiency, and sustainable resource processing. At the University of Amsterdam, he contributed extensively to launching the UNIDO-UNEP National Cleaner Production Centres initiative in the 1990’s.
Dr. Van Berkel is a Dutch national and holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of Amsterdam and a Master’s in Environmental Hygiene from Wageningen University.