Economic development needs to be decoupled from resource use and environmental impacts, he told a conference on the circular economy held in Ljubljana on Friday.

"We have the technology and change is going to happen in our countries," Potočnik, the keynote speaker at the event, told a debate organised by AmCham at the onset of the international conference.

Potočnik, a leading advocate of the circular economy concept, noted that the world population nearly quadrupled in the 20th century, but resource use sky-rocketed and greenhouse gas emissions surged 13-fold.

He suggested the transition to a circular economy was socially desired, but also needed in economic terms, as resources are eating up an increasing proportion of company revenue and countries are becoming net importers of resources.

"If we want to keep industry in Europe, we have to reduce resource use," he said. This requires decoupling economic development from resource use and impacts on the environment and health.

In Europe, a relative decoupling is under way, as resource use is growing at a slower pace than the economy, but what is needed is absolute decoupling, he said.

In his keynote address to the conference, Potočnik focused on the issue of who can facilitate the transition to a circular economy and how. "This has to be seen as a joint action," he told the STA.

Across-the-board policy change is needed, but it is also important that the corporate sector is involved: companies need to transition from selling products to selling services, for example light instead of lamps, tyre use instead of tyres.

"The manufacturers would thus be motivated not to sell as many units of products as possible, but to produce things with maximum longevity," he said.

The debates at the international conference focus on how businesses can benefit by adopting the sustainable model, and how to turn circular economy theory into practice.

The European Commission estimates that by 2035 the circular economy could generate savings for companies to the tune of EUR 600bn and create 70,000 jobs.

As part of the transition, the Slovenian government is planning green reforms of budget planning and public procurement, said Uroš Vajgl, the head of the Environment Ministry's climate change department.

He noted that a significant chunk of budget funds was spent on public contracts, with green reform of the system expected to increase demand for green products and services.

Green budget reform would involve "taxing what is undesirable and reducing the taxation of what represents good practice," said Vajgl, who expects good results.

Moreover, a new waste treatment and prevention plan is to be adopted in about a month, as prevention of waste is a key component of the transition to a circular economy.

The event has been organised by the Circular Change platform in conjunction with the Ministry of the Environment and the Spirit tourism and investment promotion agency.