Stephan Kampelmann

Stephan Kampelmann is a co-founder and Managing Director of the Sonian Wood Coop in Belgium and has helped to establish other similar initiatives in Amsterdam and Brussels. Stephan teaches economics at the Université libre de Bruxelles, where he is the Chair for Circular Economy and Urban Metabolism. The Sonian Wood Coop, founded in 2019, has as its mission to relocate the transformation of the wood from the Sonian Forest. It cooperates closely with different commercial and non-commercial partners along the value chain and organises the sustainable production of local high-quality wood. From the sale of standing trees to the final use in architecture or design projects, the co-op works to ensure that all steps along the way are as sustainable, local and fair as possible.

What can we learn about the circular economy from social entrepreneurs?

16 February 2022 Stephan Kampelmann

Every year the city of Brussels imports over 60 000 tons of wood, when the wood could be sourced from the Sonian Forest just outside the city. Instead, most of the wood sourced from the forest is exported to Asia to be processed and sent back as finished products. The Sonian Wood Coop was launched in 2019 to change this dynamic.