Chief Circularity Officer (CCO) Leadership Program 2025 to be launched

The transition to a circular economy depends on people. The demand for talent who can lead transformation within organizations is higher than ever. Companies face challenges such as resource depletion and securing critical raw materials. They are also required to address Scope 3 across their entire supply chain and ensure resilience and stability in global value chains. At the same time, companies are exploring the design of new revenue models and enhancing brand value through sustainability.

To move beyond making the circular economy a simple slogan or goal and instead implement it as a concrete and economically sustainable business model, companies need people who truly understand its objectives, strategies, and metrics, while also possessing the execution power and partnership-building skills required. Leadership that can transform vision into competitiveness is in demand.

To meet this need, we, Harch which has been supporting companies, municipalities, and universities with circular economy and circular city transitions, have partnered with REnato lab, a Taiwan-based consultancy with extensive experience advising governments and global companies on the circular economy. Together, they have designed a unique curriculum based on the ISO 59000 series, the international standard for the circular economy, and rebuilt it to align more closely with practical circular business development processes. The result is a Japan and Taiwan exchange training program, the Chief Circularity Officer (CCO) Leadership Program 2025, which provides 21 days of learning on globally applicable circular leadership.

Chief Circularity Officer (CCO) Leadership Program 2025: Gaining international circular economy leadership skills through Japan and Taiwan exchange

Wang (left) and Aining (right) from REnato lab | Photo by Hirohisa Kojima

The program introduces a new role for leading the circular economy within companies: the Chief Circularity Officer (CCO). A CCO is a leader with a systemic perspective, redesigning resource circulation, product life cycles, supply chain strategies, and business models to generate new growth and competitiveness.

This program is open to those who resonate with the importance and vision of the CCO role, those who wish to acquire strategic leadership for advancing the circular economy within their companies, those who want to learn systematic transition strategies and circular business development based on the ISO 59000 series, and those who want to capture the latest circular economy trends from an international perspective through Japan and Taiwan exchange.

* Optional international collaboration: After completing the program, Japanese participants may travel to Taiwan on October 19, 2025, and join the “Asia Pacific Circular Economy Roundtable & Hotspot 2025 (APCER & Hotspot 2025)” in Taipei from October 20 to 23. This provides opportunities for exchange with Taiwanese participants and lays the foundation for international collaboration toward transformation.

* Post-program linkage with “Circular On-site”: Circular On-site is a new program launched by REnato lab, founded on the principle of being “context-specific.” Its core purpose is to design circular economy transition pathways tailored to the unique circumstances of each company. The CCO Leadership Program is directly linked to Circular On-site and provides its foundation. For those interested, follow-up services for implementation and scaling after completion of the program can be provided through Circular On-site.

* About the ISO 59000 series: The ISO 59000 series is a set of international standards under development by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) for the circular economy. It defines core concepts and principles of the circular economy and provides organizations with a common language and framework for implementing circular business and policy practices. Currently, ISO 59004 (circular economy concepts and principles), ISO 59010 (implementation of circular business models), and ISO 59020 (measuring progress with indicators) have been published. Through internationally unified standards, the series aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy by enabling consistent efforts by countries and companies worldwide.

Detail

“Chief Circularity Officer (CCO) Leadership Program 2025 to be launched” | IDEAS FOR GOOD (in Japanese)