Mark Schmets – Team lead Sustainable Industry, Circular Economy and International Collaboration, Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth
Mark studied chemistry in Amsterdam. After a stay at the Polytechnic University of St. Petersburg (Russian Federation), he started working at the Dutch Research Council (NWO) where he fulfilled various roles and leadership positions aimed at building partnerships between industry, governments and knowledge institutes. After residing for four years in Brussels, in 2021 he switched to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy in The Netherlands. As a team lead for Sustainable Industry, Circular Economy and International Collaboration, he currently works at the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth at the heart of the energy and raw materials transition and is active in building innovation ecosystems.
Mark leads a team dedicated to innovation and the upscaling of new technologies and interventions aimed at advancing the market for circular plastics. His team does this in close collaboration with all stakeholders in the market, with Brussels for market regulation and with their colleagues responsible for circular economy incentives en regulations. Additionally, Mark’s team hosts National Growth Fund programs in the fields of sustainability and circularity, including the Circular Plastics NL initiative.