Susanne Karcher

Co-Founder & Executive Director ACEN

After completing Chemical Engineering studies in Germany, Susanne Karcher started her company EnviroSense CC (an Environmental Consultancy) in Cape Town in 1999 (www.envirosensecc.co.za) .  Her company specialises in the planning, development and facilitation of tailor-made governmental, industrial/commercial and residential “Integrated Resource and Waste Management” programmes ultimately geared towards pollution prevention. 
Susanne is also a founding member and Executive Director of the African Circular Economy Network (www.acen.africa ). Since 2022 a thinktank has been operational including ACEN to explore the possibility to develop and implement (in a Global North/South collaboration) a Materials as a Service (MaaS) based pilot project in the mining sector. 
In 2020 Susanne has been appointed by the World Resources Forum (WRF) and Empa as the National Coordinator for the Phase 2 of the SRI South Africa project https://www.sustainable-recycling.org/ which is concerned (amongst other things) with creating an enabling environment for both the public and private sector to promote the recovery of secondary resources from e-waste while ensuring safe and inclusive working conditions.  
Susanne has been assisting the DFFE with the development of a National WEEE policy as well as with the development of a Conformity Assessment Scheme for WEEE management operators and their facilities. In addition, the SRI project also guides local WEEE project implementation frameworks especially geared at SMME development and informal waste sector integration to strengthen the South African WEEE value chain. Recently, Susanne was mandated by ACEN to represent the organisation on the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) led Mirror Committee for ISO TC 323 on Circular Economy.