The Institute for Research in Circular Economy and Environment “Ernest Lupan” – IRCEM is an independent non-governmental organization, established as a research, consultancy and education think-tank; founded in 2012 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, IRCEM develops strategies and tools, creates data, creates new technologies, pilot studies and scales up innovations.
IRCEM's mission is to mobilize individuals, organizations and institutions in the transition process towards a circular economy through the ecosystemic development of life on our planet under the influence of the three pillars: social, economic and natural.
Simina Lakatos has been founding president of the Ernest Lupan Institute for Circular Economy and Environment (IRCEM) since 2012. She has economic and technical knowledge, abilities and experience: she holds a B.A. in Economics and a B.A. Honours in Materials and Environment Engineering. She obtained a Doctorate in Engineering and Management in 2011 after defending her thesis on Corporate Social Responsibility.
Simina has been part of the Department of Management and Engineering Economics of UTC since 2011, where she teaches and researches the following areas: sustainable development with a focus on the circular economy, strategic management with a focus on the social economy, enterprise assessment and marketing and international management, all of which helps her to develop IRCEM. Her focus is on accelerating the transition towards circularity from the bottom up with concerted actions, developing practical and scalable solutions, organising local/regional/EU campaigns, and communicating and involving others in the dissemination of information on the circular economy and messages on sustainable development. Simina is Romanian and speaks fluent English and Italian.