Andreas Versmann is a Berlin-based expert in environmental law, governance and capacity building measures and events.
He is an independent policy adviser in environmental law and governance, with profound experience in transition management towards a low carbon and circular economy. He provides guidance in multi-stakeholder policy-making and creating innovative partnerships. He is well-versed in managing conferences, hearings, workshops governmental and non-governmental stakeholders as well as an excellent moderator.
Andreas studied law and political science at the Free University Berlin. In his long-standing career in national and European governmental institutions, he acquired a thorough knowledge in environmental law-making and its practical implementation on the ground. After the German reunification he was in charge of developing environmental legislation and provided capacity building at a regional ministry in Eastern-Germany. As an expert in EU intergovernmental projects in Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Turkey he contributed to setting up frameworks of environmental protection in societies in transition.
In 2007 he changed to the DG Environment of the European Commission where he was responsible for the strategic implementation of EU Waste Framework Directive from 2008, which introduced the circular economy concept into EU waste policies. In his following post at the European Economic and Social Committee he was in charge of organising multi-stakeholder dialogues on sustainable development in the context of the global Sustainable Development Goals and the European strategies for their implementation. In 2018 and 2019 he successfully kick-started for DG Environment of the European Commission TAIEX-EIR PEER 2 PEER, a new programme organising peer-learning and knowledge exchange between environmental authorities of European Member States.
Publications:
Co-author in: Jarras, Petersen, Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz, 2014; Author commenting the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC in: v. Lersner, Wendenburg, Kropp, Rüdiger, Recht der Abfall- und Kreislaufwirtschaft;
Strategic Environmental Assessment of Waste Management Plans, in: Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht, 2006, pg. 233;
The ECJ Decision “EU Wood Trading” (C-277/02), in: Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht, 2005, pg. 137;
Waste shipment and the EU Enlargement, in: Recht der Abfallwirtschaft, 2004, pp. 98;
Gaßner, Versmann (ed.), New Organisation of Municipal Tasks in the Waste Management Act – A Manual for the Practice, Erich Schmidt-Verlag, Berlin 1996;
Waste Management Law and Mining, Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht, 1995, pp. 18