Hugo Schally is the Head of the Multilateral Environmental Cooperation Unit at the Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission.
He holds a doctorate in law from the University of Graz/Austria and is a graduate of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna/Austria. After having worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, he has since 1998 held positions as head of unit in the DGs for External Relations, Development and Environment of the European Commission.
He is currently head of unit for "Sustainable Production and Consumption" in the Directorate for "Circular Economy and Green Growth" of DG Environment of the European Commission. In that capacity he is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the EU Action Plan ‘Towards a circular economy’. This includes the preparation and implementation of EU policies and instruments supporting the transition to a circular economy, such as EMAS, the European Eco-label, Green Public Procurement, the European strategy for plastics and the follow up to the pilot project on the environmental footprint of products and organisations (PEF/OEF).