ROCES 2030 project outline
Developing Romania's strategy for a transition to a circular economy 2020 - 2030
Start/End date
to
Country
Romania
City
Cluj-Napoca
Discussed key areas
Discussed challenge
Coordination Group activity type
Description
The Institute for Research in Circular Economy and Environment “Ernest Lupan” – IRCEM, a member of the ECESP Coordination Group, has launched a project to support the development of a national circular economy strategy in Romania. Coinciding with the country's Spring 2019 presidency of the Council of the European Union, IRCEM organised a series of workshops and conferences on circular economy policy that have morphed into 5 working groups on circular economy and will culminate in a draft roadmap for Romanian circular economy policy from 2020 to 2030.
With this project, which is being supported by the Romanian government, Ministry of Environment, Department of Sustainable Development and 12 other national ministries in addition to more than 30 private businesses and civil society organisations, IRCEM is seeking to:
- flag the potential Romania has to become a leader in the circular economy in Eastern Europe
- communicate the opportunities for increased competitiveness and quality of life that a circular economy provides to Romanian citizens and businesses
- engage relevant stakeholders in thinking about how to develop a circular economy locally
- provide recommendations for the Romanian government to facilitate an efficient transition to a circular economy
- sketch an outline of Romania’s strategy for a circular economy for 2020 - 2030 that would provide a toolbox for implementation towards broader sustainable development targets.
IRCEM began the project with a launch in Iasi, Romania on 12 April 2019, which featured a thematic workshop on "Accelerating the transition towards circular economy for sustainable clothing and textiles". In the following weeks, these sectoral consultations were held throughout Romania:
- Application of the circular economy in the water sector (Constanta, 19 April 2019)
- Sustainable construction for circular, intelligent and inclusive cities (Cluj-Napoca, 10 May 2019)
- Scaling the circular economy for managing recovered waste streams (Buzau, 16 May 2019)
- Role of materials in the circular economy in the packaging, logistics and retail industry (Timisoara, 20 May 2019)
- Attributed of the circular economy in energy efficiency (Brasov, 31 May 2019)
- Circular economy for the management of agri-food & forestry resources (Calarasi, 3 June 2019)
- Impact of circular economy for transport and manufacturing (Craiova, 7 June 2019)
These were rounded off with a European conference on circular economy in Bucharest held on 11 June 2019, where EU representatives presented the state of play for circular economy throughout Europe, and IRCEM outlined what a dedicated strategy to accelerate the transition could look like, ahead of presenting next steps for this project.
With over 250 industry, civil society and government representatives having participated in and contributed to these events, IRCEM is now collating their ideas, responses and suggestions with a view to presenting a grassroot-led circular economy strategy to the Romanian government in November 2019.
To get involved and contribute your expertise, especially for peer reviews at later stages of the project, contact IRCEM directly at office@ircem.ro.
With over 250 industry, civil society and government representatives having participated in and contributed to these events, IRCEM is now collating their ideas, responses and suggestions with a view to presenting a grassroot-led circular economy strategy to the Romanian government in November 2019.
To get involved and contribute your expertise, especially for peer reviews at later stages of the project, contact IRCEM directly at office@ircem.ro.
