By identifiying good practices in turning biomass to heat or power, the uP_running project is unlocking the strong potential of woody biomass residues produced by Agrarian Pruning and Plantation Removals.
CuanTec is a Scottish blue biotech company that replaces plastic with natural alternatives. Sourced from waters of the Atlantic, CuanTec takes waste from fisheries and obtains the natural biopolymer chitin. Their process uses biology rather than chemistry to create chitin and chitosan of high quality and purity, which are in demand for over 3,000 industrial uses around the world.
AgriChemWhey seeks to build first-of-a-kind bio-refinery with a view to transforming dairy waste into added-value bio-based products.
Estonian business Rohepakend has come up with a home-grown alternative to plastic food packaging: a food wrap made from donated cloth, pine resin from Estonian forests and beeswax.
To prevent consumers from buying items they use only a few times a year, Usitoo enables customers to rent these instead. The cooperative has a catalogue of hundreds of items that its customers can rent with credit, thus making the possession span of these items much longer.
Wao shoes are fully ecological shoes made entriely from natural, innovative and sustainable materials.
Globe Hope, a Finnish textiles and cosmetics SME, has been creating bags and accessories from recycled and leftover materials since 2003.
ISATIÓ is a Brussels SME that recovers samples from the textiles industry to create unique designer clothing, with manufacturing all done locally and the supply chain covered entirely by bicycle couriers.
Suckõrs is an Estonian company that uses reed growing naturally on the shores of Estonia to make reusable, biodegradable drinking straws and a new raw material for producing goods. Their products can be cleaned and reused multiple times and, once they have reached the end of their lifecycle, they will decompose naturally.
The textile industry is the second most polluting industry in the world. The Next Closet’s mission is change this and inspire people to invest in quality and reuse what they already have, so second hand can become the number one choice.
The central theme of this report is how to greatly enhance resource efficiency. The proposition is that a circular economy, where products are designed for ease of recycling, reuse, disassembly and remanufacturing should replace the traditional, linear ’take, make & dispose’ model that has dominated the economy so far. Most studies so far on the circular economy focus primarily on the business case for enhanced resource efficiency. This report rather focuses on the social benefits that a transformation from a linear to a circular economy would entail. In this report the focus is on Poland and the Czech Republic.
The central theme of this report is how to greatly enhance resource efficiency. The proposition is that a circular economy, where products are designed for ease of recycling, reuse, disassembly and remanufacturing should replace the traditional, linear ’take, make & dispose’ model that has dominated the economy so far. This, no doubt, is a major prerequisite to stay within the Planetary Boundaries.
The report identifies ten attractive circular innovation and investment priorities for Europe until 2025, totalling €320 billion. Despite the favourable financial context, investment in circular economy opportunities is still generally too low. The Foundation's previous research Growth Within outlined a long-term circular economy vision for Europe; this new report identifies the most important investment opportunities along with the policy reforms and business actions needed to unlock them. The report focuses on the mobility, food and built environment value chains, which together represent 60% of consumer expenditure and 80% of resource use.
In a circular economy, growth comes from ‘within’, by increasing the value derived from existing economic structures, products and materials. This major report quantifies the benefits for Europe – in terms of growth, household income, and environmental outcomes – of adopting a circular development path compared with our current linear one. Incorporating in-depth analysis of three of Europe’s largest basic needs, mobility, food and the built environment, the report provides a vision of how the circular economy could look, and highlights wide-ranging implications for government and business leaders.
The report describes the concept of the circular economy and outlines its key characteristics. It draws attention to both the benefits and challenges in transitioning to such an economy and highlights possible ways to measure progress.
The report explores the circular economy from a product perspective, applying a systemic approach and transition theory. Drivers of product design and usage are discussed in the context of emerging consumption trends and business models. For governance to be effective, it has to address the product life-cycle and the societal context determining it. Indicators and assessment tools are proposed that can help fill the current data and knowledge gaps.
The Circular Phone report provides practical answers to common financing pitfalls for circular businesses, using Fairphone as the real-life example. All learnings and contract templates created during the project are now available as open source and ready for other companies to apply to their products.
This report gives companies the tools to jumpstart and run circular business models where ownership of products is retained to a certain degree. This incentivises companies to create high-quality and durable products, while customers enjoy the performance of a product without the hassle. So far, businesses striving to implement “Product-as-a-Service” models have had the challenge of reconciling the need to find financing parties with the complexities of their own business model.
To achieve a financeable model for the Circular Fairphone Service, the Community of Practice created a blueprint for Fairphone’s business model. Through the creation of a legal template – a 1st Circular Service Contract- and a financial cash flow tool, the group has proven that the gap between the businesses and financiers can be bridged. One of the other concrete and practical outcomes was a 5-year cash flow projection that enables financiers to assess the benefits and risks of their investment.
RWM, the UK's largest waste and recycling industry show, returns to Birmingham 11 to 12 October 2019
Le modèle de l’Économie de la Fonctionnalité et de la Coopération (EFC) répond à l’exigence de nouvelles formes de développement économique plus respectueuses des enjeux de développement durable, en favorisant les dynamiques de performance fondées sur le service et la qualité plutôt que sur la consommation de ressources et le volume.
Cette formation de deux jours permettra aux participants d'aborder et comprendre les prinicpales dynamiques de cette nouvelle forme de modèle économique.
During the European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels, the Urban Agenda Partnership for Circular Economy will host a workshop on 9 October to help develop its “Roadmap for a Circular Urban Resource Management Plan” for cities.
Cradle to Cradle Certified™ is a globally recognized measure of safer, more sustainable products made for the circular economy. An new version, Cradle to Cradle Certified V4, is currently in development, and the institute behind the initiative is hosting free webinars to introduce the new draft of the standard and to highlight its most important features and updates. These webinars will take place on 10, 11 and 12 September.
The 10th European Symposium on Biopolymers (ESBP 2019) will take place in the Rittersaal of the Herzogschloss in Straubing, Germany from 25 – 27 September 2019. ESBP 2019 brings together leading experts from both academia and industry to share knowledge and insights into the challenges and opportunities surrounding biopolymer production from microbes.
ACI’s European Biopolymer Summit will bring together senior executives and experts from among biopolymer manufacturers, chemical companies, major associations, the raw materials sector, technology companies and consultants, in order to discuss the latest challenges and developments within the industry.
MRE 2020 is taking place on 18–20 February 2020 at the Business Design Centre in London to develop the commercial success of UK-generated materials innovation.
It is with deep disappointment that IOM3 has announced that PVC2020, scheduled to take place at The Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), Scotland (20–23 April 2020), will be postponed until May 2021 following the escalation of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Looking for inspiration, partners or funding for your circular economy projects? Join Norwegian and international companies, researchers and stakeholders at this conference and B2B matchmaking event in Oslo from 24 to 25 September 2019.
The European Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, due to take place in Paris on 4-6 November, will focus on integrating circular economy principles, from design to packaging and disposal.
Two years after the adoption of EU Circular Economy Package in December 2015, more than half of the initiatives included in the Action Plan have been delivered. To discuss upcoming deliverables, explore new areas of action and share the first achievements of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, the Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee will host a Circular Economy Stakeholder Conference on 20-21 February in Brussels.
There is growing optimism about the potential of the circular economy as a new model for sustainable growth in developing countries.
The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reach agreement to revise EU waste processing legislation, paving the way for a more circular economy.
A look beyond the EU's circular economy package by Nick Molho on Euractiv.com.
The Bulgarian EU Council Presidency's political priorities include circular economy.
The finalists for the Circular Economy Leadership Award Circulars 2018 have been nominated.
The roadmap for the Evaluation of legislation on Food Contact Materials - Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 is now open for comments from stakeholders.
Circular Glasgow, hosted by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, will connect with companies across the city helping them to open up new revenue streams, increase competitive advantage and realise financial savings using a range of practical tools.
The Reeeboot program is launched in France, to help associations working against social exclusion and the digital divide. Thanks to the programme, eligible organisations can benefit from reconditioned computer equipment, needed to carry out their activities and promote the return to employment.
A market consultation conference, hosted by the European Investment Bank and the European Commission, to raise awareness of an upcoming investment platform to improve access to finance of bioeconomy companies in Europe.
