The Croatian project titled "Responsible Business for a Clean World" involves collecting unused soap in hotels and sending it to a soap factory, where it is cleaned, sterilised and recycled into new soap products, which are then offered back to customers at the hotel.
ROSi has developed innovative processes producing high quality recycled materials including silicon and other metals from PV industry production and product waste. The materials are returned to industrial value chains, leading to a circular raw material lifecycle.
Refarmed uses the concept of ‘building integrated agriculture’. High-impact buildings (meaning they produce a lot of waste and excess heat) are equipped with rooftop greenhouses which turn all that waste into value - to support low-impact food production.
ConnectedBin has developed a waste container solution using artificial intelligence to identify waste types and sort them properly. The Internet of Things system reports on waste types and amounts, making waste collection more efficient.
Residuos do Nordeste, an intermunicipal waste management company based in North-Eastern Portugal, is running an education and awareness-raising campaign called "Educar para uma Economia Circular" related to the top of the waste management hierarchy: prevention.
Between 2017 and 2020, Aalborg (Denmark), Malmö (Sweden) and Smiltene and Pļaviņas (Latvia) piloted innovative new approaches to buying circular goods and services as part of the Circular PP project. Their experiences have been collated in this report, which is a very useful guide for public buyers interested in trying out circular procurement. A summary of the report is also available.
The main results and lessons from six public procurement pilot schemes are outlined in the report:
Buying back ICT equipment (City of Aalborg)
Outdoor learning environment tender (City of Aalborg)
Knowledge Hub is an open access collaborative library of circular economy case studies from Europe and around the world. It has over 2000+ case studies.
Knowledge Hub is an open access collaborative library of circular economy case studies from Europe and around the world. It contains over 2000 case studies.
Knowledge Hub is based on the following three principles:
Everyone contributes: the knowledge base grows quicker if everybody adds case studies.
Everyone edits: It's not meddling, it's co-authoring! Version history ensures nothing is lost.
Everyone curates: See any irrelevant, duplicate or promotional content? Report it to the Knowledge Hub admins!
EU institutions and agencies are increasingly raising awareness about the circular economy agenda. They are encouraging marketplace stakeholders to engage in sustainable production and consumption by reducing, reusing, restoring, refurbishing and recycling resources throughout their value chain.
This research evaluates the latest European environmental policies including the new circular economy plans for a cleaner and more competitive Europe. It then goes on to present a systematic literature review focused on the circular economy in the EU context. The findings suggest that there are a number of opportunities and challenges for the successful planning, organisation, implementation and measurement of circular economy practices.
This publication is the first outcome of the Policy Lab 2.0. It sets itself as the result of the fruitful collaboration between cross-regional officers and stakeholders in their attempt to co-build new standards for circularity. They are also willing to provide effective solutions for the main challenges European regions need to face in the transition towards a circular economy (CE).
This report provides valuable insights into the creation of a common set of circularity criteria for the overall assessment of CE projects, with the aim of providing European regions with the right tool to foster a smooth transition towards a CE. It also emphasises the importance of promoting cross-regional knowledge through education and training.
This publication is the first outcome of the Policy Lab 2.0, which sets it self as the result of the fruitful collaboration between cross-regional officers and stakeholders in the attempt of co-building new standards for circularity and providing effective solutions for the main challenges the European Regions need to face in the transition towards a Circular Economy. More in detail, it provides valuable insights into the creation of a common set of circularity criteria for the overall assessment of CE projects, with the aim of providing the European Regions with the right tool to foster a smooth transition towards a circular economy. It also emphasises the importance of promoting cross-regional knowledge through education and training.
This publication is the first outcome of the Policy Lab 2.0, which sets it self as the result of the fruitful collaboration between cross-regional officers and stakeholders in the attempt of co-building new standards for circularity and providing effective solutions for the main challenges the European Regions need to face in the transition towards a Circular Economy. More in detail, it provides valuable insights into the creation of a common set of circularity criteria for the overall assessment of CE projects, with the aim of providing the European Regions with the right tool to foster a smooth transition towards a circular economy. It also emphasises the importance of promoting cross-regional knowledge through education and training.
The Desig4Circle training course allows learners to understand the necessary shift in the textile industry towards a more sustainable Circular Economy approach and to acquire the necessary knowledge to transform their organization.
The course includes interactive materials such as videos, infographics, presentations, quizzes and additional readings to deepen your knowledge on different topics of interest:
M1. Introduction to Circular Economy
M2. Sustainability challenges in the textile and fashion industry
M3. Materials for a Circular Economy
M4. Design for a Circular Economy
M5. Manufacture for a Circular Economy
M6. Recycling technologies for a Circular Economy of textile and fashion industry
The European Green Deal provides the impetus to find more resilient, fair and sustainable economic systems. To deliver this ambition and recover from the economic impact of COVID-19, a systemic approach is needed.
The System Change Compass re-examines the driving forces of our socio-economic system, addressing the issues of resource consumption and environmental pressures.
The report presents future-fit policy directions and economic ecosystems (among them, nature-based, circular materials), and shows how these can better serve our societal needs and work within planetary boundaries. It also highlights 50+ champion orientations outlining a next-generation industrial landscape, with investable opportunities for jobs and a more sustainable future via COVID-19 recovery funds.
The report on Sustainable Plastics Strategy was prepared by the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry (SusChem) and its partners: Cefic, PlasticsEurope, European Plastics Converters (EuPC) and the European Composites, Plastics and Polymer Processing Platform (ECP4).
One of the keys to tackling plastic waste is the creation of a circular economy. However, the circular economy for plastics is not just about waste. Eliminating leakage and stepping up the use of secondary materials may be part of the picture, but the transition to renewable inputs completes it.
This report outlines the future research needed to fulfil the objectives of the European Strategy for Plastics and the Green Deal priorities.
The MeetingPack conference is held every two years by AIMPLAS and AINIA. This year's event will bring packaging value chain stakeholders to the Valencia Conference Centre on 20-21 April 2022 to discuss Barrier Packaging Solutions: A Challenge for the Circular Economy.
The workshop on "Our Phosphorus Raw Materials. Our Food. Our Future - V4's resilience in the face of pandemic" is the first event organised by the PhosV4 partners. It will include a session setting out the partners' competences and the project's scope, which will pave the way towards building a Phosphorus Friends Club in the Visegrad Group.
Climate KiC has launched two training programmes focusing on the use of Circularity Thinking tools in the manufacturing and food sectors within EIT Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS) countries. Registration are open!
The 11th meeting of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste will be held virtually on 18 November. This is the last meeting of the current Platform before its re-establishment with a new membership, starting 2022.
This virtual conference focuses on Level(s), an EU assessment and reporting framework that provides built-environment professionals with a common language for assessing buildings' sustainability performance. It features objectives and indicators to measure performance at every lifecycle stage.
Level(s) is free to download and use and has been tested extensively across the EU. It's designed for projects of all sizes.
LOOPS is an opportunity to show what cutting-edge research has been produced, and which changes it can bring to our communities. It is a series of live webinars committed to spotlighting innovation in the field of circular economy. Next event, taking place on 18 November, is about improving the life cycle of textiles.
As part of the CONDEREFF Project, the Workshop and Exchange-of-experience visit on "Selection, permits and monitoring of C&D waste management sites and facilities" will be held online on 15 November.
A week of meetings and discussion on the economic transition in the Brussels-Capital Region. Come and find out more about the Brussels economy of the future, talk to other economic players and get inspired by innovative initiatives during the events that will take place throughout the week in the four corners of the region.
We need to rethink urban development, production and consumption models so that they respond to environmental and social challenges, both regional and global. The Brussels-Capital Region is beginning its transition to a local, circular, social and democratic economy in line with these overarching principles.
What actually is the economic transition?
How can we launch an economic activity that fits in with it?
What tools is the region putting in place to help businesses?
For one week, renowned speakers and inspiring contributors will take it in turn to present the regional transition and invite Brussels' actors to join the movement!
Lack of standards in meeting sustainability goals may open the door to greenwashing or misallocation of assets and could lead to a lack of trust in progress towards SDGs. At the webinar on Standards4SDGs on 17 November, you will get an overview of how international organisations have already developed standards that can be linked to policies related to the circular economy, resource efficiency, environmental management and social responsibility, providing a level playing field for standards adopters.
With emissions rising and dwindling time to reach the 1.5-degree target, it is paramount to increase the ambition of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and accelerate their implementation. The circular economy (CE) offers vast potential for GHG emission reduction on a global scale.
On 9 November, from 11:30, The NDC Partnership and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will host a COP26 side event on integrating circular action into climate strategies and present findings of a new study published by GIZ on behalf of BMZ.
The study outlines a roadmap for NDC coordinators and decision-makers to clarify the envisioned CE transition measures and design CE-smart NDCs. The event aims to provide policymakers and NDC coordinators with a practical guide to raise their ambitions.
The European Commission has decided to launch a €1 billion call for research and innovation projects that respond to the climate crisis and help protect Europe’s unique ecosystems and biodiversity. The Horizon 2020-funded European Green Deal Call is open for registration. It will spur Europe’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis by turning green challenges into innovation opportunities.
On 16 September 2020, the President of the European Commission, Ms Ursula von der Leyen, gave her first State of the European Union address. President von der Leyen presented the priorities of the Commission for the coming year where the green transition of the economy and the circular economy hold prominent places.
Until 30 September 2020, the University of Helsinki is seeking contributions for a planned edited volume, exploring the various social and cultural aspects of the shift from the current take-make-waste extractive industrial model to the restorative circular economy concept.
The Sustainable products initiative, which will revise the Ecodesign Directive and propose additional legislative measures as appropriate, aims to make products placed on the EU market more sustainable. You are welcome to give your feedback on it until 2 November 2020.
The EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste publishes a monthly newsletter to help Platform members stay connected, inform all interested stakeholders about Platform members’ activities and inspire further action in food loss and waste prevention.
The 5th Circular Change Conference, one of key European meeting points of circular economy changemakers, was transformed this year into a “virtual roadshow” consisting of 5 events based on 5 partnerships
We are launching a Call for Expression of Interest for the new mandate of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform Conference (ECESP), that will run from November 2020 to May 2022, open to stakeholders who wish to take part in this unique European initiative.
A new project addressing the systemic complexities of the Circular Economy is being submitted as a Marie Curie (MSCA) post doc proposal. As these aspects build upon multi-stakeholder knowledge and insights, you are kindly invited to join the project community and collaborate.
The European project DigiCirc aims toboost the circular economy using digital tools by supporting very innovative SMEs. In order to define the current challenges of a Circular City, DigiCirc is collecting the testimonies of different key actors of the market (local authorities, companies, citizens, etc.) through a questionnaire.
