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.
TailoredTile creates decorative tile pieces completely made of recovered plastic. The company also promotes circular economy by accepting used tilegrams in exchange of purchase discounts, as this material can be crushed and shaped more than once.
The EU Ecolabel is the official European Union label for environmental excellence.
It is awarded to sustainably-designed products, thereby encouraging innovation, and contributing to the EU’s goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and to the circular economy.
Industry can use the EU Ecolabel to offer consumers an eco-friendly alternative to conventional products and help them lower their daily environmental impact.
Ambitious criteria have been set, focusing on the main environmental impacts generated over the lifecycle of these products. This ensures that EU Ecolabel hard covering products are among the best on the market in terms of environmental performance.
Access the full list of EU Ecolabel criteria for hard coverings productshere.
The Third Circular Economy Report (2021) by the Circular Economy Network and ENEA, besides providing the updated analysis on circular economy in Italy as compared to the main EU countries, includes a focus on the role of circular economy in the transition towards climate neutrality, as well as an update on the most important measures implemented at the national and European levels.
This report updates the analysis on the state of circular economy in Italy, assessing the results achieved in the areas of production, consumption, circular waste management, as well as investments and employment in recycling, repairing and reuse, with a comparison among the main economies in the EU: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Poland.
To read the report in full (in Italian), please click here.
In this report, nudging is explored as a complement to traditional policies (regulation, economic incentives and information campaigns) to reduce the use of single-use plastics. Behavioural insights are used to develop different options to nudge consumer preferences from single-use cups to more sustainable alternatives.
Based on careful reviews and analysis of previous nudging projects, three green nudges are proposed to catalyze this shift.
This report examines the relevant literature on behaviour change, psychology and environmental issues to learn which strategies can be effective – and which might be counterproductive – when it comes to shifting people’s actions around plastic.
The aim is to radically alter patterns of consumption and production so that Sweden becomes the world’s first fossil-fuel free welfare state. The use of plastic will play an important part in the strategy.
From the review of scholarly articles, media reports and surveys of the public, a number of recommendations emerge that can be put to use by anyone creating a campaign about plastic use.
Industry faces major challenges with regard to handling the transition to an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. As yet, we are far from fully understanding the potential wider environmental impacts of this transformation. Furthermore, we are largely unaware of the untapped potential of industrial facilities in sectors covered by the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) to contribute to the circular economy.
The study aimed to provide an initial overview of the potential wider environmental impacts of industry's transition within the scope of the IED to a low carbon economy, and to gain a better understanding of how IED facilities could contribute to a circular economy.
The Circular Economy and Society Hub of Utrecht University has prepared a white paper analysing the key strengths and weaknesses of the way in which Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is organised in the Netherlands. Based on this analysis, it then sets out three pathways for improving EPR with a view to enabling it to contribute to the circular economy goals:
Optimising EPR as an instrument for post-user circularity
Re-designing EPR as an instrument for circular economy transformations
Across the world, cluster organisations have taken a leading role in the green transition. Cluster Excellence Denmark recently released a new e-book titled Towards a New Greener Normal – How Clusters are Dealing with Circular Transition in Times of COVID-19, exploring how this work has continued despite the current pandemic.
The e-book contains informative insights into how clusters are integrating the green transition and digitalisation, leading to brand new and innovative solutions with market potential.
IVA – the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences – set up, in 2016, the project “Resource Efficient Business Models – Greater Competitiveness”, which resulted in a report presenting analyses and conclusions in five sectoral reports:
input goods
infrastructure
capital goods and durables
consumer products and
food.
Among its proposals, it suggests solutions for a sustainable usage of plastic for a more resource-efficient food chain, with an emphasis on circular flows. It also provides perspectives from companies in the infrastructure sector. Moreover, it presents its vision for mapping of resource flows, optimal use of infrastructure and other resource-efficient solutions, including aiming at increased use of recycled materials and the reuse of products.
In 2015, the European Commission adopted the Circular Economy Action Plan to help stimulate the transition towards circular economy. The growing number of plastic products and packaging marketed as ‘biodegradable’ or ‘(home) compostable’ raises the question of the extent to which biodegradability and compostability of plastic is beneficial in the context of the transition towards a circular economy.
The study assesses this question, identifying conditions in which (home) compostability of products could be of added value, compared to reuse and other forms of recovery. The results indicate weak evidence in favour of beneficial agronomics associated with compostable plastic material. Choices of materials for products and packaging should prioritise recyclability over compostability.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) has issued a report on how to make the textile sector more sustainable. It provides proposals for a more resource-efficient and smart textile sector, covering topics such as challenges and definitions of solutions towards a smarter sector. It suggests, for instance, to introduce tax relief programmes and industrial parks for resource-efficient textile production.
This report is one of several sector reports from IVA project Resource Effectiveness and Circular Economy (ReCE). The purpose is to make Sweden more competitive in a future with finite resources in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The project has established platforms for dialogue between actors in the public and private sectors.
Organized by the Shifting Economy administrations, Unizo and UCM, the Shifting Economy Week is a one-week meeting for all Brussels economic actors to lay the foundations of the regional transition. From 18 to 24 November 2022, a multitude of workshops, conferences, company visits and other activities await to inspire you, guide you, and collectively consider the transformation of all economic sectors in the Region.
Don’t miss the European Commission’s webinar on 3 November "Assessing the whole life carbon performance of buildings using Level(s)".
Level(s) is the European common language for sustainable buildings.
The EPR Club, a platform gathering key stakeholders and experts to exchange and debate about Extended Producer Responsibility in Europe, is inviting participants to a hybrid event on 16 November 2022 titled "How can EPR promote sustainable consumption and production?" to reflect on the link between EPR and sustainable consumption and production.
During the event not only potential wider impacts of EPR on producers and consumers, but also how EPR schemes can support local initiatives on reducing waste and promoting sustainable consumption (public awareness, boost repair activities) will be analysed.
Functioning ecosystems that supply water, nutrients, soil and energy are critical to human health, economy and livelihoods and enhance climate resilience. We need a radical shift in the current economic model to sustain our ways of life and biodiversity while ensuring a sustainable future for all. Tackling these global challenges requires rethinking how we produce, consume and manage raw materials.
The circular economy is about optimising production and consumption systems, not only by sustainably reducing waste, but also by doing business in an environmental and biodiversity-friendly manner.
The European Circular Economy Stakeholders Platform's (ECESP) Coordination Group members will organise a COP27 side-event at the EU Pavilion on 12 November, 15:00 - 16:00 CET. The event will be an opportunity to show practical examples of how an inclusive circular economy can reduce waste and provide measurable impacts on climate and biodiversity protection.
Construction work using secondary raw materials recovered from selected waste streams at local level may offer genuine opportunities for cities and construction companies with circular ambitions. The Horizon 2020 CINDERELA project presents technical solutions tested in the real environment and a digital tool enabling cities and the construction sector to create business environments for circular construction projects based on locally available resources.
The conference on CinderOSS - a tool for building circular construction digital hubs in cities will take place on 17 November at 9:30-12:30 CET. It is the final event of the H2020 CINDERELA project, a European initiative striving to make urban construction more circular by recovering and using secondary raw materials that are available locally. It is a side event of the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) taking place in Barcelona on 15-17 November 2022.
The WEEE Forum, the world’s biggest association of e-waste producer responsibility organisations that manage the collection and treatment of electrical and electronic waste, is turning 20 this year. 2022 is also the 20th anniversary of the world’s first supranational Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation on electrical and electronic waste: EU Directive 2002/96/EC.
The EPR Grand Challenge conference to take place in Brussels on 7 December will celebrate these achievements, reflect on the past and ponder the future. What lessons have we learnt over the past two decades? How can we improve the design of EPR legislation? How can legislation set us on a sustainable course and make the economy more circular, more resilient and more self-reliant? How can we collectively address the worldwide societal challenge of e-waste?
The Islandap Advances project and the Canary Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society are hosting a webinar on the circular economy and research into outermost islands on 20 and 21 October 2022 from 11:30 to 13:30 (WEST - Canarian time).
This official side event on 27 October (14:00 – 15:15 CEST), in the context of the 2022 World Circular Economy Forum, will explore how governments and multilateral organisations can tackle environmental challenges in a way that promotes decent jobs and secures livelihoods for all.
Enviroo is organising Circularweekend, consisting of an event in Madrid (in person and online) on Thursday 20 October 2022 and a series of sessions on the Circular Acceleration Programme (online) which will take place each Thursday from 20 October to 24 November. All events and sessions will be in Spanish.
There are three good reasons to attend Circularweekend:
it will help you make your business model circular
you will learn about the benefits and potential of the circular economy
you will see real examples and a specific methodology.
The Nordic Circular Summit is a hybrid summit exploring circular economy in the Nordic region, hosted by Nordic Circular Hotspot and Nordic Innovation. Participants in the event will learn about the region's tremendous circular opportunities—with events offering talks, debates, panel discussions and workshops on topics such as circular tools, regenerative models and materials, communicating circularity, business and finance, energy and resources, construction, manufacturing and much more.
The EU Industry Days is Europe's flagship annual event on the industry. The EESC was present with a workshop on circular procurement. The workshop aimed to walk policy- and decision-makers through the circular procurement process and share the daily concerns and massive change in mindset for those involved in procurement.
AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, is collaborating with the Microbiology and Ecology Department of the Universitat de València on the DURPROMAT project, led by the industrial company DURPLASTICS. They are working to develop a new type of plastic that is more resistant to impact, UV radiation and the action of marine organisms.
The RepescaPlas closed its third year with the collection of 4.2 tonnes of marine litter and excellent results in terms of recovery of this litter through chemical recycling. The project has now entered its fourth phase, in which it is expected to strengthen the industrial-scale management and treatment of marine litter.
At 12.00 CET today, watch the launch of the Global Alliance on Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency (GACERE). The alliance brings together governments and relevant networks and organisations to provide a global impetus for initiatives related to the circular economy transition, resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production, building on efforts being deployed internationally.
In a call for projects the PREVENT Waste Alliance was searching for innovative and sustainable solutions contributing to a circular economy in low- and middle-income countries. The eight selected pilot projects will now be implemented in 15 countries worldwide.
The third Global Bioeconomy Summit (GBS) organised by the International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy (IACGB) was held in an interactive and virtual format in November 2020. The conference report and other highlights from the event are now available.
The New European Bauhaus is a creative and interdisciplinary initiative, a space of encounter to design future ways of living, at the crossroads between art, culture, social inclusion, science and technology, in the name of simplicity, functionality and circularity. Its team is planning a series of information sessions to present the opportunities to contribute to the initiative.
Have your say on industry’s role in supporting the circular economy and improving the EU’s environment! Take part in the public consultation on the revision of the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register. The feedback period closes on 23 March 2021.
Have your say on industry’s role in supporting the circular economy and improving the EU’s environment! Take part in the public consultation on the revision of the Industrial Emissions Directive. The feedback period closes on 23 March 2021.
