European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform

The Polish Circular Hotspot is a public-private platform bringing together national and local government bodies with businesses, entrepreneurs, the scientific community and civil society to jointly develop and apply the concept of a circular economy in Poland.

The hotspot has begun the following activities to develop and implement circular innovations:

• organising events (sectoral, regional, national) to analyse specific problems and legislative issues such as workshops on circular procurement for public agencies

• assisting with drafting strategies and roadmaps while supporting the establishment of sectoral partnerships for practical circular solutions

• networking businesses to exchange knowledge, showcase innovations and connecting Polish entrepreneurs with partners abroad, e.g. through study visits and B2B monitoring sessions with the support of the Dutch, Swedish, German, French and Danish Embassies.

• educating those interested in the circular economy concept, for example by organising the national educational campaign ‘Polish Circular Week’

Becoming a member of the Polish Circular Hotspot enables you to work with Polish and foreign partners in building innovative solutions and exchanging best practice across sectors. The hotspot also provides its members with opportunities to shape the debate on emerging circular economy legislation and collaborate in funding projects through partnerships.

What is the Circular Economy Industry Platform about?

Circulary is a web tool managed by BusinessEurope and its national members that contributes to the EU’s agenda on circular economy.

It continuously brings new examples of innovative ways in which industry, SMEs and other business add to the circular economy in Europe, and features over 150 prime examples of industrial best practice in circular economy as of November 2018. At the same time, it highlights the regulatory and non-regulatory challenges these businesses still face to upscale their current initiatives or to start new ones. As such the platform is a unique bottom-up business-led hub of knowledge and expertise.

Why should your company engage?

• To showcase what your company is already doing on circular economy. By showing the extent to which business is already engaged into this transformation process, you will help make EU policy fit-for-purpose.
• To raise your concerns on barriers and obstacles. The analysis of common trends in barriers and obstacles that you and other companies face to become circular will help draw the attention of policymakers.
• To make your voice heard on upcoming EU policy initiatives. By gathering your “on the ground” practical experiences, BusinessEurope will be in a stronger position to advocate the business voice towards European institutions.
• To develop your network. The platform is a unique way for you to connect to other companies on circular economy, either by being contacted by others because of your expertise or by being able to see what is happening elsewhere.
• To access the EU / Brussels debate on circular economy. Based on what we receive from you and others, BusinessEurope intends as much as possible to organise events, consultations and promotion of the platform and its participating community.

The NoAW project is dealing with innovative approaches to turn agricultural waste into ecological and economic assets. The NoAW Knowledge Exchange Stakeholder Platform aims to:

• provide a forum for knowledge, information exchange and discussion with agro-food businesses, farmers, biogas processors, food companies, scientific community, authorities relating to agro-waste management and valorisation issues in the light of their needs and expectations.
• foster an understanding of what is new in agriculture waste management from technical, environmental and business concepts / cross-chain valorisation aspects, including development opportunities and potential applications of innovative bio-processes and bio-products.
• provide guidance to NoAW based on the key activities of the members of the KESP, their needs and problems to ensure that the project activities and outcomes are focused on priority areas and the proposed processes and technologies will meet the expectations of the stakeholders.

The NoAW project is coordinated by INRA (France) and the consortium involves 32 partners from universities, public research organizations and other institutions from a dozen countries.

The Communication on Circular Economy, adopted in 2015, calls on the Commission to establish a Platform dedicated to food waste prevention. Thus the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste (FLW) was established in 2016, as an informal European Commission expert group bringing together EU institutions, international organisations, experts from Member States and actors in the food value chain including consumer and other non-governmental organisations.

The Platform aids the Commission in identifying and prioritising actions to be taken at EU level in order to prevent food losses and food waste and supports all actors in identifying and implementing appropriate actions to take at national, regional and local levels. Its work is of a horizontal nature, aiming to identify opportunities for food waste prevention across the food production and consumption chain and facilitate inter-sector cooperation.

The most recent estimates of European food waste levels (FUSIONS, 2016) reveal that 70% of EU food waste arises in the household, food service and retail sectors, with production and processing sectors contributing the remaining 30%. The EU and Member States are committed to meeting Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, adopted in September 2015, which targets to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030 and reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains.

All relevant documents related to the work of the Platform (such as agendas, minutes and participants' submissions) can be found on the Commission's dedicated food waste website

The Luxembourg EcoInnovation Cluster, managed by Luxinnovation, the National Agency for Innovation and Research, is an active network that brings together and supports various players of the clean technologies sector with the ultimate goal of turning the concept of circular economy into a reality in Luxembourg. The cluster's objectives are the following:

• diversify the activities of the Luxembourg companies thus allowing them to gain and to develop new capabilities in the clean technologies field;
• contribute to the development of new environmental solutions in the field of eco-technologies and sustainable construction;
• raise public awareness to the uptake of “green technologies”;
• build public-private partnerships in order to develop new collaborative projects of common interest;
• encourage networking between public and private actors at the national and international level.

The cluster provides the following services:

• access to practical and technical information related to specific questions on eco-innovation;
• advice on national and European funding opportunities for clean technologies;
• value-added information on emerging technologies and markets.

The Luxembourg Wood Cluster was set up in 2016 as a platform for exchange between all players in the wood sector, spanning from wood production to the end consumers of wood products. Its structure is managed by Luxinnovation, the National Agency for Innovation and Research.

As a meeting point for innovative, public and private organisations in the region – companies as well as research centres – the Wood Cluster brings together know-how and facilitates the sharing of experience in Luxembourg and beyond. Optimising the market release and the use of wood resources in order to lengthen their life cycles, and creating and enhancing regional wood product chains are among its objectives.

Its underlying logic is that of improving the recovery of this sustainable material par excellence at local and regional level. To this end, the Cluster:

• promotes the wood sector as a whole,
• organises networking events for its members ("Meet a member"),
• organises conferences and thematic visits, 
• manages technical working groups around the themes of wood production, processing and use,
• looks for innovative projects and new technologies at national and international level, 
• identifies and manages strategic flagship projects, and
• supports sectoral SMEs and start-ups.

"Circular Futures - Plattform Kreislaufwirtschaft Österreich" is a solution-oriented multistakeholder platform that brings together professionals across relevant industries, the administration, politics, science and civil society in Austria. Circular Futures acts as a think-tank, incubator, and catalyst for projects and initiatives necessary for a successful transition to a circular economy in Austria.

Circular Futures offers:

• A website that serves as a central information and communication platform;
• Knowledge events on the circular economy to inform and mobilise stakeholders;
• Targeted capacity-building for relevant stakeholders through workshops, trainings, and the publication of project information;
• The coordination of local activities and strengthening of regional networks; and
• The involvement of relevant stakeholders in political processes (consultations, strategy/guideline developments, etc.) through information-sharing and mobilization.

Circular Futures AT is a collaboration between the Umweltdachverband and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), the Reuse and Repair Network Austria (RepaNet), and the Verband Abfallberatung Österreich (VABÖ).

The Upper Autrian Cleantech-Cluster networks all actors from the resource supplier, to the manufacturer, industrial researcher, to mechanical engineers, recyclers, and disposers in order to find joint solutions and develop new technologies. We cooperate with our 10 cluster initiatives in the Upper Austrian business support agency and 2000 partner companies, whose activities range from plastics, to automotive, furniture and wood construction, food, medical technology, mechatronics, IT, logistics, and HR, In order to support projects for SMEs in particular, the cluster also supports EU funding applications, thus offering its partners an internationally mature circular economy toolbox.

THEMES and EXPERTISE in the network:

• Material efficiency in production
• Recycling
• Recovery
• Disposal
• Circular design
• Business Models
• Initial and continuing education
• Research

SERVICES:

• Cross-sector networking with researchers, companies, associations (regional, national, international)
• Project development
• Project Management
• Process support through conception, moderation of workshops, work meetings, events
• Funding advice

The “Cyprus Circular Economy Platform” aims to collect circular economy good practices and events from all stakeholders that can contribute to the transition to a circular economy across Cyprus. For industries, enterprises, local authorities, public bodies, associations, NGOs etc that have a good practice to demonstrate or an event to share, regarding the circular economy in Cyprus, this is the place to do it.

The Cyprus Circular Economy Platform was co-created by the European Commission Representation in Cyprus and the Cyprus Federation of Employers & Industrialists (OEB) and was registered as a partner for the 2018 EU Green Week.

The European Resource Efficiency Knowledge Centre (EREK for short) is here to help European companies, especially SMEs, save energy, material and water costs. We provide tools, information and business opportunities that show you new and better ways to be resource efficient and benefit from circular economy business models which turn waste into an asset. EREK also supports national, regional and local organisations across Europe that work with SMEs to improve their environmental performance, helping them to become more resource efficient.

SMEs can get the following benefits thanks to EREK’s tools and services:

• Access to knowledge on best available technologies and business models
• Better control of energy, water and material costs
• Compliance checks for upcoming regulations
• Become less dependent on suppliers
• Demonstrate return on investment when adopting resource efficient measures Information on funding sources and technology providers
• Help building a green image which enables the targeting of new customer segments

EREK offers the following to SME intermediaries:

• Tools and instruments for businesses to assess their saving potentials
• Access to top international knowledge, technical expertise and practices on resource efficiency
• Capacity-building workshops and networking events Online training opportunities to learn from resource efficiency experts
• Overview of relevant support programmes available on European, national and regional levels
• Updates on professional events within the community

Concrete activities include:

• European Resource Efficiency Self-Assessment Tool for SMEs
• Catalogue of Resource Efficiency Improvement Measures
• European Resource Efficiency Information Database
• Online EREK platform
• Structured knowledge on resource efficiency best practices
• News, trends, and information on support programmes
• Database and managed European network of the national and regional organisation providing support to SMEs in resource efficiency measures
• Capacity-building and training workshops
• Knowledge resources, expertise and sharing

EREK is an initiative of the European Commission and is implemented by a consortium of organisations including Technopolis Group, VDI Zentrum Ressourceneffizienz (DE), WRAP (UK), Motiva (FI), Enviros (CZ), WAAT and Arctik (BE).