The company O.C.O Technology Limited recycles a hazardous by-product of waste incineration in order to produce a carbon-negative material for the construction industry.
With FarmacoAmico, CiboAmico and Cambia il Finale, the HERA has moved beyond its core business to actively prevent medicines, food and bulky goods from becoming waste.
Valorisation of urban biowastes into key strategic resources (proteins and fertilisers) in a cascading process.
Karün is a Swedish-Chilean company producing sunglass frames entirely from discarded fishing nets and jeans, collected in Patagonia.
Türmerleim is a company that produces adhesives, including for reusable bottles. Its adhesives have a high level of alkaline solubility, making them easy to remove and so promoting the reuse and recycling of bottles.
Cycle Terre project aims to set up an industrial process to reuse soil extracted from the excavation sites of the new subway and other construction sites in Sevran, France.
Founded in 2012 with the objective of creating high-quality eyewear from oil-free or recycled materials, producing Dick Moby sunglasses and eyeglasses follows a circular approach: lowering environmental compared to similar fashion accessories.
REDEL is an energy provider in Italy. Its activities comprise decommissioning outdated energy installations. The PVC Upcycling project aims to initiate a circular model for reclaiming resources by:
Giovanardi recycles technical acrylic textiles from solar protection industry, to create the Raytent line of high-quality yarns and fabrics.
Werflink is an online sharing platform on which construction sites and companies and can share equipment, materials, resources, freight space and facilities. The platform has been set up in collaboration with the Flemish Construction Confederation, construction company BESIX, Circular Flanders and FLOOW2, to create a more circular construction sector.
This report investigates how a more circular economy can contribute to cutting CO2 emissions. It explores a broad range of opportunities for the four largest materials in terms of emissions (steel, plastics, aluminium, and cement) and two large use segments for these materials (passenger cars and buildings). The key conclusion is that a more circular economy can make deep cuts to emissions from heavy industry: in an ambitious scenario, as much as 296 million tons CO2 per year in the EU by 2050, out of 530 Mt in total – and some 3.6 billion tonnes per year globally. Making better use of the materials that already exist in the economy thus can take EU industry halfway towards net-zero emissions. Moreover, doing so often is economically attractive. Initiatives for a more circular economy therefore deserve a central place in EU climate and industrial policy.
Society and businesses are becoming increasingly aware that the resources needed for products are not infinite. There is growing pressure on the availability of resources due to a variety of factors including the expected increase in global consumption of goods spurred by a growing global middle class.
The report aims to introduce the various business risks of common ‘linear economy’ business practices and start a dialogue with the financial and business community about their implications. Building on this report, there is an objective to explore further directions to better understand and model them. Hopefuly, these risks will one day become an integral part of investment decisions to ensure better investment decisions that achieve long-term stability and growth.
The present guidelines have been developed by ACR+ in the framework of its Circular Europe Network initiative (CEN: www.circular-europe-network.eu).
It aims at explaining the potential role of local and regional authorities, and at developing guidelines to help them draw up integrated and efficient circular economy plans. Even though acknowledging the broader concept, these guidelines focus mainly on materials, considering that it is difficult for local and regional authorities to encompass all topics at once and since material resources represent the core element of circular economy.
The guidelines clarify the circular economy concept from a local or regional authority's perspective (Part 1) and propose key steps and elements to include in a local or regional circular economy strategy (Part 2).
The present document should serve as a set of first guidelines in the subject, particularly for the members of the Circular Europe Network, and is intended to be completed with examples of best practices to set such strategies, as well as concrete cases of circular economy.
The document is also available in Catalan, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. For more information, please click here.
This paper reviews the existing literature on modelling the macroeconomic consequences of the transition to a circular economy. It provides insights into the current state of the art on modelling policies to improve resource efficiency and the transition to a circular economy by examining 24 modelling-based assessments of a circular economy transition. Four key conclusions emerge from this literature. First, most models find that a transition to a more circular economy – with an associated reduction in resource extraction and waste generation – could have an insignificant or even positive impact on aggregate macroeconomic outcomes. Second, all models highlight the potential re-allocation effects – both between sectors and regions – that the introduction of circular economy enabling policies could have. Third, certain types of macroeconomic model are more appropriate for assessing the transition than others, notably due to their accounting of interactions between sectors and macroeconomic feedbacks. Fourth, of the assumptions that are fed into these models – those concerning future rates of productivity growth, the substitutability between different material types, and future consumption patterns – are key determinants of model outcomes.
Achieving the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement climate targets will hinge upon the global transition to a low-carbon circular economy. Replacing finite and fossil-based materials with responsibly managed renewable materials could decrease carbon emissions whilst reducing dependency on finite resources.
However, the role that renewable materials can play in the circular economy is often under-rated, and, so far, most of the conversation has focussed on biodegradability, instead of the role they could play in reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling streams. The aim of the Collaborative Project was to start a conversation on the role of renewables in the circular economy, and in order to do this, set out the opportunities and challenges that companies face when using/shifting to renewable materials today and propose a shared vision for the future.
In order to support public purchasers to leverage support for a transition to a circular economy, in October 2017 the European Commission published 'Public Procurement for a Circular Economy'. This brochure contains a range of good practice case studies as well as guidance on integrating circular economy principles into procurement.
This report is the result of a collaborative project which was carried out by members of the Circular Economy 100, a program curated by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The participants aimed to: (1) understand the implications of a circular economy on the business and financing models of companies; (2) determine how a transition to a circular economy can be supported and accelerated by the financial system; and (3) co-develop and share communication strategies and tools to make the transition clear and tangible to our colleagues, clients, and academics.
To support the transition to the circular economy, governance, regulations and business models will play a crucial role. More importantly, circular business models (CBMs) would allow the retention of an asset at its highest value over time and support enhancement of natural capital. Different CBMs will be required at different stages of a lifecycle of an asset and may work independently or collaboratively. Successful implementation of these business models will require action from designers, suppliers, service providers, contractors and end-of-life companies by sharing materials, systems, energy, as well as information and services.
The circular economy offers a new way of looking at the relationships between markets, customers and our use of resources. It uses innovative new business models and designs, disruptive technologies and reverse logistics to transform the current ‘take, make, dispose’ economic model. Circular initiatives work to three principles of designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use and regenerating natural systems.
Highlighting that many retailers are already tapping into circular economy thinking, this report is the output of a Collaborative Project carried out by Arizona State University, Cranfield University, eBay, Kingfisher, PA Consulting, Philips, Stuffstr and Wrap to identify new ways of working to generate value, discover new business opportunities and reduce resource costs - strategies which fundamentally change the relationship these retailers have with customers.
The circular economy offers business leaders and government a clear opportunity for long-term growth that is less dependent on cheap materials and energy, and which can restore and regenerate natural capital. This report provides an actionable toolkit for policymakers who wish to embark on a circular economy transformation. It identifies eight key insights, details policy options, opportunities and barriers, and demonstrates how the tools may be applied in a pilot study of Denmark. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation developed the circular economy toolkit with key collaborators the Danish Business Authority and Danish Environmental Protection Agency, analytical support by the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment, macroeconomic and policy analysis by NERA Economic Consulting, and funding from MAVA Foundation.
The Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional do Centro (CCDRC) together with the University of Coimbra (UC) are hosting an Autumn Course on Circular Economy.
On 10 October 2019, the Interreg Project REPLACE (REgional PoLicy Actions for Circular Economy) and European Economic and Social Committee will host a side event of the European Week of Regions and Cities on how regional authorities can make use of the SCREEN framework in their circular economy policy instruments.
Join this research dissemination workshop by the University of York on 5 November 2019 to discover more about its practical research on businesses implementing circular economy models.
Despite 66% of the world’s population being covered by e-waste legislation, only 20% of global e-waste is recycled each year. This means 40 million tonnes of e-waste end up outside of the waste infrastructure, and to help address this huge issue, the WEEE Forum launched the first International E-Waste Day in 2018. Organisations from across the world can get involved by organising activities on 14 October 2019 to unite in tackling the e-waste challenge.
Join Digitally Circular for a bi-monthly networking event to accelerate circular economy development in Espoo 21 August 2019
Join a team of students and young professionals for a six-day bootcamp tackling sustainability challenges in textiles and fashion, presented by Dutch companies.
Join the German Institute for Standardisation on 27 September 2019 for a free conference on How standardisation can support innnovation for a circular economy
Join the Interreg Mediteranean Blue and Green Growth communities in Brussels on 19 -20 September 2019 for 2 days of capacity building and knowledge exchange - including a showcase of 28 projects helping a sustainable transition on Europe's Southern coast.
The conference Sustainable Consumption for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Worldwide will take place on 30 September in Berlin.
The European Days for Sustainable Circular Economy will promote a low-carbon, climate resilient circular economy. This flagship event will be held on 30 September–1 October in Helsinki in the context of Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The event will consist of three parallel conferences, one of which is the CE 2019 Conference – Sustainable transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient circular economy: creating the knowledge base.
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.
