Some circular economy practitioners believe that switching to biomass is the best way to implement the circular economy. However, the circular economy is not synonymous with bioeconomy. The circular economy is about retaining the value of materials for as long as possible, and consequently it cannot be achieved simply by adding more and more primary biomass to the economy. Demand for biomass is increasing rapidly yet supply is limited, leading to problems for climate and biodiversity.

Join our panellists on 13 June at 10:00 - 11:30 CEST to discuss the intersections between the circular economy, bioeconomy, climate change and biodiversity. The event will explore the circular economy's role in balancing biomass supply and demand and reducing negative impacts on biodiversity and climate change.

Imagine the future of food packaging!

We must better link the EU circular economy agenda with food security and safety-related challenges. The packaging industry can support the EU's sustainability ambitions for recyclable packaging by encouraging innovations and circular actions along the whole value chain.

How can the revised PPWD secure investments in sustainable food packaging solutions? And what role can consumers play when it comes to the implementation of the PPWD in practice? These are some points to discuss in September 2023 (date to be determined) during the #EUCircularTalks.

The Right to Repair movement has been gathering steam across Europe and beyond. This is reflected in the EU agenda, with the need to promote repairability and long-lasting products stipulated in the European Green Deal and the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. The ECESP Leadership Group on Sustainable products and design held this #EUCircularTalks on 27 April at 10:00 – 11:30 CEST. Experts discussed the EU’s policy landscape on repair and considered what else is needed to make the right to repair a reality.

The ECESP Leadership Group on Circular procurement and the Leadership Group on Social Circular Hubs invite you on 12 January 2023 to their next joint #EUCircularTalks. Join the panelists to discuss the social impact of procurement in a circular Europe for developing countries. You will also learn how European procurement proceedings can integrate social aspects. The event will focus on the theory and dive into very concrete cases.

How does the proposed EU Textile Strategy and related legislative proposals, such as the ESPR, address circular business models? What policy tools and mechanisms should be explored and developed on the road to 2030 to accelerate the update of circular business models in apparel and textiles?

These and other questions will be tackled in the webinar on 8 February at 14:00 CET, during which the European Commission and the European Parliament will explain the implications of Europe’s textile policies for circular business models, and representatives from the apparel industry, NGO and academic voices will express how they perceive the impact of the latest policy proposals and whether more needs to be done to incentivise reuse and repair of textile products in the EU.

What does “sustainable” mean? With the EU Taxonomy a common classification system for sustainable economic activity was put in place to find a common language and clear definition of sustainability.

The ECESP Leadership Group on Building and Infrastructure invites you on 16 January:

1. to reflect on taxonomy in general terms; what is it? How can existing gaps in information, tools, and data be tackled?
2. to gather feedback from the market and discuss the usability of the taxonomy; what it means for the Buildings & Infrastructure sector, especially the overwhelming majority of SMEs in the construction sector.

This EU Circular Talk on 8 December will focus on the role of network governance; building a coalition of partners willing to contribute to transformational changes will promote the implementation of circular economy roadmaps at national and local levels. One of the main objectives of the session is to present and discuss the role of transition brokers in accelerating circular initiatives.

These intermediaries (also hub leaders) coordinate the circular transition with different actors (such as industry, local governments, research and educational institutes and civil society). Transition brokers can fulfil various functions in setting up network governance, from helping build circular initiatives to upscaling them by linking successful local case studies to national policy and agenda setting.

This event is an Accelerator Session at the World Circular Economy Forum 2022.

The ECESP Leadership Group on Social Enterprise invites you to attend this #EUCircularTalks event on 29 November from 14:00 - 16:00 CET.
Join us and discuss how collaboration between social enterprises, the public and private sectors and others can act as a catalyst for supporting and growing social enterprises' impact in the circular economy.

Key stakeholders, from large and small social enterprises to the public sector and researchers, will highlight partnership challenges and opportunities. After the event, you will have the opportunity to continue the discussion with our panellists via SpatialChat from 15:30 to 16:00 CET.

Infrastructure makes up a significant part of the built environment and is the backbone of a healthy economy. Delivering infrastructure, however, is becoming increasingly challenging. The sector has a significant environmental impact from material use, waste production and CO2 emissions.

As European economies are highly material import dependent, closing infrastructure material cycles at the European level is essential to address these challenges. It reduces pressure on the environment, enhances material supply security, increases competitiveness, innovation, and growth and creates jobs. But how can we achieve that? What challenges and opportunities for closing material cycles in infrastructure through European cooperation?

The ECESP leadership group on Building and Infrastructure invites you to identify blind spots and activate European cooperation for closing infrastructure material cycles. Join our panellists in an open discussion about closing material cycles at the EU level: what are the stakes, obstacles, and opportunities? What should be arranged at the EU level from a policy and market perspective to make that happen? Can the different value chain stakeholders collaborate on that?

Construction materials and products represent about 50% of all raw materials extracted from the earth's crust. Construction and demolition activities represent 50% of all waste generated.

The ECESP Leadership Group on Buildings and Infrastructure invites you to attend this #EUCircularTalks on 20 October from 10:00 to noon CEST. Join the expert panel to find out just how effective the construction system is in using secondary materials from the supply chain and the advantages of that in terms of CO₂ emissions and embodied energy using secondary materials.

Registration is now open.