EU-funded projects CircularInvest and DEFINITE-CCRI organise an engaging webinar focused on driving circular innovation in urban environments, which will offer insightful discussions, inspiring stories, and opportunities for project development and collaborative networking, as the transformative power of circular practices in cities is explored.

AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, will hold the second edition of PLASREC, its International Seminar on Plastics Recycling, on 15 and 16 November 2023.

For two days, experts will discuss the importance of plastic waste recycling and recovery in a circular economy model that makes it possible to use different kinds of waste as new resources and sustainable raw materials. Also the challenges and opportunities facing the plastics recycling sector will be analysed with the support of around 20 sponsors, media partners and collaborating companies. 

In six sessions, 26 speakers will discuss leading topics affecting the sector, such as innovation in collection and sorting, mechanical and chemical recycling technologies, the challenges facing the sector and advanced techniques.

Nordic Circular Summit is the biggest annual conference on the circular economy in the Nordic region. NCS2023 will take place on 17–18 October, both in person in Reykjavik, Iceland and online. It will be co-hosted by Nordic Circular Hotspot and Nordic Innovation and is an official World Circular Economy Forum Side Event and a pre-event to the prestigious Arctic Circle Assembly.

The Expert Forum on Materials for Battery Innovation will take place on 11 October in Darmstadt. It will spotlight the vital role that materials play in driving innovation in the field of batteries. Recognising the increasing importance of energy storage for various applications, stakeholders from the EIT RawMaterials network will gather to discuss cutting-edge materials research, manufacturing techniques and sourcing principles that can enhance battery performance, safety and sustainability.

The forum will provide a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange to accelerate the development of advanced battery technologies and skill sets.

The Expert Forum on Photovoltaic and Hydrogen Materials Driving the Net-Zero Transition will take place on 21 September 2023. It is the first in the Expert Forum Series happening across Europe and will delve into the pivotal role played by materials in facilitating the transition to a future with zero carbon emissions.

This forum will focus on the significance of materials in hydrogen and solar energy. It will explore the latest developments in materials, science and engineering by bringing together stakeholders from academia, industry and research. These developments have the potential to enable the efficient and sustainable production and utilisation of hydrogen, and to enhance the performance and circularity of solar energy systems.

The European Commission is spearheading initiatives to reduce carbon emissions in European buildings, with particular emphasis on the embodied carbon in construction materials. The Whole Life Carbon Roadmap is set to be unveiled in autumn 2023, focusing on CO₂ reduction throughout a building's lifespan.

Concurrently, the European cement industry aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and has already outlined its vision in the 2020 Carbon Neutrality Roadmap. The conference on 24 October will explore sustainable cement/concrete use in buildings, strategies to lower carbon footprints throughout building lifecycles, and the role of circularity in decarbonisation, while evaluating supportive policy frameworks.

This EC GPP Helpdesk webinar on 27 September will analyse how public procurement can be used as a strategic tool to support the upskilling and reskilling of the construction workforce and help futureproof the European construction sector.