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Innovation and investments

The submission deadlines for LIFE calls for proposals 2022 have been communicated. All LIFE Calls for proposals 2022 are expected to be published on the Funding & tender opportunities portal on 17 May 2022.
Innovation in packaging: toilet paper products wrapped in cardboard
The project of LC Paper consists in the migration of all the plastic packaging of paper products (toilet paper, hand towels...) to cardboard packaging and folding.

The project EffiSludge for LIFE has found a way to clean industrial wastewater with significant environmental benefits. The project team has developed an integrated wastewater treatment method that takes an "industrial symbiosis" approach where the waste from one sector becomes a resource for another.

In this panel discussion, founders of circular enterprises will get the audience up to date on the latest trends, challenges and innovations in the sector.

The ISPIM Innovation Conference 2022, “Innovating in a Digital World”, is a three-day event that brings together world-renowned experts on innovation management.

The Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP 2.0) brings opportunities for businesses. It encourages new business models which generate substantial material savings throughout value chains, making them more resilient and fostering industrial symbiosis. Innovative environmental technologies play a substantial role in helping companies make their business models and value chains inclusive and circular faster and more efficiently.
The EU policies and initiatives under the CEAP (such as the Green Claims Initiative, the Sustainable Products Initiative and the revision of the Ecodesign Directive) supported by sectoral policies also give businesses incentives to look for better alternatives. The webinar on 17 February aims to present the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) scheme and discuss its contribution to linking the circular transformation of industrial ecosystems with the innovation ecosystem and CEAP objectives.

AIMPLAS organises its 1st International Seminar on Biotechnology Applied to the Plastics Sector on 1-2 March 2022, to discuss the main RDI developments and global solutions for the entire value chain. It tackles the use of organic waste to obtain new plastics, enzymatic recycling processes for plastics, the role of biotechnology in recovering complex waste, converting plastic industry scrap, etc.

This local event, in the framework of #EU Industry Week 2022, is an exchange of good practices by European regions addressing circular economy incentives for SMEs through the Taxonomy regulation for the classification of economic activities with a substantial contribution to the transition towards the circular economy. It is targeted to regional government, policymakers, regional agencies, SMEs and their support organisations.

The Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa’s Department of the Environment and Hydraulic Works is organising the IV International Circular Economy Meeting. The event will take place in hybrid form on 2 February 2022. The meeting can be followed online, and international, national and local experts will analyse the state of play of the circular economy. They will also take a closer look at some very interesting subjects, including the new plastics economy, bioeconomy and innovation in the business world.

In this first series of webinars, representatives of the European Investment Bank (EIB) will introduce the newly launched Circular City Centre (C3). This is a competence and resource centre hosted within the EIB and developed with the support from the European Investment Advisory Hub and the European Commission, in cooperation with Circle Economy.
C3 aims to support cities through sharing resources and practical information, providing circular city advisory and raising awareness about relevant financing and advisory opportunities for circular initiatives and projects.
The webinar series is aimed at city representatives and other stakeholders interested in fostering and accelerating the circular economy transition in cities, and is open to all who want to learn more about the different opportunities offered by the circular economy implemented in an urban context.
Maria Blanco Herbosa
The ECESP Coordination Group 2020-2023 discusses on how to build on recent achievements for an even wider outreach
On 21 January 2022 the ECESP Coordination Group 2020-2023 attended its third meeting which focussed on summarising the numerous achievements from the past year, including the recent Dubai Expo and what the ECESP had achieved there, its future plans and the 2022 programme.

The call for nominations of the Meeting Pack 2022 Awards (deadline: 14 February) is targeted at national and international companies whose innovations in sustainable packaging solutions contribute to industry development. Barrier packaging is a challenge for the circular economy.

Welcome to Circular City Week, an open, collaborative and free festival for circular economy-related events hosted by local and global stakeholders in New York City in May 2022!

As the Horizon 2020 research programme becomes Horizon Europe, now is the time to see how great ideas have turned into real projects.
LOOPS is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the cutting-edge research carried out and how it can change our communities. For those who are not familiar with it, LOOPS is a live webinar series committed to exploring innovation in the circular economy.
Plataforma Madeira Circular

Madeira Circular Platform provides a forum bringing together key actors for the transition to the circular economy (CE), including the civil society, businesses, public administrations and the scientific and academic communities.
Its main objective is to create the communication channels necessary to carry out and promote collaborative action and to support the implementation of the guidelines of the Madeira Circular Agenda, which are much needed to encourage the circular movement.
The Platform is a community of stakeholders in the form of a portal to support the Autonomous Region of Madeira in the transition to the CE and featuring good practices leading to the efficient and sustainable use of resources all along the business value chain.

The final part of the LIFE 2021 call for proposals is open! The deadline for applications is 10 March 2022 at 17:00 CET.
Under the topics Circular Economy & Quality of Life and Nature & Biodiversity, specific projects are financed concerning, amongst others, used textiles/textile waste and high quality compost from collected organic waste.
Circusol: Circular business models for a sustainable solar power industry

Circusol - Circular Business Models for the Solar Power Industry - is an Innovation Action project funded by the EU Horizon 2020 programme, bringing together 15 partners from 7 European countries to develop and demonstrate business solutions for the circular economy in the solar power sector.
Photovoltaics (PV) currently accounts for about 5 % of world’s electricity generation capacity. As the PV and EV (electric vehicle) markets grow, so will their demand for raw materials, as well as their "waste" output. How to make sure that the material aspect of the energy transition will also be sustainable? Product-Service Systems (PSS) could be the answer.
Interested in what Circusol is doing (newsletter, events, sharing knowledge, feedback, etc.)? Join its Network!
Tom Rommens
Michael Laermann
Re4circular: a new AI-based solution to improve the sorting and cataloguing of textile waste
Atelier Riforma started as a social economy startup with a pioneer marketplace for upcycled garments. Realising that the sorting and cataloguing of textile waste were too labour-intensive for industry standards, founders came up with the idea of developing an AI-based automated solution - called Re4circular - to create a digitized and truly efficient post-consumer clothing supply chain.
AIMPLAS research: thermoplastic composites for vehicle batteries could improve both energy efficiency and recycling rates
The VETERIA21 project, funded by the Valencian Regional Government and implemented by AIMPLAS, will develop new, more efficient transformation processes for thermoplastic composites that can be used to replace the metal content of electric vehicle batteries.
These materials ensure a major reduction in vehicle weight, thus extending battery life. They are also easily recyclable.

Join MEPs Pietikäinen and Kuhnke, the European Environment Agency and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra on 12 January to discuss how to scale up and mainstream circular business models, in line with a sustainable product policy.

On 17 and 18 January 2022, the ECESP Coordination Group will present Europe's pioneering work done by its Leadership groups in the field of the circular economy before a global audience at the Circular Europe Days in Dubai.

As the Horizon 2020 research programme becomes Horizon Europe, now is the time to see how great ideas have turned into real projects.
LOOPS is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the cutting-edge research carried out and how it can change our communities. For those who are not familiar with it, LOOPS is a live webinar series committed to exploring innovation in the circular economy.
Agenda Madeira Circular
Madeira Circular Agenda

The Madeira Circular Agenda bolsters the position of the Autonomous Region of Madeira (RAM) as a circular economy hotspot.
It involves civil society and public and private entities in a system that seeks to keep materials in the economy, and to promote efficiency, circularity and sustainability as competitiveness and differentiation factors for the regional economy. The Agenda also aims to ensure that RAM companies act as circular economy leaders in their respective sectors, adopting best practices and creating innovative solutions based on circularity principles, particularly in sectors deemed critical for the region, namely agri-food, construction, tourism, social sector and the sea.
Employment impact of the transition to a circular economy: literature study
Employment impact of the transition to a circular economy: literature study

This research paper is the first output of the research line that studies employment and actor analysis for the circular economy. The study aimed to gain insight into how the transition to a more circular economy could affect the labour market, with an emphasis on net job creation or loss, job creation at different skill levels, and geographical job concentration. The methodology used was a combination of literature review and exploratory data analysis, the latter focusing mainly on the Belgian region of Flanders.
Circular Economy Roadmap for Germany
Circular Economy Roadmap for Germany

Within the framework of the Circular Economy Initiative Deutschland (CEID) and its three interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral working groups, more than 130 experts from industry, science and civil society have summed up their findings in the Circular Economy (CE) Roadmap for Germany, which consists of a consolidated opinion addressing society as a whole.
This Roadmap, which has focused - right from the beginning - on shaping a consistent and common target vision for a circular economy in 2030, is a scientifically-based framework for action that systemically describes the necessary steps for Germany to transition to a CE and provides decision-makers from politics, industry and science with concrete recommendations for action.