Fast fashion and disposing of clothes at the end of their lives are generally considered to be the main issues in terms of textile waste. However, pre-consumer waste is another major problem. This occurs a few steps further back in the manufacturing process, and deals with all waste materials created in the supply chain when a product is being made.
Unlike post-consumer waste, it is easier to keep pre-consumer waste away from a landfill or an incinerator as the fabric or garment is essentially brand new, despite one or more repairable defects.
So, finding ways to re-use or use up the resources created is the key to creating an endless supply of materials without further depleting natural resources.
On 26 October, Environment Park in Turin (Italy) will host the event Hydrogen as Sustainable Driver for Innovation - From the production to the final uses of hydrogen devices for a sustainable and circular supply chain.
Taking an overall lifecycle perspective to production, design, manufacturing and the final use of hydrogen devices, this event will explore the sustainability dimension of some of the main steps in the hydrogen value chain.
The 4th International Conference on Strategies toward Green Deal Implementation – Water, Raw Materials & Energy (ICGreenDeal2023) will take place on 14-15 December. It will tackle climate change and ways to prevent it, including innovative solutions (technological, environmental, economic and social) that can be implemented under the Green Deal Strategies.
The Circular Bioeconomy Day on 24 October serves as a platform for sharing knowledge about bio-based solutions in the spirit of interdisciplinary cooperation.
The event is a part of Circular Week 2023 and brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, including policymakers from the EU, regional government representatives, local administration, businesses, NGOs, academia visionaries, thought leaders and experts, to celebrate and explore the remarkable potential of the circular bioeconomy and the pivotal role of its strategies in driving the transition towards a circular economy.
CEN and CENELEC, together with the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), are carrying out an annual ‘foresight on standardisation’ initiative named Putting Science into Standards (PSIS).
The 2023 PSIS workshop on 12-13 December will focus on Circular technologies for construction. This workshop will bring stakeholders from the research, scientific and standardisation communities together with policy makers to debate standardisation needs for implementing circular technologies in the construction sector.
On 12 October, World Ecolabel Day, the European Commission released statistics showing that the EU Ecolabel – the official voluntary ecolabel of the European Union – is flourishing, with almost 90 000 certified goods and services in 25 different product groups available on the EU market.
Despite growing efforts by political bodies, companies and researchers to support the transition towards a more sustainable and circular economy, we are still behind schedule.
The seminar on 17 October will address the following challenges that are slowing down this transition:
the need for quantitative but easy-to-handle methods to support decision-making in the product design phase, particularly concerning material selection for sustainability,
the potential rebound effects that undercut the expected sustainability gains of moves towards circularity.
As part of London Circular Economy Week, CLG Europe’s Materials and Products Taskforce will be hosting a webinar setting out EU circular economy policy.
This event organised by PwC Germany and the Internationale Bauausstellung 2027 StadtRegion Stuttgart GmbH will launch a circular building and construction network
During the kick-off session taking place in Germany on 7 November, various practitioners and industry experts will give insights into circularity, covering topics such as innovative materials, regulatory frameworks and financial perspectives. An interactive session will also be an opportunity for networking and discussions. The event, which will be held in German and take a national perspective, is relevant to all players active in the buildings and construction sector.
