This report, drawn up by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, describes innovation competition as a method of tackling major environmental challenges, specifically how to provide food sustainably and resource-efficiently in the future.
Two teams with expertise in plastics, logistics and sustainability developed solutions focused on a more regional food supply enabling us to reduce the amount of plastic, packaging and transport used. The winning submission is a conversion tool describing the principles of sustainable production and consumption of food.
This report explores the implications of the transition towards the circular economy for the Scottish labour market. It presents a baseline measurement of the number and geographical distribution of jobs currently related to the circular economy in Scotland and explores the types of circular jobs, roles and skills associated with opportunity areas in three value chains: construction, bioeconomy and capital equipment.
Circle Economy and Zero Waste Scotland designed this report to support enterprise agencies, workforce development, governments, universities, employers and other representatives to recognise the potential of the circular economy for the Scottish labour market and the related skills development needs of its workforce as part of a just transition.
This publication sets out the state of play of the circular economy concept in Serbia and identifies the main obstacles that may hamper the shift to the circular economy paradigm. It also includes circular economy initiatives in Serbia and an analysis of linkages between the circular economy concept and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Addressing the circular economy only through waste management shows that the circular economy concept is still in its infancy in Serbia. According to the conclusions, the circular economy goes beyond
This reflection paper explains how materials will enable solutions for a healthy, safe, resilient society and stronger economy to answer citizen demands. It includes strategic research agendas (SRAs), proposals, solutions, and recommendations of Alliance for Materials A4M community towards Horizon Europe in the post-COVID scenario. COVID-19 has affected the development of current strategies to face societal challenges and led to a reflection on a new global economic model where circular economy will play a prominent role.
The paper puts forward proposals for strategic research and innovation activities to the European Commission, Member States, and the European Parliament, taking into account the objectives of the Green Deal Priorities and Recovery Plan.
The Circular Cities Week report presents the outcomes of the global event Circular Cities Week including circular challenges and opportunities for cities. It represents a crowdsourced tool for cities worldwide to implement the circular model.
The report explores the association between municipalities pursuing circular economy policy and investments in circular business that create jobs. It also takes a closer look at how businesses perceive this municipal support for circular economy.
The report summarises the findings of a study by the Circular Economy Club (CEC) and the CEC local chapters. The key learnings are as follows:
It is a collection of contributions by different authors focusing on a proposal for indicators to monitor circular economy in Poland. A large part of the work consists in explaining that circular economy is more than just waste management.
The publication is in Polish, but abstracts of the different contributions are available in English at the end of the book (from page 203 onwards).
This European Environmental Agency Report presents an analysis of approaches and identifies trends, similarities and new directions taken by countries in resource efficiency and circular economy (CE). It is based exclusively on data provided by 32 Eionet members.
Its main objective is to stimulate exchange of information and good practice between countries and to support capacity building within Eionet.
Another objective is to contribute to various policy processes, including work carried out by European Commission, European Parliament and International Resource Panel.
The report addresses 6 elements:
material resource efficiency and CE in the EU
policy framework
monitoring and targets
examples of innovative approaches and good practice
The brochure highlights Dutch circular frontrunners that make a change - just a fraction of the initiatives, organisations and technologies available. Only the most inspiring examples have been selected, with a potential to be upscaled and implemented in other parts of the world, hoping that they will also inspire and encourage others to collaborate and make a change.
Bio-waste – mainly food and garden waste – is a key waste stream with a high potential for contributing to a more circular economy.
This European Environmental Agency Report provides an overview of bio-waste generation, prevention, collection, and treatment in Europe.
Bio-waste accounts for more than 34 % of the municipal solid waste. Many countries in Europe are far from capturing bio-waste's full potential. Food waste accounts for nearly 60 % of all bio-waste from households and similar sources. Preventing it is felt as an ethical responsibility for society.
Composting (with oxygen) and anaerobic digestion (without) are currently the two most widely applied treatment techniques. The latter generates biogas - renewable energy - and tends to deliver higher environmental benefits.
Many European countries still lack a national strategic roadmap for transposing the European directives at national level.
Some outstanding issues include the need to have clearer operational guidelines for the adoption of circular models and metrics for monitoring the transition towards circular models.
This study has been prepared in collaboration with Enel and with the scientific contribution of Enel Foundation. It unfolds in three main parts:
State-of-the-art of Circular Economy in the European Union
An innovative assessment model for socio-economic and environmental benefits of Circular Economy in the EU, with a focus on Italy, Romania, and Spain
Policy proposals for successfully managing the transition from a linear to a circular world.