This report details the research conducted by the Steunpunt Circulaire Economie, covering the results of a consumer survey with over 2000 respondents, as well as four interviews with car-sharing companies and interest groups.

The main objective is to get a better understanding of the position of car-sharing in Flanders, what people think of car-sharing, including the barriers people face, and what impact car-sharing is having on behaviour and the environment.

The report concludes with a set of implications and recommendations for policy relating to car-sharing and its place in the circular economy. 

This short-term assignment attempts to improve our understanding of the data availability of biomass flows within the Flemish economy and develops a methodology to approximate the flow of biomass between different industries. 

This needs to be done in order to maximise their potential and reduce unnecessary waste flows. However, the report finds that the data currently available are insufficient, and considers that the construction of a physical counterpart to monetary input/output tables might be the answer.

The production of Portland cement (PC) is responsible for 8-10 % of the global anthropogenic CO₂ emissions. PC and PC-based blends are the most common binder in concrete production (< 99 % of cases). As PC is accountable for 74-81% of the CO₂ footprint, substantial climate impact reductions for concrete requires eco-innovation at the cement level.

One of the most promising technologies to lower CO₂ emissions consists in partially replacing traditional PC with industrial byproducts displaying cementitious properties, such as blast furnace slag from iron production, or coal combustion fly ashes from power generation, but their availability and properties are rather constrained.

A diversification of local (secondary) raw materials to extend partial substitution of PC is ongoing. 

This study highlights that, while international trade has a vital role to play, policy responses to-date have largely been designed at the national level and in an uncoordinated manner.

ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton says that "the report shines a light on how well-intentioned national policies are inadvertently hindering the adoption of circular solutions in the real-economy. Simply put: the transition to a circular economy can only be enabled at scale by harnessing the power of cross-border trade to unlock economies of scale and comparative advantages. We hope our analysis will serve as a clarion call for a concerted global effort under the auspices of the World Trade Organization to enable new patterns of trade capable of meeting global climate and sustainability goals".

Arup has joined forces with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to produce a report on the value of circular economy (CE) in real estate.

CE offers real estate investors a framework for achieving environmental and social goals while delivering better economic performance. How do real estate business models need to change - apart from eco-design - if CE principles are to scale up in this sector?

The report defines five models to improve financial performance to the benefit of real estate investors and construction clients:

1. Flexible Spaces
2. Adaptable Assets
3. Relocatable Buildings
4. Residual Value
5. Performance Procurement.

In many countries, the government is the single largest purchaser of products, services and works. Green Public Procurement (GPP) enables governments to reduce the environmental impact of their purchases. It also serves as a powerful tool for governments to simultaneously achieve their environmental and development policy objectives.

This report - Green Public Procurement: An Overview of Green Reforms in Country Procurement Systems - provides an overview of international experience in the implementation of GPP. It focuses on the institutional framework that is needed to support the mainstreaming of GPP practices across governments. The intention is to equip practitioners with a broad understanding of the issues they need to consider in the design and implementation of GPP reforms.

The benefits of transitioning to a circular economy outweigh the disadvantages. However, more efforts are needed to move from conceptualisation to implementation. The transition requires a political commitment and the right business mindset. It also requires prioritisation and investment in innovation, the utilisation of new technological solutions, and the right set of skills and competences.

So far, there has been very limited focus on what skills and competences are needed for this transition and whether Nordic STEM education provides them. This report introduces the basis for a Circular Economy Competence Framework for STEM specialists, including a set of essential technical and analytical skills for creating circular solutions.

Circular Threads is a down-to-the-ground research aiming to offer a picture of the practices related to sustainability and circularity in the fashion and textile industry in Northern Italy.

This work represents a starting point to concretely foster the transition towards circular production models in the Italian textile industry. Researchers have developed a tripartite approach (desk research, questionnaire and circularity assessment) with different levels of granularity to measure the sustainability and circularity of the companies present in this area.

The report highlights how few companies in the fashion and textile industry are adopting CE practices and strategies, and a clear lack of knowledge-sharing about the opportunities the CE can bring them on a systemic level.

The French National Institute for Circular Economy (INEC) has published its Programme Ecole circulaire (in FR), whose objective is to use schools - a place familiar to all - as showcases for the circular economy. It contains a series of good practices (for public and private actors, youth) - over 40 territorial initiatives and 50 operational solutions - on the following themes:

1. school buildings (construction, renovation)
2. energy supply
3. inner/outer spatial planning
4. stationery-equipment-furniture
5. school cleaning (products and apparel, staff training)
6. food loop (local and sustainable food, waste, water fountains)
7. logistics (mobility, deliveries)
8. student awareness (waste management, recycling, exchange).

The circular economy is a key element of the European Green Deal as a concept that can support the transition towards a more sustainable growth model. In recent years there has been a growth of circular economy industrial applications, but evidence suggests that the uptake of circular approaches in many sectors is still limited.

The report titled Barriers and enablers for implementing circular economy business models - Evidence from the electrical and electronic equipment and agri-food value chains provides facts and data on barriers and enablers to the implementation of circular economy business models in two value chains that exhibit high levels of waste generation:

1. electrical and electronic equipment and
2. agri-food.