This report describes what Circle Economy achieved in 2024.
In 2024, they rolled out a new approach to delivering impact which focused on three key objectives to accelerate the global transition to a circular economy: empowering decision-makers (they provided indicators and evidence to ensure accountability in circular economy ambitions), financial support for solutions (they raised sufficient financial capital for circular and just solutions) and building capacity (this involved equipping key actors with the tools needed to implement circular solutions).
The report gives figures to describe their impact. For instance, they have directly supported over 970 businesses and organisations and trained over 7200 people in circular economy principles.
This CEPS In-Depth Analysis examines the role, state of play and future prospects of standardisation of critical raw materials (CRM) from an EU perspective.
It begins with an overview of the key benefits and actors in both the EU and global technical standardisation system.
It then maps key recent developments and initiatives in CRM standardisation, in the EU and globally. Drawing on consultations with experts, it identifies three fundamental risks and challenges: the limited participation of EU stakeholders and experts, specific content gaps in recycling and traceability, and a highly fragmented ESG standardisation landscape.
Lastly, it provides policy recommendations to help address these challenges and enhance the EU’s role in CRM standardisation.
This report is the outcome of a collaborative endeavour by IFC, the Romanian Government, PIVOT-C and FEPRA GROUP.
A year of in-depth consultations and workshops (2023-2024) involving Romanian experts from the public and private sectors resulted in a guide setting out operational actions and recommendations for Romania's circular economy transition. The recommendations are intended for the Romanian government and central authorities and aim to facilitate the implementation of the National Circular Economy Strategy and the Circular Economy Action Plan launched in 2023.
The proposals cover regulatory frameworks, financial incentives, educational initiatives and infrastructure development.
This publication featuring Holland Circular Hotspot shows the state of play and potential of circularity within the textile value chain in the Netherlands and beyond.
It aims to engage international dialogue on accelerating the transition to a fully circular textile economy, with policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs, consumers and investors.
The challenges of achieving sustainability and circularity in textiles are complex and interconnected, from reducing environmental impact to improving labour conditions. This underscores the importance of international and multi-stakeholder collaboration to drive innovation, scale up sustainable practices and create a thriving circular textile industry.
INEC, a leading think tank on issues related to the preservation of natural resources, has published its European Resource Programme.
It defines ways to preserve natural resources, focusing on six resources that will be crucial for energy, the economy and the environment: water, wood, li-ion batteries, permanent magnets, copper and building materials.
The Circular Economy package has merely resulted in measures targeting consumers rather than authorities. Positive initiatives such as the digital product passport aside, this vision of the circular economy is not sufficiently integrated into decarbonisation goals. INEC's realistic measures, the result of broad debate between stakeholders, aim to transform the economy and make it genuinely circular.
Driven by government support, decarbonisation efforts and technological advancements, electric vehicles – with their lithium-ion batteries – are becoming increasingly common. Electric vehicles produce fewer emissions than combustion engine ones, but fewer is not zero. The emissions they do produce across their lifespan (production, use, recycling) need to be mapped.
Calculating their carbon footprint (the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the production, use and end-of-life of a product or service) is key and required by the Batteries Regulation (EU) 2023/1542.
This paper looks at the challenges of calculating batteries’ carbon footprint and implementing the relevant obligations for companies introducing batteries into the EU market.
The Sustainable Fashion Academy launched the Scandinavian Textile Initiative for Climate Action (STICA) in collaboration with various apparel and textile companies. STICA aims to ensure that the Nordic region and Europe reduce their climate impacts in line with the 1.5°C global warming pathway, while transforming their businesses and the industry.
Signatories to STICA undertake to set targets on scopes 1 to 3 and report back. The focus of this report is emissions reduction, and circular business models are presented as part of the solution. The information provided by the signatory companies as part of their reporting covers circular business models, breaking down how these contribute to scope 3 reduction and their place in the companies' climate action transition plans.
Berlin began its circular economy transition in 2020 with the adoption of the Waste Management Concept 2020-2030, aiming to implement measures to reduce household, water and construction waste. To advance this transition, it established the Coordination Office for Circular Economy, Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection in Business in 2022 and the Zero Waste Agency in 2023, and commissioned a study to analyse the circular economy’s potential in the industrial sector.
Despite these efforts, the circular economy in Berlin is still often perceived only in terms of sustainable waste management. This paper looks at challenges holding back progress on the circular economy, including policy coherence, and provides recommendations to accelerate the transition.
Multilateral development banks have a key role to play in supporting and financing circular approaches. Recognising this, a group of these banks came together to discuss how to better support the circular economy and promote an exchange of knowledge with the private sector, civil society, and local, regional and national authorities.
This report is a result of their work. It presents 20 case studies from around the world that highlight the kinds of support on offer, such as advisory activities, public-sector lending, private-sector investments and backing for the financial sector. Sharing these experiences is important for identifying and adopting successful approaches that can be replicated and scaled up around the world.
This analysis report was prepared in connection with the EU-funded Wood2Wood project and explores opportunities to advance the circular economy and overcome challenges to waste wood utilisation through supportive policy.
It outlines recommendations and policy options for improving waste wood utilisation through harmonised multi-criteria waste wood classification, refined and extended targets and obligations, enabling policy and policy which fundamentally reflects the lifecycle perspective. These recommendations and policy options serve as a point of departure to help shape the regulatory environment in support of improved waste wood valorisation.
